The biggest music star in the world had a hidden obsession that slowly took over his daily life. Behind the flashing cameras and screaming crowds, he built his whole routine around getting the exact meals he craved at any hour of the night. This unusual habit started as a simple comfort, but it eventually turned into a daily routine of extreme eating that would completely change his famous look.
Elvis Presley always loved food, but his eating habits became extreme as he grew more famous. His cook at Graceland, Mary Jenkins, said eating was the only thing that gave him true joy. When his mother passed away, he started eating home-cooked meals to feel normal again. Being a massive star meant he could order huge amounts of room service wherever he traveled to feel less lonely.
The press started to notice as his weight went up very fast. Newspapers happily reported that he drank loads of Pepsi and ate up to 12,000 calories in a single day. He would wake up late in the afternoon and eat a whole pound of bacon for breakfast. At one point, people said he ate so many Spanish omelettes that he caused a shortage of eggs across the whole state of Tennessee.
His very last meal was completely normal and sad compared to his huge feasts. On August 16, 1977, he did not eat giant trays of hamburgers or fried sandwiches. He just ate four scoops of ice cream and six chocolate chip cookies before passing away on his bathroom floor.
Celebrities last meals: Elvis Presley
His kitchen at Graceland was always fully stocked with very specific comfort foods. He loved to eat grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches cooked in lots of butter. Sometimes he wanted even more, so he flew all the way to Denver in the middle of the night just to buy a giant sandwich called the Fool’s Gold Loaf. It was a whole loaf of French bread stuffed with a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jelly, and a full pound of bacon.
The cooks at his house also had to keep extra bacon ready to eat at all times. He really liked everyday Southern foods like meatloaf topped with tomato juice, barbecue pizza, and sweet cornbread mixed into a bowl of cold buttermilk. Even when doctors put him in the hospital on a strict diet, he made his friends sneak hot dogs and sauerkraut into his room hidden inside a bag of clothes.
Foods You Would Find Inside Elvis’ Kitchen
The story of his late-night snacks and heavy meals shows a different side of the famous rock star. Even with his changed appearance and his health issues, millions of fans still loved him. He drew huge crowds until the very end of his life. Today, people remember him as a music legend and also as a lesson on the hard parts of living with extreme fame.