There are five sauces every chef learns about eventually. Béchamel. Velouté. Espagnole. Tomato. Hollandaise. They’re called the mother sauces because they’re the starting point for a whole family of other sauces. Which sounds very fancy. But here’s what I actually…
There’s a point in cooking where you realize the knife isn’t just a thing you use to cut food. It’s part of how you cook. And if you’ve ever stood at the cutting board hacking your way through an onion…
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…
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.…
Arriba, Abajo, Al Centro, Pa’ Dentro There are certain phrases that instantly tell you people are about to have a good time. In Mexico, one of them is:“Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa’ dentro!” And if you’ve ever been at a…
Why Did You Wash Your Hands Then? One thing kitchens teach you fast is that people love pretending they’re clean while doing absolutely filthy things. Case in point:washing your hands properly…and then drying them on a disgusting wet dish towel…