CHEF LESSONS WORTH BRINGING HOME
I’ve been lucky enough to sit at the Top Chef Judges’ Table for fifteen seasons and six drama-filled spinoffs. Through the triumphant victories and heartbreaking defeats of our chef contestants (aka cheftestants), and from many of the world’s greatest chefs who have appeared as guest judges, I’ve gleaned invaluable cooking tips and techniques. Adopting this insider intel can help ensure success in the home kitchen, too. Here are my most valuable takeaways.
1. Mise-en-Place Is Everything
If there’s one mantra that all professional cooks live by, it’s the term, mise-en-place. French for “put in place,” it refers to having your ingredients prepped and your tools and equipment at the ready before you begin cooking, so that when the literal and proverbial heat is on you can move fluidly from step one of a recipe straight through to the end, without missing an ingredient or a beat. In other words, be organized. At home, practice mise-en-place like this:
Carefully read through a recipe in its entirety before shopping and again before you begin cooking, to account for and organize your ingredients and tools.
Clear counter space (as best you can) before you begin prepping, and clean as you work to maintain an uncluttered space.
Prep your ingredients as indicated in the ingredient list before you begin cooking (e.g., slice your onion, cube that bell pepper, grate your ginger, measure out your flour, etc.), then organize them in small bowls near your stove or work area so you can easily see and reach for them as you cook through the recipe step by step. Ingredients that are added in the same step of a recipe can often be combined into one bowl to further streamline your effort.
Mise-en-place is an important practice to employ for any dish, but especially for those that come together quickly once the cooking is underway, like my Singapore-Style Hokkien Noodles (here) or Chocolate Honeycomb Crunch (here).
2. Use the Best, But Stay Flex
Use the best quality ingredients you can access and afford, keeping in mind that making modifications to a recipe or even veering off your roadmap when necessary is the surest way to clinch a kitchen win. Cheftestants often learn the hard way that if an ingredient isn’t top quality, or a first attempt at a dish doesn’t quite cut it, it’s wisest to find a substitute or go with a Plan B rather than serve something subpar. Case in point: Say you’re making my Peppery Greens with Tahini Dressing (here), and mustard greens aren’t available, or the arugula isn’t first-rate. Take a look around at the other hearty and/or peppery greens on offer, like spinach, watercress, or mizuna, and choose whichever single green or combo is the most gorgeous and fresh. While good swaps or last-minute detours aren’t always easy, as you expand your knowledge of ingredients and cooking techniques, you’ll find that making adjustments with ease eventually becomes second nature.
3. The Clock Is Always Ticking
On Top Chef, contestants are always in a race against the clock. While real life isn’t usually that dramatic, we all face time constraints. I’m always thrilled when I have several hours or even a whole day to tackle a recipe project. More often than not, though, my time in the kitchen is limited to an hour or less at the end of the day. Even so, with a little advance planning I can still cook something fresh, healthy, and delicious for my family. Here are a few strategies that help:
Start a collection of favorite fast dishes (this book is filled with them), tagging them or keeping a running list so you can quickly turn to the ones that best fit your time constraints on any given day.
Set aside time to shop for and cook multiple recipes at once. Getting ahead by preparing soups, stews, roast meats, or even salad dressings in advance will make for quick work (or no work!) when you need a meal after a busy day of work or play. You can also make a double batch of one or more recipes and freeze some for later.
Practice smart shortcuts by using ingredients like shredded rotisserie chicken (instead of roasting a bird from scratch) in a salad or soup, as I do in my Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Shredded Chicken (here), or by making my Hummus with Harissa Oil, Toasted Fennel Seeds, & Mint (here) with canned chickpeas instead of soaking and cooking the dried version.
4. Have a Salt Strategy
I can’t overstate the importance of salt in cooking; it can be the key to achieving the perfect balance in a dish or the single element that ruins it. Salt softens bitter notes while enhancing both sweet and savory ones, as well as aromas—all of which have a significant effect on how we taste our food. To salt wisely, keep these tips in mind:
There are myriad types of salts to explore. I recommend keeping at least two on hand: a kosher salt for all-purpose seasoning (it’s inexpensive, dissolves easily and quickly, and has a neutral flavor) and a flaky salt, like Maldon, to season and add a pop of flavor and texture to fresh foods like salads and cooked dishes just before serving (a technique known as “finishing”). Add specialty salts, like fleur de sel, smoked sea salt, seasoned salts, and more, as you like (see Sources, here).
Season throughout the cooking process and taste as you go. An incremental seasoning strategy makes it less likely to under- or over-season a dish. This is why a good soup recipe, for example, might instruct you to season a sauté of onions and other vegetables at the start of the dish, then season again after adding liquid, and finally taste and season accordingly a third time just before serving. Try your hand at incremental seasoning with my Za’atar Chicken Schnitzel (here).
Multicomponent recipes taste best when each element is seasoned individually, which helps bring a dish into balance. When you make pasta, for example, season the sauce as well as the pasta cooking water, which seasons the noodles as they cook. You’ll see multicomponent seasoning in action when you make dishes like my Warm Farro Bowls with Roasted Cauliflower & Kale (here) and many more.
Salty ingredients, like capers, Parmesan cheese, olives, and pickles, add both flavor and seasoning to a dish. When you’re using these ingredients, taste first before adding extra salt.
Have you ever noticed a chef lift their hand 8 to 12 inches above a piece of meat or a plate of vegetables to season from above? This move is not for show. Working this way helps to evenly disperse salt and other seasonings. Try seasoning from above with my Shaved Zucchini Salad (here).
5. Know When a Dish Needs Acid
On Top Chef, we judges often talk about acid when we’re evaluating a dish. But what does needing acid actually mean? Like salt, acid can be a key component in balancing flavor. Acidic ingredients like fresh citrus juice, vinegars, fermented foods, and wine, lend not only flavor and complexity, but also a brightness that helps balance sugar, salt, and fat. Though wine is often added during the cooking process as a layering element and to pull together flavors, vinegars and fresh citrus are often best used as a final touch (“at the finish,” in chef speak) and not cooked, to make flavors pop. When you add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to my Mishmosh Soup (here), you’ll see exactly what I mean. Acid also helps keep delicate fruits, once cut, from oxidizing and browning (apples, pears, and artichokes, for example). The term acidulated water is simply cold water with a bit of acid added (usually lemon juice or distilled vinegar) and is used to prevent discoloration while an ingredient is being prepped. Note that if you happen to add too much acid to a salad dressing or sauce, it can often be counterbalanced by adding more of the fat (e.g., olive oil or butter) that is already present in the dish.
6. Texture Matters
Whether smooth and silky, chewy, crispy, creamy, or crunchy, texture is an important part of our tasting experience and another way to add dimension to a dish. Understanding how this works allows you to cook with textural components in a thoughtful manner. When you’re first experimenting with texture, keep it simple—even just one added element can make an impact. By sprinkling toasted nuts and seeds over a cooked cereal, for example—as I do in my Quinoa Cereal with Stone Fruit Jam (here)—you create a satisfying contrast of soft and crunchy. Keep textural elements within the context of the dish as a whole (potato chips are also crunchy, but in most cases won’t work well over breakfast porridge!). Textural contrast can come not only from ingredients, but by way of cooking method, too. Techniques like searing or high-heat roasting can caramelize and create a delectably crispy crust on fish, meats, and vegetables, while gentler approaches, like braising and poaching, produce a meltingly tender result. Some of the many texture-enhancing ingredients you’ll find throughout this book include nuts and seeds, flaky sea salt, turbinado sugar, dried fruits, and whipped cream. You’ll see these at play in my Roasted Zucchini with Coriander Vinaigrette (here), Campfire Sundae (here), and more.
7. Always Rest Your Meat
Top Chef fans have heard me and some of the other judges say time and again that it’s essential to let your meat rest before slicing and serving it. As cooked meat rests its muscle fibers relax, allowing it to hold onto most of its precious, flavor-packed juices once sliced. Cut it too soon and those juices wind up not in the meat but lost to your cutting board or plate, and your meat is tough instead of tender. While resting, meat also continues to cook for several minutes. This “carryover cook time” is the reason that meat is taken off the heat when its internal temperature, taken with a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a cut and not touching bone, measures five to 10 degrees lower than the desired doneness. (Most recipes account for carryover cooking, but when you’re cooking on your own, remember to keep it in mind.) Resting time varies by cut or type of meat. If a recipe doesn’t specify resting time, wait until the internal temperature drops to 120ºF before slicing. Most steaks and chops require 10 minutes or so, but a prime rib or whole turkey will require 30 to 45 minutes, so plan accordingly. Try resting meat before digging in when you make my Hanger Steak with Arugula-Mint Chimichurri (here) or Piri Piri Roast Chicken (here).
8. Simple Doesn’t Mean Boring
Coco Chanel was famous for her sage advice when it came to dressing with accessories: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” Great chefs use a similar culinary intelligence when crafting a new dish, by incorporating layers of flavor and texture while maintaining a measure of restraint. Think of the dishes that have stood the test of time because of their understated elegance, like spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce and basil, or a perfectly roasted chicken with lemon and thyme. On Top Chef, there are times when cheftestants—whether they are still honing this skill or forget its importance in the heat of the moment—overload a dish with ingredients and techniques; the result is often muddled and unfocused. To avoid this fate, focus on the quality of the ingredients in a single dish, rather than the quantity, and keep techniques relatively straightforward. Start by practicing with simple snacks and breakfast dishes, then build from there. Crunchy Fruit & Veg with Chili & Sumac (here) is a great example of an uncomplicated yet interesting and elevated snack.
Dishes that win Top Chef challenges (or become signatures of any restaurant or chef, for that matter) are often described as craveable, and stay with us long after an episode has aired or a plate has been cleared from the table. Writing this book, I sought to capture the flavors and eating experiences that have lingered in my mind, and turn them into recipes that I (and I hope you, too!) will want to make again and again. There’s often at least one inspired element, flavor, or technique that makes me want to return to a really good dish. To that end, this book aims to give you an unexpected twist in every recipe. Whether it’s stirring cardamom and lemon into warm honey before drizzling it over yogurt with roasted figs (here); making a savory soy-lime crema for simple fish tacos (here); or adding a shot of bourbon to homemade marshmallows (here), Bringing It Home is all about craveable, memorable dishes. I hope that my tips will help you create your very own craveable and memorable dishes, too.
10. Maybe They Should Call It Top Scallop
Too many scallops have been cooked in the Top Chef kitchen to even begin to count. I, along with the other judges, started noticing this pattern around Season 5 and it’s become a bit of a running joke with our fans ever since. In truth, there are several reasons why our cheftestants constantly turn to this much-loved mollusk. Scallops can be prepared in all sorts of ways: from raw to medium-rare or even fully cooked; in pastas and rice dishes; as the star of a main course or with other fish. Great for all seasons, they pair well with countless flavors and, perhaps most important of all, they’re incredibly quick to cook. When you’re up against the clock, there are few ingredients more elegant and quick to prepare than seafood in general, and scallops in particular (for a detailed scallop cooking lesson, see here). The takeaway is this: You don’t need to make a whole roast or complicated multicourse meal to impress your family or dinner party guests. Try my Scallops & Peas with Mint Gremolata (here) or Rustic Fish Soup (here); both are sophisticated yet deceptively quick and easy to prepare.
11. Cooking Is a Team Sport
On Top Chef, the focus is on the individual victor but in reality the accomplishments of a single chef or cook rarely guarantee the success of a professional kitchen or restaurant as a whole. The camaraderie shared by staff in both the front and back of the house in any well-run restaurant is a vital aspect of the culture and explains why our cheftestants often support and inspire each other, creating lasting friendships along the way. Professional kitchens are structured hierarchically, with the chef (French for “boss”) at the helm, and his or her brigade of sous chefs and cooks in their given positions, all contributing to a common goal. It’s important that chefs and cooks recognize their own strengths and those of their colleagues. When Top Chef contestants are put into team competitions, those who understand how to maximize the various skills of their team do best. The lesson at home? Know your strengths and don’t be afraid to ask for help, allowing your friends and family to contribute by doing what they enjoy. One friend loves to make cocktails? Let them! Another wants to bring the salad? Great! In my kitchen, everyone is encouraged to roll up their sleeves and jump in as they choose. My husband, Jeremy, is our family’s designated salad and sauce maker, for example, and with his help every meal is prepared quickly and easily. (Lucky for me, he’s also great at cleanup!). As you will soon see, Jer’s sauce for grilled halibut (here) is a family favorite, and I am thrilled and proud to include it in this book.
12. Own It
When you’re under pressure in the kitchen, it’s easy to start doubting yourself, which can lead to a downward spiral of second-guessing and defeat. But even the best chefs have days when their vision isn’t perfectly executed. If an imperfect outcome can’t be salvaged, the best thing to remember is this: It’s just food! Don’t worry so much. Most of the time you’re your own worst critic and far more conscious of your missteps than anyone else will be. As we say to our Top Chef contestants, intention is imperative, but we often won’t know if a dish didn’t come out exactly as you had intended unless you bring your blunder to our attention. Instead of fixating on an imperfection, do your best to accept it. Make a modification, if possible, then step back and own both your triumphs and your mistakes, all of which will ultimately make you a stronger cook.
When I was developing the recipes for this book, my Banana-Cardamom Upside-Down Cake with Salty Caramel (here) was particularly difficult to perfect. Each time I tried to turn the baked cake out of its pan, a portion of the banana topping would stick. The cake was so delicious that I couldn’t help but serve it to friends nonetheless, cut into slices and patched up first so they were never the wiser. Everyone adored it. Still, I was determined to fix the issue. About a dozen cakes in, with both a new approach to the caramel and a genius tip from a food stylist friend, I finally nailed it: After cooling the cake completely, I gently warmed it in the skillet over a low flame just enough to loosen the caramel. This allowed the cake to cleanly and beautifully turn out of the skillet onto a serving plate, with the caramel lusciously oozing down the edges—just as I had imagined it in my mind when I first dreamt it up. Looking back, I am particularly proud of this recipe, not only because I love it, but also because I had the fortitude to acknowledge the imperfections along the way and keep on trying until I got it just right.
13. Know How to Make One Great Dessert
Viewers are often curious why contestants on Top Chef frequently fail when it comes to dessert. In many restaurants, the magic of pastry happens in its own kitchen or in a very separate area from where savory chefs work, offering little or no interaction between the two crafts. This said, you don’t have to be a pastry chef to have an understanding of this territory. Being a well-rounded cook means not shying away from sweets. Even for those who don’t love to bake there are many easy, crowd-pleasing desserts that don’t rely on fussy techniques, fancy equipment, specific work surfaces, and the like. In other words, sweets can be joyfully simple. My Chocolate Banoffee Pie (here) and Classic Butterscotch Pudding (here) are just two of the many decadent desserts you can make from this book without even turning on the oven.
14. Reach from Your Roots
It’s wonderful and worthwhile to explore the world and its many cultures through cooking, but it’s important to start in a place you know well and are comfortable with. I’ve seen this time and again on Top Chef with contestants who hit their stride when they take inspiration from their roots first, rather than simply focusing on fancy techniques and modernist tricks. Of course there’s a place in the kitchen for innovation, but building a foundation on what you know and who you are is the most powerful place to begin. Food memories can help guide you to your personal cooking style and provide a boost of confidence, as ease often comes from what’s familiar. The dishes that linger most vividly in my mind, from both my travels and eating adventures, are more often than not those that link a cook with his or her own unique story. I’ve included many of my personal family recipes in this book—from my Ratatouille Galette (here) and Not Your Mama’s Horseradish Brisket (here) to a very special French-Canadian Tarte au Sucre (here). It’s these sorts of recipes that evoke strong memories for me, helped me define myself as a cook, and gave me a solid foundation from which I continue to experiment and build.
15. Just Keep Cooking
There’s always a bit of extra chaos in the kitchen at the beginning of every season of Top Chef, as contestants settle in and familiarize themselves with both the kitchen and the game. Confidence soon builds and with each challenge, the cooking gets better and better. The same applies in the home kitchen. When you first start cooking, making a new dish (or even cooking at all) might feel awkward. The only way over this hump is to just keep cooking. Friends often come to me with the following lament and conviction: “I’m just not a good cook.” Convinced they lack any natural ability, they feel frustrated and often impatient, and so turn away from the craft. I stand true to the philosophy that even if you aren’t initially comfortable in the kitchen, with patience and practice, you can become a good cook. Over time, you’ll develop efficiency, spontaneity, creativity, and confidence—all of which will continue to grow with every dish you make. Start by mastering a few recipes you’re particularly drawn to and expand from there. I often suggest working first on soups, as they involve several building block techniques (many of which have been discussed here), and are hearty and comforting. Try starting with my Rainy Day Ribollita with Lots of Greens (here); Moroccan Lentil & Chickpea Soup with Chermoula (here); or Chilled Corn Soup with Chive Oil, Paprika, & Lime (here). As you keep cooking, you’ll begin to see and understand patterns and rhythms; you’ll become more fluent and your natural instincts will develop and emerge.