my food story
11 october 2018
My first conscious cooking memory growing up in South Carolina (go Cocks) has got to be making potato salad with my mom. Insanely simple but incredibly fucking delicious, this style of dish has and continues to shape my culinary identity. Using basic ingredients that can be found anywhere and making them into something that tastes great is what I like to do.
I learned a lot about cooking from my mom and every chance I got I would volunteer to be her sous chef. Even as my cooking has evolved I still use some of the same basic skills I learned from her to this day. I have still never tasted potato salad as good as my mom’s. I guess I’m a bit biased when it comes to this but can you fucking blame me.
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mediterranean diet
11 september 2018
Last year when I left Paris I understandably gained a few pounds. I mean a consistent diet of the three b’s (beer, bread, butter), french fries, copious amounts of wine and fried food is not really recommended if you want to lose weight. Add to that 2 weeks in Puerto Rico and then all the foods I missed from Miami, I bulked up quite a bit. I needed to lose some of this weight. In came the Mediterranean diet. I’m not going to sit here and give you a full briefing on what the Mediterranean Diet is. There are so many fucking sites that are much better explaining that shit than I am. I’ll list a few below. But I will give you a preview.
What is the Mediterranean Diet? It’s basically the things that are shared by the cuisines of countries around the Mediterranean Sea. This includes a heavy emphasis on vegetables and fruits, beans, lentils, whole grains, seafood with less meat/poultry, and olive oil. It’s way less restricting than many other diets that I’ve been on and there are so many things that can be done.
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basque-ing in the glow
05 January 2017
As much as I love everything French, Basque cuisine and culture are quickly beginning to steal my heart. It has been 3 short years in the making. In total, I’ve spent what amounts to over a year in Paris and France, in contrast, I have barely spent a full two weeks in Basque Country. However, I just can’t get enough of what this magical place has on offer. There is one special tiny city nestled neatly between the Atlantic Ocean and some mountains (not sure which ones, just some mountains). This city is called San Sebastian, and it is by far my favorite city in Basque Country. Like I said, I haven’t spent that much time here so you can just tell me to fuck off if you think you know better than me, and this is all subject to opinion anyway. However, if you like food, beer, wine, beautiful beaches and some of the nicest people in the world then you will definitely love San Sebastian or Donostia in Euskara, we’ll get to that later.
If you haven’t noticed I use Wikipedia a lot, so according to Wiki Basque Country is “the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that straddles the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast.” I know, that’s a shitty definition that really doesn’t mean much, especially if you are unfamiliar with this region. It’s simply an amazingly beautiful place, with great food and drink and some of the best people in the world.
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how do you classify yourself?
22 april 2016
I was asked a question this week while speaking about cooking with some friends over Jamaican oxtails. By the way, it is ridiculous how fucking expensive ox-tails have gotten. The fuck. Anyway, I was asked, “How do you classify yourself, do you call yourself an amateur chef/cook?” I cook at least four days a week, even when in Paris. Most weeks I cook almost every day. Some days I cook twice and sometimes thrice. Not to mention the late night baking experiments I have recently begun to undertake. I am NO amateur. I’m simply a home chef. Well versed in comfort food, BBQ and tasty shit.
Since my first visit to Paris in 2012, I’ve slowly started to come out of my cooking comfort zone. Trying new techniques, using ingredients I have never thought to use and going down new culinary tracks. There is something to be said about the impact of cultural stimulation on some people. For me, being able to witness new cultures and new ways to do things has stimulated me in many creative ways. From the major differences to the minor, it has helped turn me into a much better chef.
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what is cooking shit in paris??
When on vacation most people don’t even want to think about cooking. Especially when in the food Mecca that is Paris. With so many boulangeries, patisseries, cafes, bars and boucheries around with some of the most amazing food why would one cook? I say fuck that. I love cooking, I’m not a pro but I like to think I’m pretty damn good. Since 2012 my wife and I spend at least 3 months a year in Paris. Staying someplace for that long while eating out can be a bit expensive, so unless you’re Scrooge McDuck or a kept man/woman, you have got to do some cooking.
Even if I was that well off I would still cook on occasion and spend that money on some of the best ingredients in the world. I would probably lose my shit if a week went by that I didn’t cook at least once. I mean how can I resist when at any given time in Paris you can run into a farmers market and find some beautiful fresh ingredients.
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