Madonna's Favorite Meal Is Shaped Like A Butterfly And Takes 4 Chefs To Make

Boundary-pushing and generation-defining pop musician Madonna is no stranger to making waves with her art, but she famously soothes her system exclusively with foods that nourish it. While fad diets may differ with the season as to what's in vogue, Madonna has long kept to a macrobiotic diet with the intent to consume food and drink that aids digestion and supports the immune system. Her diet also includes plenty of fish, so much so that her favorite meal features salmon.

Chef Jeff Schroeter told the New York Post that he once created a bespoke birthday meal in Miami for the superstar featuring salmon sliced and shaped like a butterfly. Though he only made this one dish, he worked with three more chefs over three days to put the singer's favorite meal together.

A macrobiotic diet is free of wheat, meat, eggs and dairy and largely focuses on beans, nuts, vegetables and hydrating beverages like ginger tea and coconut water. With these parameters in mind, Madonna's birthday entrée, dubbed "Madonna Salmon," also featured cucumber, dates, lemon juice, olive oil, shaved fennel, sweet basil, and walnuts. Proponents of a macrobiotic diet, like Madonna, embrace fish as a protein, making highly palatable salmon a natural meal choice.

Madonna, nicknamed "Madge" by fans in London who appreciated that she lives her life like a normal person, has been a longtime proponent of healthy eating. She even invested in a coconut water company, which aligns with her macrobiotic diet regime. Salmon is a known powerhouse protein, rich in omega-3 fatty acids that are linked to heart and brain health as well as lowering inflammation in the body. When you take the singer's outlook toward food and the benefits of salmon into account, it's easy to see why the butterfly salmon is Madonna's favorite dish and one that marked the occasion on her birthday.

In fact, fellow iconic musician John Lennon also followed a macrobiotic diet, eating a lot of fish and grains. If you'd like to take a page from these notable celebs and start integrating more salmon into your diet but don't have the time to butterfly the fish nor the help of four chefs, fear not. Just follow expert salmon advice and choose high-quality fish, leave the skin on, and cook it starting skin-side down. And remember: If you've ever had one too many drinks and are hungover, salmon should be the first thing you should eat as its health properties also make it a known hangover cure.