The Simple (Yet Strange) 2-Ingredient Snack Timothée Chalamet Loves

Timothée Chalamet can nosh with the best of them, and his preferences are very specific. For instance, when it comes to Chalamet's go-to late-night snack, nothing tops a Trader Joe's ham-and-onion tart (officially called the Maître Pierre Tarte d'Alsace). But the 30-year-old actor's favorite snack is far simpler: pineapple and cottage cheese.

"I get to talk about a film I'm deeply proud of, you know, I could be, you know, eating cottage cheese in New York," Chalamet joked in an interview with BBC Radio 1. "We could have got you some cottage cheese," host Greg James replied. "Do you have pineapple?" Chalamet responded. The team quickly acquired both components for him to devour on air. "This is either gonna tank the movie or help the movie," Chalamet says with a smile, dunking a pineapple spear into a single-serve container of cottage cheese. "Your dairy is better than in the States ... It's actually great," he admitted after taking a bite.

As unconventional as the pairing may seem at first glance, it's actually a long-known combination. After all, cottage cheese with bits of pineapple inside has been sold at supermarkets for years. Given the fact that TikTok couldn't get enough of cottage cheese back in 2023, the snack likely isn't a total surprise to folks who hopped on the trend. 

Timothée Chalamet's nutritious snack isn't new. Throughout the early 20th century, housewives started combining cottage cheese and pineapple in salads and gelatin-based appetizers alike. Cottage cheese, regarded as a diet food then, grew increasingly popular in the 1950s. As for canned pineapple, which was once considered a luxury item, it became easily accessible after World War II, so people started using the fruit more regularly.

By the 1970s, most Americans were eating nearly 5 pounds of cottage cheese annually, compared to just over 2 pounds in 2023. Even Richard Nixon was a fan, as his last presidential lunch before his resignation was cottage cheese with pineapple. Cottage cheese fell out of fashion by the mid-'80s, so customers became less aware of common pairings. However, ripe pineapple is an objectively tasty match, as the salty, slightly tart, moist cheese contrasts the sweet-tart, firm fruit.

Although neither component has the same prestige today, the cottage cheese renaissance seems to have opened the eyes of Chalamet's fans. "Cottage cheese and pineapple is so good! Pretty common, and is something you can find in a single container," one Instagram user commented on the interview. "Pineapple cottage cheese is elite. Timmy deserves the best," wrote another. To try it yourself, make like Chalamet and use long pieces of pineapple for dipping. Even easier, buy cottage cheese with pineapple already in it to have with toast, crackers, crudités, or pancakes.