Ingredient Insiders: Where Chefs Talk

From the juicy pulp to the zesty peel, lemons balance the flavors of both sweet and savory dishes, adding acidity and brightness to just about every meal. It is one of the most essential ingredients for novice cooks and professional chefs alike. Acclaimed food writer Ruth Reichl discusses why lemons are always a staple in her pantry, the "magical properties" of lemons and why she prefers organic l...

Pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz is passionate about vanilla – where it comes from, how it’s made and its versatility. She was nominated for three James Beard awards as the former executive pastry chef at New York City’s Flora Bar and Café Altro Paradiso and now runs her own pop-up called Never Ending Taste. She opens up about the impact her Chinese heritage has on her baking and the opportunities th...

Ice cream aficionado Hallie Meyer, founder of New York City's Caffè Panna, is serving ice cream with a twist using some of the best Italian and local ingredients available. She shares where her obsession with panna comes from, opens up about her secret panna source, details her experiences tasting panna at all of the gelaterie across Italy, and explains the difference between ice cream and gelato....

Oregano is often considered an underrated ingredient despite people using it for thousands of years to add flavor to dishes and to treat health conditions. Houston-based chef Sasha Grumman reveals why oregano is the secret ingredient to her focaccia bread, Sasha's Focaccia, and key to her cooking based on her Italian roots and experience competing on Bravo's Top Chef. The Chefs' Warehouse spice ex...

Eric Greenspan aka Chef Greeny is a self-described creator and curator of delicious – and he knows a thing or two about burgers as a partner behind MrBeast Burger and acclaimed chef of Los Angeles restaurants The Foundry and Patina. He is leading the charge in “ghost kitchens” through his Virtual Dining Concepts and embarking on another project to create a premium American cheese called “New Schoo...

Chef and restaurateur Doug Psaltis of Chicago's Andros Taverna opens up about his heritage and passion for Greek cuisine and the versatility Greek olive oil plays in his cooking. He shares his experiences using different olive oils in some of the world's most prestigious kitchens with chefs like Alain Ducasse in New York City and Monaco to Thomas Keller in San Francisco. ILIADA, a multi-awarded ol...

Acclaimed chef Missy Robbins of Lilia and Misi restaurants in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, shares her affinity for ricotta cheese, produced by Calabro, and her many dishes inspired by the ingredient. She also opens up about her background specializing in Italian cuisine, her storied career from executive chef at Spiaggia in Chicago to A Voce in New York City, and launching MP, her very own specialty fo...

Kelp, a type of edible seaweed, is starting to catch on as more chefs are incorporating the ingredient on their menus. Groundbreaking chef Victoria Blamey opens up about her creativity with the nutrient-rich saltwater vegetable and how her Chilean roots have inspired her to include the superfood ingredient in many of her dishes. Brianna Warner, CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms, the first commercially via...

Dan Richer, Chef & Owner of Razza Pizza Artigianal, details the art of tomatoes and how the ingredient is key to pizza making. He breaks down the variation among tomatoes from California to Italy and the several components he looks for when tasting tomatoes: color, viscosity, texture, seeds and skins, quantity, positive flavor attributes, negative flavor attributes, acidity and sweetness. Kim...

Christian Petroni, chef and TV personality, shares his love for parmesan cheese, what he refers to as the "undisputed king of cheese." He walks through its flexibility and versatility, from grating and microplaning to shaving and slicing. Giacomo Veraldi, CEO of Ambrosi Food USA, a leading parmesan cheese producer and importer, details the history of the cheese, the aging process and color profile...

Award-winning chef Nancy Silverton of Mozza Restaurant Group joins from her restaurant kitchen to talk all things mozzarella and shares some of her favorite recipes with the ingredient. Stefano Bruno of di Stefano Cheese, a family-owned​ dairy company in Southern California, reflects on their tradition and passion for making cheese and the introduction of burrata to chefs in the United States, inc...

Self-described ramen junkie Ivan Orkin, owner of Ivan Ramen, shares the philosophy of the ramen noodle – from falling in love with the ramen noodle in Tokyo, Japan to opening up his famed slurp shop in New York City. Sun Noodle President Kenshiro Uki talks about the noodle company's relationship with chefs like Orkin, the art and soul of making fresh ramen noodles and the company’s fascinating fam...

Inside the minds of the world’s top chefs and the ingredients that inspire them in the kitchen. Join The Chefs’ Warehouse’s John Magazino and Andrea Parkins on a culinary journey with leading food makers. In partnership with The Chefs' Warehouse, a specialty food distributor that has been purveying high-quality artisan ingredients to chefs for over 30 years @wherechefsshop. Produced by HayNow Medi...