Fun fact about Spike Mendelsohn: The “Top Chef” contender and proprietor of Good Stuff Eatery and We The Pizza has acid reflux disease. Yes, the man who serves up cheesy pizza slices and hamburgers for a living suffers from a condition exacerbated by fatty foods.
But that hasn’t stopped Mendelsohn from partnering with a prescription acid reflux drug for a promotional campaign.
“This is something I’ve been dealing with on and off for the better part of my life,” Mendelsohn told Yeas & Nays. “It’s always something I ignored or didn’t put much thought into.”
“My lifestyle as a chef is really, really stressful,” he said. “I’m always tasting food. Some of it’s spicy. I’m always drinking a lot of coffee.” (Spicy food and coffee are two triggers for acid reflux.) With his partnership with Takeda Pharmaceuticals, whose elaborate “Don’t Let It Burn” campaign for the drug Dexilant stars the chef, Mendelsohn said he’s learned how to manage his acid reflux.
Does he see a disconnect in being a face for an acid reflux drug when his businesses serve foods that make the condition worse? “My philosophy is everything in moderation,” Mendelsohn said.
And is he concerned that being associated with heartburn could hurt his restaurants? “I serve really, really tasty food at my restaurants,” Mendelsohn said. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
