Chefs Talking About Food 

The hospitality industry is brutal on bodies. But feeding other humans is an essential, beautiful task.

I interview some of the world’s most hard-working chefs, farmers, small food product producers, and other hospitality workers. Whether digging into a specific ingredient or capturing the breadth of a 40-year career, we explore the why behind their what.

Welcome to some of the hundreds of stories we’ve made together.

Select Features

Chef Interview Columns


Chef’s Secret Weapons

Tasting Table

This monthly interview + recipe column was Tasting Table’s longest-running freelancer column and a regular top-performer.

Includes: Amanda Cohen interview, Ed Lee interview, Floyd Cardoz interview, Michael Solomonov interview, Marcus Samuelsson interview, Ford Fry interview, Jonathan Waxman interview, and more.

Say Yes to the Dressed: An ingenious way to use pickle juice you're going to love (Micah Wexler of Los Angeles’s Wexler’s Deli).

Butter Believe It: Chef Ed Lee's compound butter is the best thing we've ever put on steak.

It's Gonna Be Mayo: Sweet and spicy candied jalapeño mayo is the condiment you won't stop craving (Christine Cikowski and Josh Kulp of Chicago’s Honey Butter Fried Chicken)

Curry Up: The Thai green curry paste that fires up any dish (Amanda Cohen of Dirt Candy, NYC).

Pour Some Schug on Me: Meet schug, the Middle Eastern hot sauce you'll use on everything this summer (Michael Solomonov of Philly’s Zahav).

Grin and Berbere It: How to use this perfectly balanced spice blend (Marcus Samuelsson).

Cashew Leche de Tigre: This spin on a Venezuelan classic is your next culinary party trick (Adriana Urbina of De Maria, NYC).

Jonathon Sawyer's Secret Weapon: The chef of Cleveland's The Greenhouse Tavern shares his recipe for smoked egg bottarga.


Fork in the Road

Food & Wine

This short-lived but beautiful series shared how mentorship is inherited, detailing kitchen leadership from one generation to the next.

Includes: Gavin Kaysen interview



Kitchen Closeups

Serious Eats — A national behind-the-scenes kitchen series.

Includes: Ford Fry interview, Alex Guarnaschelli interview, Michael Laiskonis interview, Annie Pettry interview, and more.



Chef Interview Extras

 Explore some extra interview tidbits that stuck with me and demanded to be shared.


Podcast Interviews with Food Folk

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Kitchen Tips & Recipes