More Meat, Lots of Olive Oil

• Chris Hemsworth’s private chef said the actor’s take on the Mediterranean diet has more meat in it.
• Chef Sergio Perera avoids using anything “boxed or canned” for the Marvel star’s meals. 
• Perera started cooking for Hemsworth after he finished the first “Thor” movie.

Chris Hemsworth follows a Mediterranean-style diet, only with more meat, and avoids packaged foods, according to his private chef.

“Obviously the guy is a big boy,” Sergio Perera told news.com.au. “He requires a lot of protein for the body he has.”

Perera is a Michelin-trained chef who has worked with Hemsworth for 10 years, helping him adjust his diet to reach the demands of his movie roles, including Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“When it comes to building muscle he just keeps it very clean with a lot of barbecuing — like meats and vegetables — and keeping it Mediterranean which involves a lot of olive oil,” Perera said.

Sergio Perera started working with Chris Hemsworth in 2011 after ‘Thor’

The chef started cooking for the Marvel star shortly after his first “Thor” movie, which was released in 2011. Perera got the job when Elsa Pataky, Hemsworth’s wife, got in touch with him to help with the actor’s meal plan. 

Perera recalled: “He had just finished the first ‘Thor’ movie and he needed someone to help match his meal plan to his physical demands and that’s how I came on board. I would sit with his trainer, who is one of his closest friends, and we would all work together on figuring out Chris’ goals.”

Hemsworth’s popularity grew thanks to his role as the Norse god in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He reprised the role in all four “Avengers” movies, as well as three “Thor” sequels released in 2013, 2017, and 2022. 

Perera previously posted a blog for Hemsworth’s Centr app about the star’s diet while he was training for the back-to-back production of 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”

“When you’re training to build Thor-worthy muscles, you need to eat well,” he wrote.

Luke Zocchi, the star’s personal trainer, previously told Insider that Hemsworth also tried a vegan diet while shooting “Endgame,” and didn’t lose any muscle.

The Mediterranean diet has numerous health benefits

The Mediterranean diet has long been lauded as the “gold standard” of healthy eating. It’s been linked with a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as improved longevity, better mental health, and maintaining a healthy weight.

The Mediterranean diet prioritizes vegetables, fruit, legumes, fish, whole grains, olive oil, and wine and dairy in moderation, while red meat, fried and processed foods, refined grains, saturated fat, and sugar are kept to a minimum.

People who work out a lot, like Hemsworth, need more protein than the average person, with the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommending between 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. 

It can be harder to eat enough protein on a plant-based diet, although not impossible — the key is combining foods to ensure you are getting what’s known as a “complete protein.”

In Hemsworth’s 2022 National Geographic documentary series, “Limitless,” the actor was seen discovering that he has two copies of a gene that may make him eight to 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Hemsworth has made some lifestyle tweaks since finding out the prognosis, and research suggests that the key staples of the Mediterranean diet — such as olive oil and leafy greens — can help prevent the disease.

In his own Centr blog, Hemsworth recalled the strength training he did on “Limitless,” before bulking up to film “Thor: Love and Thunder” in January 2021.

“I continued on with the strength training I was doing for that series until June, then we restructured my training towards hypertrophy, or adding mass. I would do nine weeks of training, then deload every 10th week,” he wrote.

The star added: “Over 30 weeks I slowly gained weight — starting at 94kg to weighing in at 107kg when we started shooting in January 2021.”

The 40-year-old actor also joked in the blog that he was eating every two or three hours, and consumed six meals a day while filming “Love and Thunder.”

Prioritizing whole foods can help you lose weight

Perera said Hemsworth doesn’t eat anything “boxed or canned” and instead focuses on whole foods.

“One thing I did religiously with him, was every single day he would have one very large, hearty salad that consisted of raw and cooked vegetables, fermented products, nuts, seeds, and a lot of good fats with a piece of steak or a big piece of fish,” Perera told news.com.au.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) — those which are mass-produced and contain additives such as colors and preservatives — have been linked to numerous health problems.

While many foods are processed in some capacity, such as oats, yogurt, and flour, UPFs often have long ingredient lists, such as packaged cookies and cakes.

Research suggests that diets high in UPFs lead people to eat more and thus gain more weight when compared to those eating fresh, whole foods, as Insider’s Hilary Brueck reported. UPFs have also been linked to dying earlier and a higher risk of heart disease.