Rating: 
Chef Michael’s dry dog food receives the Advisor’s lowest rating of 1 star.
The Chef Michael’s product line includes two dry dog foods, each meeting AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance.
- Chef Michael’s Filet Mignon Flavor
- Chef Michael’s Rotisserie Chicken Flavor
Chef Michael’s Filet Mignon Flavor was selected to represent both products for this review.
Chef Michael's Filet Mignon Flavor
Dry Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Beef, soybean meal, soy flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of vitamin E), brewers rice, soy protein concentrate, corn gluten meal, ground yellow corn, glycerin, poultry by-product meal, ground wheat, animal digest, salt, pearled barley, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, natural filet mignon flavor, dried potatoes, dried green beans, added color (red 40, blue 2, yellow 5, yellow 6 and other color), sulfur, vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, potassium chloride, l-lysine monohydrochloride, manganese sulfate, vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), biotin, sodium selenite
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 3.4%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first ingredient in this dog food is beef. Although it is a quality item, raw beef contains about 80% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost… reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.
After processing, this item would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.
Which brings us to soybean meal. Soybean meal is actually a useful by-product. It’s what remains of soybeans after all the oil has been removed.
Soybean meal contains 48% protein. However, compared to meat, this item is considered an inferior plant-based protein providing a lower biological value.
The third ingredient is soybean flour, a high-protein by-product of soybean processing.
Compared to meat, soy proteins have a lower biological value. Yet both of these soy items are capable of raising the protein content of this food.
The fourth item is animal fat. Animal fat is a generic by-product of rendering, the same high-temperature process used to make meat meals.
Since there’s no mention of a specific animal, this item could come from almost anywhere: restaurant grease, slaughterhouse waste, diseased cattle… even euthanized pets.
We do not consider generic animal fat a quality ingredient.
The fifth ingredient is brewers rice. Brewers rice represents the small grain fragments left over after milling whole rice.
This is an inexpensive cereal grain by-product and not considered a quality ingredient.
The sixth item lists soy protein concentrate, what’s left of soybeans after removing the water soluble carbohydrates. This plant-based ingredient contains about 70% protein.
The seventh ingredient is corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.
Compared to meat, glutens are inferior grain-based proteins lower in many of the essential amino acids dogs need for life.
This inexpensive plant-based ingredient can significantly boost the total protein content reported in this dog food.
The eighth ingredient is corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain of only modest nutritional value to a dog.
For this reason, we do not consider corn a preferred component in any dog food.
After glycerin, we find poultry by-product meal… a dry rendered product of slaughterhouse waste. It’s made from what’s left of slaughtered poultry after all the prime cuts have been removed.
In a nutshell, poultry by-products are those unsavory and inedible leftovers deemed “unfit for human consumption”.
This stuff can contain almost anything… feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs… you name it.
We consider poultry by-products slightly lower in quality than a single-species ingredient (like chicken by-products).
On the brighter side, by-product meals are meat concentrates and contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh poultry.
We’re always disappointed to find artificial coloring in any dog food.
Coloring is used to make the product more appealing to you… not your dog. After all, do you really think your dog cares what color his kibble is?
From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.
But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.
With four notable exceptions…
First, garlic oil may be a controversial item. We say “may be” here because we are not certain of the oil’s chemical relationship to raw garlic itself. Although the majority of experts favor the ingredient for its numerous health benefits, garlic (in rare cases) has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.1
However, the limited professional literature we surveyed provided no definitive warnings regarding the use of garlic… especially in small amounts (as it is here).
Next, this Chef Michael’s product also contains menadione, a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.
Thirdly, we find no mention of probiotics, friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing.
And lastly, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.
Chef Michael’s Dry Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Chef Michael’s dog food appears to be a below-average kibble.
But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 32%, a fat level of 18% and estimated carbohydrates of about 42%.
And both products in the line appear to demonstrate the same nutrient percentages.
Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbohydrates when compared to a typical dry dog food.
Yet when you consider the presence of multiple plant-based protein boosters (like the soy products and corn gluten meal), this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a modest amount of meat.
What’s worse, it’s difficult to ignore the abundance of so many Red Flag ingredients.
Bottom line?
Chef Michael’s is a plant-based dry dog food probably using only a modest amount of chicken or beef as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand 1 star.
Not recommended.
Those looking for a wet product from the same company may wish to check out our review of Chef Michael’s canned dog food.
A Final Word
This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in a specific health benefit for your pet.
For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”
Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.
Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
04/02/2010 Original review
09/11/2010 Review updated
- Yamato et al, Heinz Body hemolytic anemia with eccentrocytosis from ingestion of Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) and garlic (Allium sativum) in a dog, Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 41:68-73 (2005) ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.