The Kitchen Files
Top chefs are restaurant royalty — the poets and divas of food — and the kitchen is their stage. We’ve often wondered, though, are they really just like you and me, merely with a different job? So we decided to sit down for a chat with some of the world’s crème de la cuisine, and we ended up discovering just how normal they really are.
By Becca Hensley. Illustrations by Josh Cochran.
Charlie Trotter
Adventurous, self-taught chef Charlie Trotter — owner of the eponymous restaurant in Chicago — has just completed a spa-cuisine menu for the One & Only Palmilla Resort in Los Cabos, Mexico (also home to his other eatery, C). His companion spa-cuisine cookbook will hit the shelves just in time for the holidays.
Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be a chef.
I was 17 years old, and it was my junior prom. I went to Chicago’s then-legendary restaurant the Bakery. Chef Louis Szathmary came to the table to chat with my date and me — and that one interaction with him changed my life!
What one dish is always on your holiday table?
Beluga caviar and Krug!
What snack would you leave on a plate for Santa Claus, to really tempt him?
I’d leave him a little pot of truffled cassoulet, because it’s cold outside and we’ve got to keep him warm.
Describe a holiday food memory from your childhood.
Holiday feasts always included loads of relatives, all bringing their special dish. I remember my grandmother’s warm German potato salad at Christmastime.
What ingredient can you not live without?
Red Burgundy!
What is your favorite kitchen gadget?
My Vita-Mix mixer.
Describe the last meal you ate.
Fabulous sushi at one of my most favorite restaurants, Sushi Samba Rio, here in Chicago.
What do you prepare at home for yourself and for your family?
Pasta, pasta, and more pasta.
Michelle Bernstein
A former dancer, native Floridian Bernstein hung up her pointe shoes to celebrate the rich soul-food tradition of her Latino-Jewish upbringing. She is known for her ability to fuse dynamic Latin flavors with Asian, French, and Caribbean ones, and one of her latest projects is Social Hollywood, a collaboration with restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow.
Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be a chef.
I was 21 years old, working in one of the best kitchens in South Florida. The boys there told me I was too delicate, too feminine, and not physically strong enough. I knew that one day I would show them. Today, I am the only one from that cooking line who is a chef.
What snack would you leave on a plate for Santa Claus, to really tempt him?
My croquetas (filled with blue cheese and jamón serrano), with a little fig jam for dipping.
Describe a holiday food memory from your childhood.
I’ll never forget the Thanksgiving when Mom roasted a whole goose with fresh chestnuts, a whole duck with cabbage, and a whole turkey with stuffing and mushroom gravy. It was the best meal of my life.
What chef from the present or past would you choose as your personal chef?
Mario Batali.
What is your advice to future chefs?
Keep your head down, and don’t have an ego.
Describe the last meal you ate.
One and a half hot dogs! One was topped with mustard and sauerkraut, and the other with jalapeños, onions, mayo, and mustard. My husband ate the other half!
What do you prepare at home for yourself and for your family?
We love Cornish hens simply roasted with lemon and olive oil. Or whole roasted snapper with ginger and scallions … always lots of fresh crisp greens and veggies. And on some Sundays, I go crazy with baked goods, huevos rancheros, and pancakes.
Thomas Keller
Chef and owner of the legendary French Laundry and New York’s three-Michelin-starred Per Se — among others — Keller has a new concept, Adhoc, in Yountville, California, that involves burgers and half bottles of wine.
Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be a chef.
July 1977: My mentor Roland Henin helped me make the emotional connection with cooking. I had just been cooking as a process before, but he taught me that cooking is all about preparing food for others and bringing them pleasure through food. This was a revelation and changed everything for me.
What snack would you leave on a plate for Santa Claus, to really tempt him?
Homemade potato chips, crème fraîche, osetra, and a 1983 Salon Champagne.
What one dish is always on your holiday table?
Creamed spinach.
Describe a holiday food memory from your childhood.
Thanksgiving was big at our house. My mother was always up at five a.m., cooking lovingly all day.
What chef from the present or past would you choose as your personal chef?
Either Fernand Point or Alain Chapel.
What is your advice to future chefs?
Be patient. Don’t expect to be head chef too early. And be open to learning — it takes a long time to learn everything you need to know.
What ingredient can you not live without?
Salt.
What do you prepare at home for yourself and for your family?
Simple food — like pasta with fresh Parmesan and butter, or one-pot meals.
Giada De Laurentiis
Name sound familiar to you? It should; she’s the charismatic host of the Food Network’s smash hit Everyday Italian. Born in Rome and a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, De Laurentiis makes even gnocchi look easy. And trust us, it’s not.
Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be a chef.
I was 12 years old and watching a chef in my grandfather’s store (DDL Foods) make a pizza —
I never looked back.
What snack would you leave on a plate for Santa Claus, to really tempt him?
A block of torrone.
What one dish is always on your holiday table?
Spaghetti with clams in red sauce.
Describe a holiday food memory from your childhood.
Celebrating Christmas at my grandfather’s house. It was the one holiday when our entire family would convene, and Grandfather would dress up as Santa Claus. Christmas dinner would last at least six hours!
What chef from the present or past would you choose as your personal chef?
Nobu Matsuhisa.
What is your advice to future chefs?
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
What ingredient can you not live without?
Chocolate and chocolate!
What do you prepare at home for yourself and for your family?
I prepare my husband’s favorite dish: farfalle with sausage, mushroom, and peas.
Suzanne Goin
Owner of Los Angeles’s acclaimed Lucques, Goin continues to earn accolades for her novel preparation of the produce of the season. Having always been drawn to cooking, she worked in restaurants even while attending Brown University and studying abroad in London.
What snack would you leave on a plate for Santa Claus, to really tempt him?
Some really silky soft triple-crème cheese with a few slices of jamón or prosciutto, a few nuts and dried figs, and a big glass of a good red wine.
What one dish is always on your holiday table?
Glazed sweet potatoes with bacon and romesco.
Describe a holiday food memory from your childhood.
One time, we were trying to turn the turkey, and it flew out of the pan and across the kitchen floor. Just at that moment, my dad’s best friend walked in, looked at us and said “I see nothing,” and then walked out! We put that bird back in the oven and never said a word.
What chef from the present or past would you choose to be your personal chef?
Chris Bianco from Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix.
What is your advice to future chefs?
Work in a restaurant first — to make sure it is what you really want to do … much of the work is repetitive, grueling, and decidedly not glamorous. You have to love cooking, food, and being in the restaurant environment so much that it outweighs all the negatives.
What is your biggest time-saver in preparing foods?
A sharp knife!
When you give a party, what is on the menu?
Once a year, we do a big barbecue and soft-shell-crab party.
What do you prepare at home for yourself and for your family?
Nothing! Well, coffee and tea — and sometimes toast or fruit if we are on a good roll. And on our day off, pasta with butter or a cheese plate for a snack or dinner.
Jason Wilson
Named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2006, Wilson redefined the neighborhood bistro when he opened Crush two years ago in Seattle with wife Nicole. But this January, they take on their biggest project yet — new baby Ferin.
Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be a chef.
I was 18. My roommate and I were cutting through some fresh tuna that [we’d gotten] from a small boat we’d seen while we surfed the harbor in Lahaina. I knew then that there was something magical about capturing the best ingredients to feed yourself, your memories, and your future. I wanted to be part of that experience.
What snack would you leave on a plate for Santa Claus, to really tempt him?
Valrhona chocolates, stuffed with salted caramel and bacon!
What one dish is always on your holiday table?
Brussels sprouts braised with pancetta, apples, and sultanas.
What is your favorite kitchen gadget?
My hands.
Describe the last meal you ate.
We just finished a restaurant tour with 12 children who were on a field trip to learn about careers. We all sat down to marinated beets, mashed potatoes, braised short ribs, and chocolate-chip cookies. (I snuck some truffle oil in on the short ribs.)
What do you prepare at home for yourself and for your family?
Gratin of cauliflower and rib eye steaks for dinner, poached eggs and toast with sausages for breakfast.
Tom Colicchio
Renowned for his renditions of French-Italian cuisine at New York’s Gramercy Tavern, Colicchio has enjoyed judging upcoming chefs on Bravo’s reality show Top Chef. His myriad restaurants nationwide include Craft in Dallas and ’Wichcraft in San Francisco.
Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be a chef.
When I was 15 years old, my father suggested I become a chef. It was one of the few times that
I listened to him.
What snack would you leave on a plate for Santa Claus, to really tempt him?
Grilled fontina black truffles and white truffle fondue on Pullman white bread.
What one dish is always on your holiday table?
On Christmas Eve, I make a seven-fish dinner, including a salt-cod and beet salad. It’s a tradition that’s been passed down from my grandparents.
What are your best cooking tips for the holidays?
Keep it simple, and spend time with your guests.
What is your advice to future chefs?
If you’re looking for fame or fortune, try something else.
What ingredients can you not live without?
Olive oil, salt, and butter.
Describe the last meal you ate.
Last night, I ordered pad Thai and a steamed tofu green curry and ate it in my hotel room.
What do you prepare at home for yourself and for your family?
One of my new favorite meals to cook at home is a spaghetti dish with fennel sausages and cauliflower.
Stephan Pyles
A native Texan who’s famed for transforming the Lone Star State’s cooking scene, Pyles is considered a founding father of Southwestern cuisine. Pyles is fascinated by global fare, especially the food of Spain and the New World, and his menu offerings (most recently at Stephan Pyles in Dallas) are influenced by his world travels and avid interest in other cultures.
What snack would you leave on a plate for Santa Claus, to really tempt him?
Something to help him keep his weight up, like my Heaven and Hell Cake, with layers of angel food cake, devil’s food cake, peanut butter mousse, and milk-chocolate ganache.
Describe a holiday food memory from your childhood.
I remember the time and effort my mother went to at Christmastime to make candies like divinity and chocolate-covered cherries. In the earlier years, the whole production was lost on me because I didn’t understand why we didn’t just buy the candies. Let’s just say I figured it out.
What one dish is always on your holiday table?
Cranberry-chipotle relish.
What is your best cooking tip for the holidays?
Place your order for the honey-glazed ham early.
What chef from the present or past would you choose as your personal chef?
Ferran Adrià.
What is your advice to future chefs?
Make sure that you can’t imagine being in any other profession — that the passion to cook is pervasive.
What ingredients can you not live without?
Chiles, olive oil, Spanish sherry vinegar, and salt.
What do you prepare at home for yourself and for your family?
Caffe latte.
Tyson Cole
Passionate about the Japanese tradition, Austin-based chef Cole has studied under two different sushi masters. At his restaurant Uchi, he combines impeccable technique with a spirit of adventure — developing unprecedented multicultural combinations. Look for a more upscale, menuless concept to come to Austin in 2007.
Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be a chef.
I watched a master slice sashimi, and it made me think of flesh LEGOs — how cool is that! Suddenly, I saw food as a physical form that I could sculpt into anything. It opened up a whole world of creativity.
What one dish is always on your holiday table?
Gravy and mashed potatoes.
What is your best cooking tip for the holidays?
Keep it simple. Make three or four things really well rather than a dozen that are mediocre.
What chef from the present or past would you choose as your personal chef?
My wife, who has a Cordon Bleu degree and makes delicious food.
What is your advice to future chefs?
Be patient. Listen. Becoming a chef takes a lifetime.
What is your favorite kitchen gadget?
Our snow-cone machine at Uchi. We use it to serve sashimi, to retain its temperature and resiliency.
Describe the last meal you ate.
Salad with green figs and pluots, red currants, pumpkinseed oil, and Gruyère.
What do you prepare at home for yourself and for your family?
I love my large Le Creuset Dutch oven. It is so easy to just cut up a bunch of fresh ingredients and throw them in there.