Longtime chef: Prince fought throat, stomach pains recently
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| In this April 30, 2016 photo, chef Ray Roberts, who runs multiple Peoples Organic restaurants with his wife in the Twin Cities, prepares meals at his Edina, Minn., location. Roberts was the personal chef for music megastar Prince until he was found dead on April 21, 2016. “It felt like he wasn’t himself probably the last month or two,” Roberts said. “I think he was just struggling with being sick a lot.” |
MINNEAPOLIS
(AP) -- On stage, Prince was still captivating audiences at recent
performances in Australia and California. He hosted a pop-up party at
his Paisley Park studio, and there were few outward signs in his final
months that anything was wrong.
But off stage,
something was different. Prince began wanting meals that were easier to
digest and was fighting off waves of sore throats and frequent upset
stomachs, the musician's personal chef told The Associated Press.
A
law enforcement official has told the AP that investigators are looking
into whether Prince, who was found dead at his home on April 21, died
from an overdose and whether a doctor was prescribing him drugs in the
weeks beforehand. The official has been briefed on the investigation and
spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak
to the media.
Ray Roberts, who cooked for
Prince nearly every day for almost three years, said in an interview
that wasn't the man he saw nearly every night, "not even a hint. Not at
all." But Roberts did start noticing changes in Prince's diet - he was
eating less and drinking less water, and looked like he was losing
weight.
"It felt like he wasn't himself
probably the last month or two," Roberts said. "I think he was just
struggling with being sick a lot."
Prince, who
didn't eat meat, normally loved foods like roasted beets and minestrone
soup with a harissa chermoula, an herb sauce from North Africa. In
recent months, Roberts said, as Prince would have sore throats or seem
like he wasn't feeling well for "weeks at a time," he would prefer
smoothies and fresh juices to soothe his throat or stomach.
Stomach
and throat ailments aren't unusual in a stubbornly cold Minnesota
winter, and to the public, there was little to suggest something was
amiss.
Since Prince's death, fans who saw him
recently have talked about his energy and his mesmerizing performances
with just a microphone and a piano. Many who saw his final public
appearance at Paisley Park only days before he died said he may have
seemed more tired - one person who was at one of his last shows in
Atlanta said his speaking voice was weak at times - but overall he was
not changed.
"He seemed fine. He looked normal
and he had this kind of energetic glow that he always had," said Lars
Larson, a Minneapolis man who often worked at Paisley Park for Prince's
parties.
Even in private, Roberts said, Prince
would soldier through and work. "It was amazing. I don't think I ever
saw him really looking bad ever. He was always on point," he said.
Roberts
and his wife began cooking for Prince in 2013 after an informal tryout
with several other chefs, and he made all his meals for the musician in
the restaurant-grade kitchen at Paisley Park.
Most
of the time, Roberts would make light salads and soups - he said Prince
particularly liked the roasted beets as well as a pesto broccolini
dish. When Prince was gearing up for more shows and wanted to be more
active, Roberts would scale back the sweets.
As for meat, there was none of it.
"I
don't know if it was just an unwritten rule, but there was no meat
there - ever," he said. "If somebody wanted to eat meat, they would have
to eat it in the parking lot. And he was very serious about this."
Roberts
saw Prince nearly every day. He cooked for him every day except Sunday -
and sometimes even then. Combined with the four Peoples Organic
restaurants he and he wife run in the Twin Cities, Roberts said he was
working about 100 hours a week, with his schedule tightly tethered to
Prince's. The musician would even bring Roberts and his wife on tour
around the country at times to cook for him.
Still,
Roberts said it was a dream job and he relished the opportunity to
listen to Prince practice and jam with other famous musicians, never
knowing who he would be cooking for next. He said Prince had a "higher
purpose" and that while he could be a joker or even cocky, most of the
time he was a "caring, thoughtful person" who apologized if he was
running late and considered his employees family.
"I wish he was still here," he said, wiping away a tear. "That's what it boils down to."
Roberts
last saw Prince the evening before the musician was found dead at
Paisley Park. He cooked Prince a roasted red pepper bisque with a kale
and spring vegetable salad. But Prince never ate it. When he returned to
the musician's studio home for his memorial service a few days later,
Roberts found it in the refrigerator - just as he'd left it.
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