There are five basic tastes we’ve all been taught to recognize: Sweet.Salty.Sour.Bitter.Umami. And then there’s kokumi. Which, until recently, I had never heard of either. Apparently I have spent decades cooking food without knowing the name for something I have…
There are very few things in this world that make me happier than making a big fucking pot of soup. Not because soup is complicated. It isn’t. That’s the beauty of it. Soup is one of those rare foods that…
I’ve cooked in fine dining kitchens where a single plate cost more than most people’s weekly grocery budget, and I’ve cooked on a coffee truck where I did math in my head to figure out if I could afford both…
Why does restaurant food taste so damn good? You know the feeling. You make steak at home. You order steak at a restaurant. Somehow theirs tastes better. You make vegetables. They make vegetables. Their broccoli has you questioning every life…
There are certain things you discover in life and immediately wonder: Where the hell has this been all my life? Chocolate and whiskey is one of those things. I have spent most of my life around food. I’ve cooked in…
There are some things professional kitchens do that nobody bothers to tell you. Not because they’re difficult. Not because they’re some mystical chef knowledge handed down from Escoffier through a secret underground society of cooks. They’re just little habits. And…
There are few things more frustrating than tasting something you’ve just cooked and thinking: Why the hell does this taste so flat? So you add more salt. You taste it again. Still flat. So you add more salt. Now you’ve…
It’s 6:47pm. Dinner’s supposed to be on the table in thirteen minutes. And your sauce — the one that was thick and glossy and perfect twenty minutes ago — has decided to become soup. So you do what everyone does.…
Mise en Place Isn’t a French Word, It’s a Survival Strategy Everyone treats “mise en place” like it’s some fancy garnish you sprinkle over a recipe to make it sound legit. It’s not a garnish. It’s the whole damn meal.…
Mo Butter, Mo Better I love butter. Not “enjoy,” not “appreciate in moderation.” Love. The kind of love that doesn’t need a disclaimer, doesn’t need a nutritionist’s permission slip, doesn’t need me to say “everything in moderation” like some kind…