Executive Eats: How Food Fuels Focus, Creativity, and Success with Adam Kingl

On the podcast, I recently chatted with Adam Kingl, leadership expert, educator, and co-author of Executive Eats: The Cookbook for a Better Working Life. Written with educator, scientist, and culinary professional Dr. Jakub Leszek Radzikowski, the book explores the fascinating connection between what we eat and how we think, work, create, and connect with others. 

Rather than organizing recipes by meal type, Executive Eats is built around the outcomes many of us need and seek, such as sustained energy, sharper concentration, stress relief, creativity, comfort, and even celebration. It is part cookbook and part scientific exploration of food and wellbeing. While the book is written with executives in mind, its message resonates far beyond the boardroom. It offers a wonderful perspective for anyone on how cooking and eating can support a more fulfilling life.

In this episode, we talk about the inspiration behind the book, the surprising benefits of cooking, and the ingredients and habits that can help all of us perform at our best.

Listen to the full episode or keep reading for some of the highlights from our conversation.

How Did You Get Started as a Cookbook Author?

As part of my work, I direct an executive education program at Imperial College London called Leading Systemic Innovation in Healthcare. One of the faculty members on that program is my co-author on Executive Eats, Dr. Jakub Leszek Radzikowski. He’s the architect of a research institute called The Chemical Kitchen — a full professional kitchen located in the chemistry building at Imperial College. It sounds unusual, but he uses it to teach lab hygiene, collaboration, innovation, and chemistry to students.

In our work, we’ve identified a real issue among executives: they know their lifestyle creates obstacles to their physical well-being, yet they rarely change their habits. When Jakub and I started talking, it became clear we both needed to write this book together. At our core, we’re both foodies. Jakub trained at Le Cordon Bleu and worked in Michelin-star kitchens in London in the past, and I went to culinary school in California. While neither of us looks like an obvious foodie on paper, that’s how two academics ended up writing a food book together.

Tell Us More About Your Book, Executive Eats

Executive Eats is a unique kind of cookbook that pairs the latest nutritional research with practical culinary applications. It is designed to help readers understand why certain foods can enhance your mental and physical states, and offers readers scientifically backed recipes to help them tackle the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives with mental clarity and overall wellbeing.

The book has ten chapters, each based around a different performance state — including sustained energy, focus and concentration, mood elevation, creativity, and staving off anxiety. Each chapter makes the business case for why a particular performance state matters for professionals, and includes scientific evidence about what we should be consuming to support each state, down to specific ingredients, nutrients, and where to find them. We each contributed five recipes to every chapter, built around those ingredients and nutrients.