25 Chefs Share Their Favorite Cooking Lessons From Mom - my favorite dish in the restaurant essay

For many chefs, watch their mother cook in the kitchen and eventually cook with them (
Maybe learn family recipes along the way)
Formed the foundation of lifelong culinary passion.
As we entered the Mother's Day weekend and made the final touches for the plan to thank the mother for everything she did, I asked the chefs from all over the United StatesS.
Share the favorite cooking lessons they learned from their mom.
What they're going to say is: Jose Andrés chef Holly Gilvin of the bazaar cuisine "if I have to choose the most important tips my mom gave me about cooking, jivin said: "There's always time to cook, sit down and have dinner with your family. ".
"Part of the reason I started to cook professionally was the influence my mother, grandma, aunt and cousins gave me when I was a child . . . . . . I spend most of my time in the kitchen picking items from the garden, cleaning mung beans, cleaning, stirring, watching, tasting, smelling, learning and helping as much as I can, because this is an important time for us to combine.
I didn't know it at the time, but it was it that made me a chef today.
"I noticed that the more I embrace my Cuban tradition, the more its impact is reflected on my menu," Nogueira said . ".
"My mom's dishes include beef pie, Ham meatloaf, arroz con polllo and more.
The most important lesson she has taught me is to embrace where you come from culture and confidently know that your cultural cooking can be accepted by the public.
"My mom taught me all the most important breakfast lessons: How to Soak French toast long enough but not too long, the first pancakes are always the worst (
The baking tray is not hot enough)
, When you cut the cookies into interesting shapes and decorate them with chocolate chips, the taste of the cookies is always better, "said Duman.
"She provided the best and most beautiful breakfast for anyone I know, and it was from her that I learned to love serving people when they started their new day.
"My mom taught me how to measure flour: first, put a wax sheet on the counter," says Rebecca Boice, Flora's executive chef . ".
"Then slowly pull the flour from the flour bucket with your measuring cup, so that there is no flour.
Drop down a pile of flour without packing the cup, then place a cup of flour on the waxed paper and scrape the Cup gently and evenly with the plane of the butter knife, in this way, the extra flour will fall on the waxing paper below.
When you measure the flour, bend the waxed paper into a funnel, pour the flour into the bin, and then put the waxed paper back into the drawer to save on the cost of the next baking item.
"As a child, I like the ceremony of it and have the same steps every time," Boice said . ".
"Now, as a chef, I see my mom is teaching me basic kitchen etiquette: Work clean, precise, and don't waste it.
My mother is a smart lady!
"My mom is not the best cook to be honest," Ortiz said.
"Still, I linked my best memories of food to her because she taught me that family and friends are at the heart of enjoying the food.
Whether it's a breakfast sandwich on the way to school, organizing dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, or an overcooked turkey on Thanksgiving Day, she always expresses her love for her family through food.
Fast forward for 20 years 【and]
I have several restaurants, two beautiful daughters and an amazing wife and I would like to thank my mom for her dedication to the family.
She might also overcook the turkey, but my mom always made sure we were taken care of and I tried to do the same today.
"The most important thing I 've learned from my mother is respect, love and care for your ingredients," Osso said . ".
"She taught me simple and [to]
Don't think too much about what to put on the plate.
My mom is not a professional chef, but in my cooking school she will guide me and encourage me to innovate.
She taught me to use knowledge. my roots and the simplicity she has been talking about, creating new flavors in an artistic way . . . . . . Unfortunately she died soon after I graduated and she didn't see it but I'm sure she was laughing and looking down from the big kitchen in the sky [and]
Said she taught very well.
"My father was actually the main chef in our family, but my mother joined in on special occasions," said Thomas Lenz, executive chef at the equipment room . ".
"An example is a catering group [my parents]
Every few months, exquisite themed dinners from different countries around the world are cooked.
I will always remember the fearless joy mother had when cooking recipes from far away, she just read.
She taught me not to be afraid to fail in cooking studies and always laugh when you eat your mistakes!
Chars said: "Jeffrey Sears, executive chef at the Charmant Hotel" I would say that the most important lesson I have learned from my mother is the importance of chicken noodle soup. ".
"This is probably the first dish I tried myself and she definitely let me go [from]
Start to finish.
This is perfect, because with many attempts, we decided that the egg noodles were the best we wanted, and the whole chicken was better than the chicken breast, the chicken breast [Than]water, etc.
It sets a standard for how I cook in the kitchen: clean, always open for modification [and]
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"Anne Robinson, executive pastry chef at Sky armory," Robinson said, "My mother taught me to always double check my size . ".
"Life is full of distractions and people make mistakes-teaspoons and spoons make a big difference when you bake.
"When I was 10 years old, I watched my mom make sauce for the potato salad," Brown said . ".
"I asked her how she knew when it was ready and she told me it was [the sauce]
Roll down from the spoon
This is the best and easiest thing my mom taught me: cooking is all you can't write down in the recipe.
It saw the sauce roll off the spoon in the right way.
"My mom always says that whatever you do or bake, whatever it is, be proud and loving to do it," said Wix.
"She has always been my source of inspiration in the kitchen and outside.
We don't have a lot of things, but somehow she always finds a way to do something special.
I like her sweet potato bread best.
Mom would bake the sweet potatoes for three hours and ask me to mash them up for her.
She will add sugar, butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, eggs, vanilla, flour and milk.
"Bake for an hour, then prepare to gobble!
She would say, slide the pot into the oven.
We did it!
I don't remember her using this recipe, but the result is always perfect.
In short, this is my mom: make the most of everything she has and create dishes for us from her heart and soul.
Kim said: "chef and master of Good Fork Sohui Kim" one of the many culinary techniques I have learned from my mother is to use fruit in delicious cooking. ".
"The balance of sweet, salty, spicy and fresh flavor is encapsulated in the essence of Korean cooking.
For example, I use apples and Asian pears in meat and vegetable marinades for barbecue . . . . . . My favorite recipes include CJO Gochujang, apples, onions, marinades that put garlic ginger and milline into a skirt steak.
It's been on my menu for 13 years and it's my signature dish.
Thayer said: "The chef and owner of Nicholas Seyer at Nicholas's Pit BBQ" the single mother I worked with two children taught me a lot of culinary knowledge and didn't even realize it“Be creative. Take risks. Be agile.
Get to know your audience
I'm an adventurous eater.
My sister is super picky.
On any one night my mom has to create something new and exciting for me and something simple for my sister.
She did it in a tight budget.
Now, I am proud to meet the needs, respect and celebrate different tastes, share unique perspectives, and be creative in cooking.
These are not technical cooking skills, but I can't think of anything more important.
Futonato Nicola, chief executive chef at Felicia, said: "My mother is Sicilian and one of the most important things she taught me about food is to always use fresh Nicola.
"You want to taste everything on the plate.
My mother's lasagna is a perfect example of this philosophy.
You can do it. to-
Grilled lasagna or fresh noodles.
Meat or Beckham is not needed, however.
Instead, it's made with good tomato sauce, fresh basil, heavy cream and cheese-very simple, delicious and easy for a family chef.
Dave Santos, executive chef of "good soup", said Santos: meaning food for the poor. ".
"You take your little thing away and make a meal with it.
My mother is always resourceful and we learned this as we grow up.
Nothing is wasted.
We will bring different leftovers and turn them into brand new and always amazing things.
This is often soup.
We will do a lot of mirepoix;
Take some cabbage, pickled and cooked with the rest of the meat and beans to create a rich, hearty stew that fills your stomach to your complete satisfaction.
We didn't grow much, but we always had good food.
"Growing up, my mom was my biggest inspiration in the kitchen," clots said . ".
"We always have a home when raising three children and working --
Cook for my family.
As soon as I got old, I helped in the kitchen.
One of the tricks she taught me was how to make the perfect pie crust.
Her secret is to replace butter with lard, which gives the crust great complexity and depth and uses ice water in the dough to keep the dough low.
Daniel Holzman
The founder and chef of The Meatball Shop "when I asked my mom to make pasta, I was about 11 or 12 years old," Holzman said . ".
"She had never done fresh pasta before, and we didn't have any hoist, but she decided to give it a try.
By the end of the afternoon, we had a strand of pasta hanging on each surface of the kitchen: the back of the chair, we had a broom string-we didn't realize you could lay a layer of flour on it.
In the end, the pasta was so bad that it was completely unedible and as tough as the rubber candy.
But we had a good time and it made us want to try again.
A few days later, an Italian noodle machine and a few pounds of flour, we are producing the perfect pappardelle. The lesson?
Perseverance is the key to success, and the best way to make sure you keep working is to make sure you have a good time doing everything.
Jaspratap Bindra, executive chef at Punjab Grill "I said to sitting on the kitchen counter and helping my mom stir Curry and learning the right spice mixture for each dish, there are a lot of nostalgic Bindra.
"She taught me [that]
The key to real taste is to create my own house
Mixed spices are used for dishes and I am particularly proud now when I enter my own kitchen and use my own mixed spices.
They just added a level to cooking.
"My mom always reminds me that people only eat desserts to indulge themselves, purely for enjoyment, so it needs to be worth it," says Emma Alden, a Manhattan pastry chef . ".
"Dark chocolate is always the right thing to do if in doubt.
Akry and archers executive chef David bamcroft "everything about me --
"The favorite dish in time is a pot my mother baked with Rice and gravy on Sunday," Bancroft said . ".
"I was always attracted to the kitchen by the scent, opened the oven door and lifted the lid so I could have a peek.
My mother always said, "Don't fool the roast again, David. let it do it yourself!
Sometimes patience is the best element.
Mike Davis, chef and boss of Terra "I think one of the things I remember most is how she made gifts for people;
How to do things by hand, the time spent and the thoughts behind it touched people.
It makes you feel more special when you make and deliver it [to]
Order and ship.
One example I remember most was Christmas when I was a child.
My mom made cinnamon rolls from scratch and sent them to our closest family and friends nearby.
I remember I was so excited to help deliver them and loved that people were looking forward to receiving them year after year.
The power of food and dining tables, and the love behind making it, is still the reason why I like doing this business best.
Brenner Sanders, United
Executive chef boiling "eat your vegetables! ” Sanders said.
"No matter what we eat at home, there is at least one vegetable that is there and there must always be one.
This is the way I continue to eat and now Cook as a chef.
Vegetables not only make the dishes feel complete, but they are more satisfying, healthy and energetic. [My mom]
It really taught me not to ignore vegetables. they are very important.
I like to make vegetable dishes with cream and crispy texture like tomato salad and crispy scallions and cream goat cheese.
Even our drought now.
Aged wagyu dishes on the menu are lit and lifted by local creamy kale and beets bordelaise.
"Garden of Eden Grinshpan, chef and collaboration
"My mom has some recipes that she has made very well, and one of them is her chicken soup: The ultimate comfort dish," said Grin's founder, Grinshpan . ".
"She showed me how to skim off the floaters and excess fat from the top and told me that bones, skin and cartilage are the best part and will be the richest broth.
She has always told me not to be too young to be a mature chicken [because]
The old taste is more.
"The biggest cooking class I 've learned from my mother is not to be ashamed of fast, simple and delicious things," Eddy on said . ".
"Lipton onion soup is mixed in cow bris, the season seasoning for chicken marinade is good, vanilla pudding is mixed in the best chocolate chip cake you 've ever eaten!
"We live in a small house in pine Hearst, North Carolina, with a large backyard and we turn it into-
"Said Lishchynsky.
"By the time we moved in, there were already apples, figs and citrus trees in the yard, and two rows of vines.
This inspired my mom to fill the rest of the yard with fruits, vegetables and herbs.
This becomes a project that will be a life lesson needed to grow, nurture and harvest your own food.
My mom will make sure that I take care of the garden with her every morning, pulling out large pieces of stone, planting, weeding and pruning from the ground.
The work is repeated and the body is exhausted.
It wasn't until I started working in a professional kitchen that I realized how important and useful the knowledge she taught me was.
For the chef, it is very important to know where your food comes from, how it tastes, why it tastes like this, and how to make this product.
Mom, I'm the chef today because of you. I love you.