Inspirational Chefs

Who are some chefs that has inspired you to cook better food?

I have no formal training and only watched my parents cook as I grew up. They were big on cooking and we rarely went out to eat. In the last few years, I suddenly had interest in French cuisine and looked to Thomas Keller's books and started to learn cook through Bouchon, Ad Hoc at Home, and the French Laundry (mostly through Bouchon). A few others that I really enjoy cooking through their recipes are Eric Ripert, Jacques Pepin, and Charlie Trotter.

Welcome, jlee. You sound like an accomplished cook indeed. I can't say that I've ever cooked in those stratospheric realms, but I can make a credible version of Jacques Pepin's mother's Tarte Tatin.

My early influences (as a child cook) were from a fictional character, Betty Crocker. Next, the Time Life International series and the Ladies' magazines, like Ladies' Home Journal, where I learned to pay attention when someone told me a recipe was their most cherished. It was there that I found a recipe for Rachel's Mother's 7-layer Sour Cream Torte which remains in my memory as one of the best desserts I ever ate - or baked. As a teenager, I received from my aunt the 2 volume Mastering the Art of French Cooking from Child, Bertholle and Beck. This is almost all I have ever learned about technique. As a bride in the 80's, I found inspiration in the pages of Pleasures of Cooking, the magazine published by Cuisinart. It featured lots of names. Pepin and Perla Meyers and Abby Mandel come to mind, but some of my favorite recipes, like a Tarte Bourdalou and Bird Seed Cookies, were from readers. I took a class from Madeleine Kamman once, and though she did not seem to be a pleasant person, her clear discussion of building a sauce, and concepts like liaison have inspired me and prevented many foolish mistakes. A favorite book from that era is also Camille Glenn's Heritage of Southern Cooking and The Yankee Magazine's New England Cookbook edited by Wolcott. Paula Wolfert's explorations of Moroccan cooking have also inspired me. Giuliano Buggiali's wonderful historical perspectives add a lot to his recipes, which always turn out. Rose Levy Berenbaum has given me confidence as a baker and solved many problems for me. More recently, I have been learning more technique from Judy Rodgers and David Chang and enjoying April Bloomfield and Naomi Duguid.

Another source of inspiration is John Thorne, who is not a chef, but a home cook. The way he cooks and what he writes about his experiences cooking puts things into words that no one else has been able to do quite as well.

When I was young, The Frugal Gourmet made cooking funny and approachable, in ways that Julia Child or the Galloping Gourmet just didn't connect with me.

From the early days of FoodTV, Mario Batali's show was always more about how to think about food preparation, rather than a list of ingredients and steps -- definitely an inspiration. Alton Brown, while not a chef, was also inspirational.

Over on PBS, while I love his food, Rick Bayless' early shows were nearly unwatchable. He's improved, but his shows still don't inspire. Ming Tsai, on the other hand, is still one of the best food presenters on TV, and does a lot to help think about coming up with recipes.

When it comes to cookbooks, I'd much rather have a chef's cookbook than a cuisine-oriented one. Hazan for Italian, Dunlop for Chinese, Thomson for Thai all are insightful on how to explore a cuisine, while still giving a personal approach (Thomson less than the others -- that book is too encyclopedic to be personal). David Chang's Momofuku and Ottolenghi and Tamimi's Jerusalem are more recent books whose content leads to improvisation and exploration, which is what I like best about cooking.

Ottolenghi in the Guardian series and Plenty, Ferber as the Goddess of Confiture, and hands down, my favorite non-chef, although I think he is formally trained, is Chris Kimball. He reminds me that simple, everyday food can be extraordinary.

pairs4life wrote:[...]and hands down, my favorite non-chef, although I think he is formally trained, is Chris Kimball. He reminds me that simple, everyday food can be extraordinary.

I totally second this! I started watching the show on PBS when started getting more serious about cooking in my early 20s. He really inspired me. Another for me along that same vein is Alton Brown. I started watching him around that same time and I loved his scientific approach to cooking. That sort of thinking appealed to the science-y part of my brain.

Yan's knifework and simplicity.
Bayless's sauces. REALLY love his sauces.
Flay's attitude.