In 2022, I worked in the research and development lab at Audrey Restaurant in Nashville. Our owner-chef, Sean Brock, and his culinary team were deeply committed to supporting local farmers. When one of our farmers asked if we could find a use for 900 pounds of sweet potatoes he couldn’t sell, he cut us a […]
Peter Glatz
After the passing of his wife, Julianne (former Illinois Times food columnist), Peter Glatz decided to retire from a 40-year career as a dentist to reinvent himself as a chef at the age of 66. In his short culinary career, he has worked at Chicago’s Michelin-starred Elizabeth Restaurant, Oklahoma City’s Nonesuch (Bon Appetit’s “America’s Best New Restaurant- 2018), Savannah’s The Grey, and Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis.
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Beat the frost
Pepper production is reaching its peak at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery in Champaign. Our walk-in cooler is filling up with a brilliant display of red, yellow, green and orange capsicums. Even though we are currently experiencing a September heatwave that feels more like July, we know cold weather is around the corner, and one […]
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No waste, all taste
As the COVID pandemic began to wind down and restaurants reopened for indoor dining, I was anxious to end my exile in a Florida RV park to get back into a kitchen. While scrolling on Instagram, I saw that a restaurant I’d been following, Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis, was hiring cooks. With the hope […]
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No lettuce, no problem
If you are finding yourself casting a wary eye toward bagged lettuce after the latest cyclospora health alert, consider looking to Greece for a lettuce-free salad alternative. The horiatiki salata, commonly known in America as a Greek salad, is a summer salad that requires no leafy greens whatsoever. It is a fresh, rustic salad made […]
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Slurping through a heat wave
Buckwheat has been on my mind quite a bit this summer. For a recent cheese-themed dinner at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery, my task was to prepare buckwheat crepes for the main course, serving two per plate for 80 guests. Working with buckwheat flour proved challenging, and it took a few failed attempts with a […]
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The alchemy of the anchovy
Because everything in a restaurant kitchen requires labeling with masking tape and a black marker, a Sharpie is a permanent fixture in my apron pocket. However, I used to constantly lose them to co-workers who would borrow my Sharpie and never return it. I eventually solved this problem by swapping my black marker’s cap for […]
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A short history of cooking on a stick
Roasting food on a skewer is a universal tradition with cultural significance dating back to the dawn of human culinary history. Nearly every culture has crafted its own version, from central Asian kebabs and Middle Eastern dishes to Greek souvlaki, Italian spiedini, Japanese yakitori and Southeast Asian satays, highlighting its deep-rooted importance worldwide. Long before […]
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Not your average turnip
Growing up in a home with a Teutonic heritage, I was exposed to turnips at a young age and developed a strong aversion to them. To my youthful senses, they smelled like skunk and tasted even worse. Finding them in a pot of corned beef and cabbage was enough to spoil the entire meal for […]
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A Juneteenth convergence of cultures
Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when enslaved Texans finally learned of their freedom – two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing the date as a federal holiday. Juneteenth has a red-themed culinary tradition, from crimson hibiscus tea to Sea Island red peas, which […]
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Getting sauced: The magic of romesco
I just picked up my first bunch of local asparagus at the farmers’ market. In anticipation of grilling outside, I made a batch of romesco sauce. A staple of Spanish cuisine, romesco sauce is a traditional condiment from Catalonia in the northeast. Although it is now famously associated with calçots – tender spring onions roasted […]
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Celebrating women with “kids”
This week’s column is dedicated to a deeply caring connection: women and their “kids” (a pun very much intended). The late 1970s marked a period of two parallel cultural movements in the U.S. This intensely creative era fundamentally changed the way America works and what America eats. While the personal computer was being invented in […]
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The verdant resurrection
The onset of spring brings with it a shift in what we do in restaurant kitchens. The season marks our departure from the heavy root vegetables of winter to fresh, vibrant produce. Following months of quiet dormancy, the emergence of foraged treasures like morel mushrooms and ramps, followed by locally grown asparagus, changes our menu […]
