Physically he was the connoisseur's connoisseur. He was a giant panda, Santa Claus and the Jolly Green Giant rolled into one. On him, a lean and slender physique would have looked like very bad casting.
Source: On James Beard, in NY Times, 24 Jan 85
-- Craig Claiborne, (Sep 4 1920-2000), US editor, author; He was the food editor/columnist for the NY Times; wrote The New York Times Cookbook, 1979.