WHO TAUGHT ME

Who taught me.

Four cooks, four things I stole.

These are four cooks whose work changed how I cook. What follows is my own writing about what I took from each of them. None of them knows this site exists.

Gordon Ramsay in chef's whites, head down over a pan at an outdoor food festival, tasting from a spoon

Gordon Ramsay SEASONING IN LAYERS

Season at every stage, not at the end. Salt added late sits on top of a dish instead of in it.

Photo: Dave Pullig · CC BY 2.0 · cropped

Wolfgang Puck in chef's whites, laughing, photographed at an event in 2012

Wolfgang Puck HOT AND COLD

Something hot and something cold on the same plate, and never cook the delicate half.

Photo: © Glenn Francis, PacificProDigital.com · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped

Masaharu Morimoto seated at a table in a restaurant, smiling, photographed in the mid-2000s

Masaharu Morimoto THE KNIFE

Draw the blade through in one stroke. Sawing tears the fibres and the flesh turns cloudy.

Photo: Justin Doub · CC BY 2.0 · cropped

Giada De Laurentiis seated at a table signing a book, looking up and to the side mid-conversation, photographed in 2010

Giada De Laurentiis FINISHING

Finish the pasta in the pan with its sauce, then wake the whole thing up off the heat with zest.

Photo: kennejima · CC BY 2.0 · cropped

Who taught me.

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