ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to JJ Goode for your help in writing this book. Your patience, good humor, and talent have made this book what it is and I am forever grateful. To Francis Lam—editor of editors—for all you did to make this book better. To Doris Cooper, Aaron Wehner, Danielle Daitch, Jen Wang, Stephanie Huntwork, Ada Yonenaka, Kim Tyner, Kate Tyler, Erica Gelbard, and the rest of the team at Clarkson Potter, for there would be no book without your support. To Aubrie Pick, Bessma Khalaf, Molly Shuster, Joy Howard, Erika Iroff, Alistair Turnbull, and John Lingenfelter, the crew who photographed this book, for bringing my food to life. And to Ian Knauer for making sure these recipes work!

To all the farmers, winemakers, home cooks, gardeners, school chefs, kids, and everyone who gave me little gifts of flavor or insight along the way. Special thanks to the chefs that let me into their kitchens and to the cooks who taught me so much. To Dean Zanella, who gave me my first gig at 312 Chicago. To Paul Kahan and Koren Grieveson, who deeply shaped my approach to food. And most of all, to Christian Domschitz and Alois Traint, the chefs who let this yankee into their world and set a high bar that has guided everything I have done since, both inside and outside the kitchen.

To chef Cris Comerford, Tommy Kurpradit, Tafari Campbell, and Adam Collick for the years of making history and good times in the White House Kitchen. To Vaughn, Buddy, and all of the butlers for the endless jokes that made the job all the more fun. To Dale Hainey, Jim Adams, and the rest of the Park Service crew who help keep the garden alive and beautiful. And to everyone in the Obama administration who helped us accomplish more on food, health, and sustainability than any administration in the history of our nation. This book is an ode to what we accomplished together.

To President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. What can I say? Thank you for the years of friendship, for the early-morning workouts, for the mentorship, and for giving me a shot to make a difference outside of the kitchen. I hope I didn’t disappoint.

How do you truly thank your parents and sister? You apologize! Sorry for all the stress I caused. Thank you for a lifetime of keeping me on track.

And to Alex, my brilliant, gorgeous, hilarious wife and mother of my perfect child. Not sure how I got so lucky. You make me a better man. I love you.