If you’ve ever wondered what the rich & famous have dined on throughout history, you’ve come to the right place. Some of their eating habits were downright bizarre! It seems that no amount of money can buy you good taste as some of the richest people ate fried peanut butter—or drank wine laced with gold flakes. Here are ten real examples of the strange things that wealthy & famous people ate over the years.
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Elvis Presley’s Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches
The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley, had a weakness for fried peanut butter & banana sandwiches—sometimes he’d even throw in some crispy bacon for extra flavor. He’d spread creamy peanut butter on white bread, layer it with sliced bananas and then fry the whole thing in butter. In fact, it’s said he once flew his private jet from Graceland to Denver just to satisfy his cravings!
Marilyn Monroe’s Raw Egg Breakfast
Marilyn Monroe had a rather unusual breakfast routine. Every morning, she’d warm a glass of milk & crack two raw eggs into it, whisking them together into a frothy drink. Why? Because she believed this high-protein concoction gave her the energy she needed to keep up with her busy schedule. Of course, it wasn’t the most appetizing breakfast by today’s standards. But Miss Monroe swore by it!
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Steve Jobs’s Fruitarian Diet
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs followed an extreme fruitarian diet at various points in his life, where he’d eat only fruits, nuts, seeds & vegetables. He avoided all animal products. Sometimes, he’d consume just one or two types of fruit for weeks because he believed it detoxified his body. He was particularly fond of apples. It makes sense, given the name of his company!
Winston Churchill’s Champagne with Meals
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had a love affair with alcohol and especially champagne. Churchill adored Pol Roger champagne so much that he reportedly drank it every day—starting as early as breakfast. Once, he famously said, “I could not live without champagne. In victory I deserve it, in defeat I need it.”
Tycho Brahe’s Wine Infused with Gold
Renowned Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe had a taste for the extravagant which extended to drinking wine mixed with gold flakes. According to Brahe, ingesting gold had health benefits & could rejuvenate the body. But there’s no scientific evidence of that. As you might expect, Brahe lived a rather opulent lifestyle and hosted lavish parties at his island estate, Uraniborg. Gold-flaked wine was just the tip of the iceberg!
Lord Byron’s Vinegar and Water Diet
Lord Byron was one of the most famous romantic poets of all time & he was obsessed with maintaining a thin figure. To do so, he followed a severe diet of vinegar and water—sometimes eating only a slice of bread or a biscuit. This included eating potatoes drenched in vinegar! If that weren’t bad enough, Byron also wore heavy woolen clothes to induce sweating & further lose weight. Clearly, being thin was a price worth paying for him.
Nikola Tesla’s Boiled Food Only Rule
Despite having a great mind for inventions, Nikola Tesla had some rather strange ideas about food. He insisted on eating only boiled foods because he believed they were easier to digest & healthier In fact, Tesla avoided fried or roasted dishes entirely! He also counted each chew to aid digestion & ate dinner alone every night at exactly 8:10 PM at the same restaurant.
Howard Hughes’s Extreme Food Cleanliness
Aviation pioneer & film producer Howard Hughes was infamous for having an extreme fear of germs. Such fears extended to his eating habits. He demanded that his staff wrap every fork and spoon in tissue paper and seal them. Canned peaches were his favorite—but he demanded his employees scrub the cans until the labels came off before opening them. Eating with Hughes was both a complicated and time-consuming process!
Salvador Dalí’s Love for Sea Urchins
Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí had a particular passion for sea urchins because he grew up on the Catalan coast. Dalí believed that eating fresh sea urchins improved his creativity and kept his senses sharp so he often made them part of his meals. He even mentioned them in his autobiography! For Dalí, sea urchins were a source of artistic fuel rather than simply food.
Catherine de’ Medici’s Artichokes
When Catherine de’ Medici married King Henry II of France, she brought with her a love for artichokes. At the time, artichokes were exotic and considered scandalous because of their supposed aphrodisiac qualities. But Catherine didn’t care about the rumors. She included them in lavish feasts at the French court, with her enthusiasm for artichokes popularizing them among the French nobility.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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