chef interviews

FR Interview

In A New York State Of Mind With David Kinch

Bay Area legend was in town, so we had a drink

May 2, 2013 9:02 am

“It’s like I am a new bornbaby and have never worked in a kitchen I my entire life,” says David Kinch, Negroni in hand, as we share a booth in the ancient backroom at Keen’s Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan. We’re talking about the food of Japan, a topic that excites the eccentric chef-owner of Manresa in Los Gatos, California. We get to talking about New York City in the '80s...

Easter

What Is Orthodox Easter And What Do People Eat? We Ask An Expert.

Diane Kochilas talks Greek food, regional cooking

Apr 30, 2013 9:01 am

Some people call it Cinco De Mayo, but this May 5 will be all Greek to some, especially those who are celebrating Greek Easter this weekend. Here's what you need to know about this sacred holiday — with a delicious-sounding menu.

Chef Talk

Food Network Star's Ippy Aiona Is Bringing The Gastropub To Hawaii

"I can't change a tire, but I can make cool food"

Apr 25, 2013 10:01 am

Chef Phillip "Ippy" Aiona may have been the youngest person to ever compete on Next Food Network Star when he appeared last year as a finalist in Season 8, but you'd never know it by the 24-year-old Hawaii native's achievements. Just last month, Aiona opened the Three Fat Pigs, a gastropub (the Big Island's first, he says) with a few Hawaiian twists. I sat down with Aiona to talk about the logistics of cooking on an island, his essential Hawaiian ingredients and the challenges of proving himself as a young chef.

Sports Crossovers

Meet The Man Responsible For Feeding Hundreds Of Hungry Pro Baseball Players

Chef Chris Miles on serving food to baseball's best

Apr 12, 2013 10:01 am

Professional athletes are essentially mutants. They're good mutants, though, like X-Men. When you look behind the scenes, though, the mutants have help. They have trainers and coaches and all kinds of support staff that help them get even better. That's where Chris Miles comes in. He's a chef who caters to Major League Baseball teams playing in the Spring Training Cactus League down in Arizona. He's the guy who feeds the beasts who go into beast mode. Read on.

Los Angeles

You'll Want To Keep An Eye Out For LA Chef Mette Williams

Chef has impressive resume, won job at Culina

Apr 11, 2013 4:31 pm

Mette Williams has worked in the kitchens of some of Los Angeles’ most popular restaurants, including Postrio, Spago and CUT. In a testament to the (sad) world we live in today, it was not her stellar credentials, but a victory on season two of Food Network’s Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell that landed her the Executive Chef position at Culina, a modern Italian restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel. We caught up with the rising chef to discuss the new menu at her restaurant, the city’s food scene, and not looking like, well, an ass, on TV.

St Patrick's Day

Talking St. Patrick's Day Food With Irish Chef Clodagh McKenna

Has love for fresh blood, none for Irish Car Bombs

Mar 14, 2013 11:31 am

Often referred to as “The Rachael Ray of Ireland,” Irish chef Clodagh McKenna has authored three cookbooks, with a fourth work set to release this month. Her television show, “Clodagh McKenna’s Irish Food Trails” is currently airing on PBS. She stopped by our New York office this week to discuss St. Patrick’s Day food traditions, the holiday’s differences in the United States and Ireland, and cooking with fresh pig blood. Mmm.

Chef Talk

Bart Vandaele Says There Are No Such Things As French Fries

Belgian chef in DC on frites, cooking with beer

Mar 5, 2013 2:01 pm

“Belgians need to stand up and say that the B stands for being the best!” says proud native chef Bart Vandaele. We caught up with the affable chef to talk about Belgian food’s superiority, cooking with beer, being knighted by the King of Belgium and his serious love of, um, crazy socks.

Interviews

Model Turned Pastry Chef Clarice Lam Traded Balenciaga For Bouchon

The ex-model runs the online bakery The Baking Bean

Mar 1, 2013 2:03 pm

Clarice Lam has not exactly taken a conventional route to becoming a renowned pastry chef. The former professional model has visited over 280 cities, suffered a near fatal accident and worked 15-hour days for the past 10 months on a fractured foot...without even knowing it. We caught up with her last week to discuss her adventurous past, opening her own online bakery and her strong thoughts regarding that “miserable” date known as Valentine’s Day.