Five Rules for the Good Life Podcast

Darin Bresnitz
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Five rules for the good life and other tips for living well as told by those who made it their business to do so. fiverules.substack.com

  1. vor 9 Std.

    Greg Baxtrom

    Greg's Five Rules for Getting Your Life Back on Track Greg Baxtrom is the chef and owner of 5 Acres in Rockefeller Center and the author of Nothing Matters but Delicious: A Radically Honest Cookbook about food, alcoholism, recovery, and rebuilding a life. In this deeply personal conversation, Greg shares his Five Rules for Getting Your Life Back on Track. Together, we talk about the long road to sobriety, the daily work of becoming reliable again, and how cooking helped him begin accumulating the days that eventually became a new life. These conversations are important because no one should have to struggle alone. Hearing Greg speak so openly about his lowest moments, the people who helped him, and the work he continues to do offers more than hope—it reveals a path forward. Recovery does not happen all at once, and it does not always move in a straight line. Sometimes it begins with telling the truth, asking for help, or simply doing the one thing you said you would do that day. Wherever you are in that process, be patient and kind to yourself. You are not alone, and change is possible. Introduction Hello and welcome to Five Rules for the Good Life. I’m your host, Darin Bresnitz. Today, I’m chatting with Greg Baxtrom, the chef and owner at Five Acres in Rockefeller Center, and the author of Nothing Matters but Delicious, a radically honest cookbook, out now on 10 Speed Press. He’s here to share his five rules for getting your life back on track. He talks about the importance of telling the truth, the necessity of building a routine you can actually keep, and that by being patient and kind to yourself is the key to real change. This conversation, along with his cookbook, are deep explorations of Greg’s struggle with alcoholism, his journey through recovery, and how he’s put his life back together. It is a great conversation for anyone who is going through similar struggles or for anyone looking for a insight to understand those who are. So let’s get into the rules here on HRN. Greg, so good to see you. Opening Congratulations on the book and Five Acres. Thanks for making time for the show. Yeah, thanks for having me. I appreciate it. I love the book and it starts off with a very powerful introduction where you talk about living your life in two unequal parts. How much has the concept of balance played a part in your life? I mean, there was none until recently. Sure. Even now, I’m not that great at it. I mean, I’m pretty great at being sober. I don’t have near misses and stuff, but I’m probably on day 55 straight of no days off. Right. Still a work in progress. I take things like going to bed at a specific time. I try to be in bed by 10 o’clock every day. It’s pretty good. I try to wake up and have a coffee. I still have some non-negotiables, but there are ones that get tossed out the window still. I’ll go through a phase of like, now I’m vegan and I’m starting off with a five-day fast and I’m signing up for my trainer. Yeah. So that lasts like four days. And right now I haven’t really been going to the gym because I’ve been coming here every day to just kind of make this new thing land well and represent what we try to do. Yeah. You know, I prioritize my family more. I also just go to Chicago more. I wouldn’t even consider going for a holiday in the past. And now I try to go home for birthdays. I prioritize that a little bit more. A cookbook like yours, nothing matters but delicious, usually comes out as a celebratory, usually four or five-year mark of a restaurant, which was Olmstead. You closed the restaurant last year. The book just came out and a lot of what delayed the book was life happening around it. How do you feel about its release now? It was hard for me to even write the book in the first place. I eventually became acquainted and friendly with Joshua David Stein. And I had other avenues to go down. There were big publishers that wanted a great big Olmstead book. They would make it as beautiful as I wanted and as cheffy as I wanted. Yeah. I was basically told it wouldn’t sell but it would look pretty. Sure. As vain and egotistical as I am to have a nice pretty book, I really didn’t want to do something that from the get-go wouldn’t be even attempt to be successful. I’m dyslexic and I have ADHD. It took Josh to literally lay on my couch while I just talked and cooked and would just type as I was doing stuff. Yeah. I wanted it to be accessible. Yes, there’s some Olmstead stuff in there. A lot of the recipes are when I went to rehab the second time because the first time it didn’t really take. There was no getting another shot. I woke up at eight. I walked my dog, got my juice. Right. I made my coffee and I went to the farmer’s market as often as I could to make just enough food for myself that night. I was just accumulating days. So a lot of the recipes in the book are just what I cooked to get to 90 days. Many people would not open a cookbook so honestly with tales of their own addictions and their lows battling alcoholism, let alone shape the recipes and stories within these pages. Why did you want this to be a fundamental of the book which you call a radically honest cookbook? I don’t want bipolar sober chef on my tombstone. I don’t want to be remembered for that. I dedicated 20-25 years to doing this thing. I still love it, but I unraveled. I wanted to be on solid ground again through instructions from my doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists. I had been documenting my time in rehab the first time and then the second time. I have a first-hand 20-30 page document of basically what it was like getting sober that I’ve never really done anything with and I just took a chunk of it out and I decided to put that into the book. I wanted to move on. I’m not afraid of doing the work of getting sober, becoming reliable again. I’m all for that. I just want to set the tone again. Hopefully, I can get back to, okay, Greg’s back to being reliable and talented. The fact that you are willing to put in the work, the fact that you have the opportunity to do so, the fact that you’ve been so honest about it makes me so excited for you to share your five rules for getting your life back on track. Rule One: Tell the Truth In the introduction, you lean into what it was like to go home into Chicago, to having to start lying about what you were doing with your life and how you’re spending your time. Yeah. Your first rule talks about the importance of moving in the other direction. What’s your rule number one? You gotta just tell the truth. At that point, I knew I was a mess and I knew I was a drunk and I was miserable and lonely and sad and suicidal, but no one really knew that. People just saw that I was drinking more. Yeah. I would hide in the employee bathroom and drink. I felt like I was still involved in there and around the people that I liked and admired and so when I went to Chicago, I think my parents just sort of and my family assumed I was stressed and drinking. Eventually, I got a DUI and my father came and picked me up. I jumped out of the moving car. Wow. I’m named after my dad’s brother who got hit by a drunk driver. Yeah. I was so uncomfortable and miserable. Sure. The next day, my sister finds me and she’s like, look, I don’t think this is just run-of-the-mill hereditary alcoholism. I think there’s something else there. I think you should go to the hospital, not just straight to rehab again. That was the first time that I felt hope. I was miserable. I didn’t want to be this way. I knew there was a problem from the get-go and I didn’t want it. That doctor and a team of people were like, you’re on all the wrong medication. Basically, we believe you’re bipolar and we need to put you on all new medication. Yeah. From there, once I was on all the new medication, then I was transferred to a different type of rehab. The property was so big, they didn’t even care if you left to go camping for a couple of days because you weren’t going to go anywhere. There was just thousands of acres. I got to be out in nature while accumulating those first couple of days being sober. With that opening up, there was a woman in my life who really took care of me, who happened to be a nurse. Then, there was also my sister who’s a doctor. Without them, for sure, I would not be here right now. Rule Two: Accept That You Don’t Have All the Answers Going through all of that, having to look inwards sometimes can be a very hard awakening, but it does lead you to accept that you don’t have this, which is your rule number two. My rule number two is to accept that you don’t have all the answers. I am a reliable person when I’m not a drunk. My intentions are good. In the very beginning, you’re like, you just need to be 30 days sober, and then you’ll be able to recalibrate and go back to a beer a day. Eventually, you break down. You go, okay, it’s three months, and then it’s six months, and then it’s a year. It’s a long time before you go, okay, fine. I get it. I won’t be able to drink again. I went to Smart Recovery, Wellbriety, NA, AA. I just wanted to be fixed, and I was willing to do it. Rule Three: Get Professional Help The more you can be honest and open up, some people, how they’re communicating to you is going to click. Once you’ve accepted that you don’t have all the answers and you start listening to other people in your life and build a support system, that’s really important on a personal level. At the end of the day, your rule number three talks about looking to these other types of people for guidance. What’s your third rule? Getting professional help. The people in my life tried their best. Everybody was for me going to AA meetings, for me getting a psychiatrist, but the sadness in me was not going away, though. I didn’t want to exist anymore. It required consistent medical observation. Even whe

    Greg Baxtrom

  2. 20. Juli

    Ji Hye Kim

    Ji Hye's Five Rules for How to Make a Delicious Korean Meal at Home For many home cooks, Korean food is something they love to eat but feel intimidated to make. In this episode, Ji Hye Kim, the chef, owner, and managing partner of Miss Kim and Little Kim in Ann Arbor, shares her Five Rules How to Make a Delicious Korean Meal at Home. She talks about making the cooking feel approachable without stripping away what makes it special. From building a thoughtful pantry to understanding the role of banchan, the stories behind iconic dishes, and ultimately finding the confidence to make them your own, Ji Hye offers a roadmap that is as practical as it is inspiring. Whether you’re making your first batch of tteokbokki or simply looking to bring new flavors into your kitchen, these are lessons that will stay with you long after dinner is over. I love this episode because it reminds me that learning something new almost always begins with a little uncertainty. Picking up an unfamiliar cuisine asks you to invest your time, your curiosity, and yes, a little money as you stock a new pantry or hunt down ingredients you’ve never used before. But the return on that investment lasts a lifetime. Once you understand the flavors, the techniques, and the stories behind a cuisine, they become part of the way you cook, the way you think, and the way you see the world. Every new dish becomes another connection to another culture, and every meal you make afterward is a little richer because you were willing to take that first step. Five Rules for the Good Life with Ji Hye Kim How to Make a Delicious Korean Meal at Home Hello and welcome to Five Rules for the Good Life. I’m your host, Darin Bresnitz. Today, I’m in Ann Arbor, Michigan, chatting with Ji Hye Kim, who is the chef, owner, and managing partner of Miss Kim and Little Kim. She’s here to share her five rules for how to make a delicious Korean meal at home. She talks about the importance of putting together an essential Korean ingredient pantry, that understanding the essence of a dish elevates what you want to make, and with enough practice, you can make any Korean dish your own. It is a great conversation for anyone who’s wanted to cook more Korean food at home or has been enticed to introduce new flavors to their cooking at large. So let’s get into the rules here on HRN. Growing Up in Seoul Ji Hye, so nice to meet you all the way from Ann Arbor. I appreciate you taking the time to chat with me for the show. I am so excited to be here. Thanks for having me. You were born and raised in Seoul. What are some of the dishes from your childhood that still ground you today? Oh my god, so many because my mom was the best cook in the family and that reputation has not changed even now. Even with your own restaurant? No, absolutely not. I cannot take the title from her. She is still the absolutely the best and she cooked everything from scratch. But what I remember is tteokbokki. It’s the quintessential Korean street food. My mom forbade me from eating it because she called it a delinquent food which made me want it more. Of course. I remember sneaking out milk boxes and trading it with the street vendor and eating it behind my mom’s back and then coming home for a full Korean meal. That really stayed with me because it was the first independent decision I made about the food. I now have three or four different kinds of tteokbokki on rotation at my restaurant at Miss Kim at any given moment. Those original food memories and adventures always stick with you. Yeah. You wound up leaving Seoul and eventually landing in Ann Arbor, getting into the food world through Zingerman’s. Correct. What surprised you the most about the culinary offerings of the Midwest? The amazing array of vegetables. It’s not necessarily the same vegetables that I would have used if I lived in There are enough similarities and it actually pushes you to be more creative. Taking what my mother and my ancestors gave me and adapt that with my neighbor farmer’s beets or Jerusalem artichoke or lots of corn. And that’s actually been really fun marrying that together. You opened up your first restaurant Miss Kim in 2016 in partnership with Zingerman’s. How did you want to bring your two worlds together from what you grew up eating with in Seoul and what you discovered in the farms of the Midwest? I had an office job after graduating. I just found it incredibly not inspiring. Sure. I took a huge pay cut on nothing but a gut feeling. I started working for Zingerman’s and it’s known for Jewish Reuben sandwiches. Yes. What I loved was the cheese I told everybody I got cheese for a living. It really stayed with me because I would meet a Basque cheese maker who had me taste their one cheese that’s made in different season or age different month. Really learn about traditional food making and it started having me really wonder what it would be like if I dug in the same way with Korean food. Really connected with artisans or gave that much thought to the dishes origin story. That’s how I started looking at Korean food more professionally than just a casual eater. From what my parents gave me. From there it slowly morphed into a desire to bring my Korean upbringing and putting roots in Midwestern soil and bring my Korean food to Ann Arbor. There were Korean food in Ann Arbor before. I love that you wanted to bring your approach to Korean food to Ann Arbor both in the restaurant and educating people about their favorite dishes and what goes into it which is why I’m so excited for you to share your five rules on how to make a delicious Korean meal at home. Yeah. Rule #1: Build a Great Korean Pantry A lot of the times when you get into a new cultures culinary practices you start by trying to substitute what you already have at home with the ingredients that are listed in the recipe. Absolutely. And while you might not want to go out and replace everything it is important that you do get a good foundation which ties directly into your rule number one. You have to rely on a great basic pantry items for Korean food. Those are soy sauces, doenjang which is soy paste, gochujang which is chili paste. Those three sauces are often known as Korean mother sauces. Gochugaru which is chili flakes, sesame seed, and sesame oil. Those are the must-haves that’s difficult to substitute. Once you get kind of used to you can level up and bring in Korean fish sauces or fermented shrimp or fermented plum syrup, perilla oil, perilla seeds. But you need to at least have the basic pantries that will get you through majority of dishes that you want to try if you’re a first-time Korean food maker. Rule #2: Find the Korean Equivalent If you are making Korean food for the first time you could get very intimidated by looking at all these dishes and thinking that you have no reference point. But when you dig down you start to see that many dishes from Korea have similar counterparts in America. Understanding that relationship makes up your rule number two. It’s the details that makes us different but we eat really similarly if you look at the bigger picture. Korean food have kalguksu which means knife cut noodles. Italians have tali-tali which is cut noodles. If you’re really comfortable grilling start with Korean barbecue. If you are comfortable with braising there is galbijjim or whole array of Korean stews that you can go with. Don’t start with 50 heads of napa cabbage and into a gigantic batch of napa kimchi because even if you succeed you still cannot make a whole meal out of just kimchi anyway. Rule #3: Understand the Korean Table When cooking Korean food there are some fundamentals to each of the dish when it comes to flavor and how you approach them. Every culture has this. Korean food has its own unique approach as well which is your rule number three. You have to understand how Korean table works. A typical Korean table would include rice. Some main dishes like galbi which would be a meat-based dish or soups and stews. The most important thing that rounds everything out is an array of banchan. Banchan is often translated as side dish but it’s so much more. So much more. It’s the best. I can just make a meal out of banchan and rice even. Same. Those are oftentimes many different kind of kimchi, many kind of pickle, fried egg or a little fried fish or many different kinds. You cannot just have rice and beef because that’s off balance for a Korean table. You need to have some sort of acidity. Because Korean table is almost set up like choose your own adventure with banchan and has so much faith in the eater. The eater decides I’m going to eat a little rice with the lettuce wrap and the sauce then I’m definitely going to have kimchi because kimchi is a must-have. If you don’t want to make 12 different kind of banchan and a gigantic Korean You just need to remember not to skip acidity and not to skip some fresh crunch. Rule #4: Understand the Dish Knowing the rules of the flavor is one thing but all these dishes take on a deeper meaning when you understand their origins which makes up your rule number four. You have to understand the dish. You have to understand the story behind the dish and how it has evolved. Yeah. That will actually make things more tasty. Yeah. It would make it more tasty for you to understand that K-pop demon hunters didn’t create tteokbokki. Tteokbokki was an existing dish that has a long history but it became a quintessential street food only in the 60s. If you know that there’s more intrigue to the dish and you will understand the soul of the dish better. More practical advice. You have the recipe. It’s not something you cooked before. Read it from top to bottom at least once. You follow the recipe just as it’s written at least once before you start going off of fusioning and I think that would be a good starting point. Rule #5: Put Your Own Stamp on It Onc

    Ji Hye Kim

  3. 13. Juli

    Breanne Kostyk

    Breanne's Five Rules for Making Sandwiches This week I’m joined by Breanne Kostyk, the co-owner and head baker of Flour Moon Bagels in New Orleans, to talk about her Five Rules for Making Sandwiches. From choosing great bread and never settling for a dry sandwich to building texture, height, and balance into every bite, Breanne breaks down what separates a forgettable lunch from one you’ll think about for the rest of the day. Whether you’re packing a picnic, heading to the beach, or just making lunch at home, this conversation is a reminder that even the simplest foods deserve care and attention. I’ve always believed there’s an art to making a great sandwich. It isn’t just about stacking ingredients between two slices of bread—it’s about creating something that feels complete. Every choice matters: the bread, the crunch, the sauce, the balance of salt, acid, fat, and freshness. A great sandwich can be comforting, nostalgic, and deeply satisfying all at once. Breanne approaches sandwiches with the same level of craft that a chef brings to a composed plate, and I love that philosophy. It reminds us that everyday cooking is full of opportunities to make something thoughtful, generous, and memorable. Introduction Hello, and welcome to Five Rules for the Good Life. I’m your host, Darin Bresnitz. Today, I’m down in the Big Easy talking shop with Breanne Kostyk, the co-owner and head baker of Flour Moon Bagels. She shares her five rules for making sandwiches. She talks about the importance of choosing good quality bread, how there is nothing worse than a dry sandwich, and that by building for height and balancing flavors, you’ll be able to craft the perfect sandwich anytime you step into the kitchen. It’s a great conversation for the summertime. If you’re packing a picnic or out on the road and you want to bring your own food, there is nothing better than a homemade sandwich. So let’s get into the rules here on HRN. Breanne, it is so nice to meet you. Thank you for taking some time out of your busy baking schedule. Welcome to Five Rules. Yeah, thank you so much for having me, Darin. I’m really excited to be here with you. There is something so personal about a sandwich. Why does almost everyone have such a deep relationship with them? Sandwiches are so nostalgic. They’re the first thing your mom packs in your lunchbox going to school, your summer vacations on the beach, and just having a sandwich packed in the cooler for you after a day of swimming. What I love about sandwiches is it’s everything within the bread. It’s the whole meal in one handheld bite. New York is arguably America’s launching point for bagels and the bagel sandwich. What makes this form of bread such a perfect delivery system for a sando? A bagel has that crunchy exterior and the chewiness is really something you can sink your teeth into, which is really satisfying. You can fill it with anything. Any possibilities—not just cream cheese and salmon—but we really take it to that lunch sandwich that you would like. When you started Flour Moon Bagels in New Orleans, why did you want to bring the New York-inspired style to the city? I grew up in Connecticut, I went to school in New York, and I ended up moving south after the recession. I’ve been there. I ended up in the South, so I really missed that bagel that I used to get right down the street from my campus. I had been a fine dining pastry chef for ten years prior to starting Flour Moon Bagels. I worked for the Ace Hotel in New Orleans. There, I started experimenting with bagel recipes. Over the years, that recipe evolved. I just wanted to keep on improving it. We had so many visitors from out of town, specifically New York, and they were just surprised that this hotel bagel was actually really good. The fact that you have been able to develop a New York-style bagel that impresses New Yorkers is nothing short of incredible, which makes me so excited for you. That dedication to perfecting that bagel style really shows your dedication to the craft and ties directly into your first rule. Rule #1: Choose Good Quality Bread What’s your rule number one? Rule number one: choose good quality bread. Pick something up from your local bakery. You want something super, super fresh. If you get something just at the grocery store, you don’t know how long ago that was made or how long it’s been sitting on the shelves. I really love nice focaccia, something really hearty, rustic sourdough, bagels, or baguettes. Something that, when you bite into it, bounces back in your mouth. Something also with a nice crumb to it because then it’ll soak up everything—all that flavor in your sandwich. Having great bread is the foundation of a great sandwich, but I can sometimes forgive bad bread and sometimes I can ignore less-than-quality turkey. What I can’t excuse is a dry sandwich, which is a big part of your rule number two. Rule #2: A Sauce Is Mandatory Rule number two: a sauce is mandatory. Full stop. Nobody likes a dry sandwich. Mayonnaise, aioli, mustards, olive oil—there are just so many possibilities that you can add to your sandwich to give it flavor and make it not dry. You can get creative. You can do salsa verdes. I really like jams or mostardas, especially with really salty Italian meat. I think that’s one of my favorite go-to combos. Love it. That’s one of my formulas if I’m running specials: salty meat and something sweet and acidic. I just love that. I would say one to two sauces are great, but once you hit three, your sandwich might get a little too wet. Dry is a shonda. Soggy is a crime because that could have been prevented. You talk about flavors that play off each other—salty and sweet—and this idea of mixing different types of elements in a sandwich is a great way to make a successful one. That brings us to your third rule. Rule #3: Add Texture Rule number three: add textures to your sandwich. You want crunchy, hearty greens. If you’re putting veggies on that sandwich, I recommend slicing them thick so they have a little bit of crunch. I love anything pickled. Just your standard pickle. Pickled hot peppers are really delicious. Then you can also get crunch with bacon. We all are familiar with adding potato chips to a sandwich, which is pretty classic, but you can even think beyond the chips. Maybe it’s crispy shallots. We recently ran a special that was a pork roulade, and we put crunchy chicharrones all crushed up on there. It just adds a little bit extra. Once you’ve landed on the elements you want for your sandwich, understanding how to physically lay everything out is quite the art, which ties directly into your rule number four. Rule #4: Add Height Rule number four: add height to your sandwich. Make it visually appealing. I have this theory that if I’ve eaten too much and I need to digest my food, I scroll Instagram and I look at pictures of food. It makes me think that I’m hungry. You want to fold your meat and stack it so that visually it’s layered higher. Then stack it with some colorful items too. You don’t want just beige on beige. You don’t want just turkey and white cheese. Add vegetables that have color to them. Color and height—you look at that, and that’s really appetizing to me. Once you understand all the fundamentals—the bread, the sauces, the contrasting textures, the layering of the sandwich—you’ve really started to master everything that goes into making the perfect sandwich. Your fifth and final rule deals with something that people actually forget, but this core fundamental is something you should never ignore when making the perfect sandwich. Rule #5: Create a Balance of Flavors What’s your rule number five? Rule number five: create a balance of your flavors. Yes—salt, fat, acid, umami, sometimes heat or sweet, maybe combining the heat and the sweet. A sandwich should really be a vessel to hit all of those notes that you crave and leave you wanting nothing more after you’ve eaten that sandwich. Closing Breanne, thank you so much for sharing your five rules for making sandwiches. If people want to visit Flour Moon Bagels, learn more about what you’re making, or check out what I assume are daily sandwich specials posted to Instagram, where can they go? How can they see what you’re up to? Yeah, you can visit us at @fllourmoonbagels on Instagram. If you’re in New Orleans—I know it’s not a po’boy, it’s not a beignet—but we’ve got some great bagels in New Orleans. If you’re down here, please stop and visit us. Amazing. Well, I can’t wait to swing through New Orleans and grab a bagel the next time I’m in town. All right, thank you. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Breanne Kostyk

  4. 6. Juli

    Trinity Mouzon Wofford

    Trinity’s Five Rules for Eating Well on a Budget This week I’m joined by Trinity Mouzon Wofford, the co-founder and CEO of Golde and author of Eating at Home: The Nourishing Practice of Everyday Cooking. Trinity shares her Five Rules for Eating Well on a Budget, from rethinking the farmer’s market and building a produce pantry at home, to embracing the bulk aisle, and making meals something to share. It’s a conversation that reminds us that cooking well isn’t about spending more, it’s about paying attention, building habits, and finding joy in the everyday rituals that nourish both ourselves and the people around us. I’ve believed for a long time that money isn’t the best measure of abundance in the kitchen. Some of the most memorable meals I’ve ever shared were built from simple ingredients, thoughtful planning, and the desire to make sure everyone left the table feeling cared for. Trinity’s rules reinforce something I’ve come to appreciate over years of cooking and hosting: generosity isn’t about extravagance. It’s about effort, about taking the time to cook for someone else, pulling up another chair, stretching what’s in the pot just a little farther, and discovering that the richest meals are often the ones made with the greatest intention. Introduction Hello and welcome to five rules for the good life I’m your host Darin Bresnitz today I’m joined by Trinity Mouzon Wofford who is the co-founder and CEO of Golde and whose new cookbook eating at home the nourishing practice of everyday cooking is one of my favorite cookbooks of the season she’s here to share her five rules for eating well on a budget she talks about the importance of not side eyeing the farmers market that by building your own produce pantry will allow you to put affordable recipes and that by joining together around the table is not only a way to save money but will enrich your life overall it’s a fantastic conversation for anyone who’s looking to get more out of their dollars at the markets and to also support the local community at the same time so let’s get into the rules here on HRN Trinity it is so nice to meet you thank you for coming to us all the way from hudson valley appreciate you making the time to be on the show thanks darren I’m excited to talk some rules yes you have had a long career as a writer what drew you into the food world specifically I think I’ve always identified romantically as being a writer but the core of a lot of my work has been on the entrepreneurial side building a brand sure the book came about I mean I’ve always been involved in this health and wellness world through Golde and so that edible side of it was there I was pregnant with my first kid I was in the depths of running my business and I wasn’t a professional chef but why did any of that stop you from running your first cookbook it almost did the woman who ended up being my agent I think that I came to her and said I really don’t think it’s a good time but funnily enough I trusted her faith in my vision rather than saying no or diving all the way in I kind of just kept taking the next step and the next step and I wouldn’t say it was a before you know it because the whole thing took four years of course before I knew it there was a book writing your first cookbook Starting your own business getting started as a writer all of the early points of any of those endeavors notoriously do not pay well but that doesn’t mean you have to eat poorly right what do you remember of those early days and those early dishes that you cooked at home from that scrappy time in your life I was in my early 20s when I started my business I co-founded it with my now husband shout out we’re high school sweethearts so it’s been codependent for a really long time we didn’t have a lot of funds to go around I was at this time pulling out forty dollars a week in grocery budget sure I actually found that my dollars went a lot further when I skipped the supermarket and went straight to the union square farm where I could go direct to farmers that also helped to inform a more seasonal way of eating most of the time lunch was rice with a pickled red cabbage on top over and over again like it’s spring so there’s turnips a lot of it was this very simple food that was also deeply comforting deeply nourishing and pretty friendly to a tight budget Just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you don’t have to eat well and that you don’t have stories to tell and that is very true in your first book eating at home the nourishing practice of everyday cooking given that it was a multi-year journey to write this and you had your business and your baby there was so much life to fit into this book how did you narrow down the stories and recipes you wanted to share the recipes are all mine and my husband issei’s home recipes beautiful so a lot of it was really issei and I writing down and collecting what our meals were on any given week the sunday pancakes or the lunches which are still usually rice with vegetables the first idea for the book was okay well we’re going to talk about how to eat well according to trinity founder of Golde right the first things that I was coming up with were eat more locally make a ritual of visiting your farmers markets etc and the response that I would get as I started to put those ideas together was this is very nice it’s a process it’s about chiseling the thing out of the stone right yes the response tended to be people are busy yep what can they do that’s a little bit more realistic I knew we were all busy and yet I think that’s really the reason why we need more home cooking than ever yes we are simultaneously living at a time where we’re so aware of meditation and exercise and all of these practices to be more we know that we’re stressed we’re going to therapy yes one of the things that has helped me the most in feeling more grounded in the moment is cooking sitting down to a meal is even grocery shopping with my family in a way that isn’t like let me get this over with Seeing how you practice what you preach when it comes to cooking and living that life I am so excited for you to be sharing your five rules for eating well on a budget just because you don’t have a lot of money to spend doesn’t mean you can’t spend it smartly and support your local community Rule #1: Don’t Side-Eye the Farmer’s Market Which ties into your rule number one rule number one is don’t side eye the farmer’s market I have been on a tear with this when I was talking about the book I would say oh the farmer’s market and it was like oh the farmer’s market your basket your tote bag the farmer’s market trips people up because for the most part they get stuck on the strawberries yes they’re like oh my god 14 a pint I can’t afford to eat here this is ridiculous you’re missing the hard-working produce you’re messing the turnips you’re mixing the rutabagas you’re missing the kale the potatoes that stuff is not on average any more expensive than you’ll find at the supermarket so often we feel like the sky is falling and there’s nothing we can do except vote and pray but like one other thing that you could do hear me out on this is you can find small opportunities to funnel your dollars into more direct localized economies that does not have to mean all of a sudden going full barter it could just mean getting your potatoes from once you start buying this produce you will understand how much you can physically get for the money that you spend so much so that you might get overwhelmed by how much you’re bringing home but having Rule #2: Build a Produce Pantry of Always-There Staples Rule number two is build a produce pantry of always their staples one of the things that freaks people out the most about cooking from scratch is they buy some vegetables and then they open up their fridge and it’s 5 30 pm and everyone’s already hungry and they have no idea what to do with a cauliflower or how to combine it with whatever they’ve got sure you get better at that the more you cook but the secret to accelerating the pace is to just buy the yes there’s a lot of produce whether it’s leafy greens or it’s just things that store really well that are going to be available nearly year-round you can build out a habit of buying them again and again so you can sprinkle in the fun little seasonal things try something new but ideally when you’re opening up the fridge and trying to figure out what to cook you’re not staring down a whole bunch of stuff that you’ve never cooked before this idea of creating a familiar supermarket or pantry within your house does come with practice both in figuring out your preferences in what you eat and what you like to cook once you’ve discovered what works for you heading through this Rule #3: Venture Into the Bulk Aisle Section of any supermarket makes up your rule number three rule number three venture into the bulk aisle this took me a really long time interesting I am a fairly new convert to the bulk aisle most of what you’re paying for and I can say this with confidence because as an entrepreneur in the consumer product space it really is this way most of what you’re paying for when you buy a food product is packaging if you can bypass the cost of somebody siphoning off your almonds into a nice little packet and the cost of the packaging itself you can save a whole lot of money on your grocery bill so what I buy in bulk right now now are popping corn kernels and I make popcorn myself right there with you oh my god you don’t have to spend seven dollars on chips anymore cooking oils vinegars that great machine where they grind the peanut butter for you when you press the button that’s joyful instant whimsy you also organize things into your own jars etc and it makes it a lot neater and easier to have all of your stuff in t

    Trinity Mouzon Wofford

  5. 29. Juni

    Renata Ameni

    Renata’s Five Rules for Bringing Fine Dining to Everyday Baking This week, I sit down with Renata Ameni, executive pastry chef and partner at Birdee, to talk about bringing the mindset of fine dining into everyday baking. After spending years in some of the world’s most exacting kitchens, Renata shares her Five Rules for Bringing Fine Dining to Every Day Baking. She talks about one piece of equipment that is a must-have, how to set up your station for success, buy a scale, and to never overlook the power of a thoughtful garnish. Whether you’re baking your very first loaf of bread or trying to make your cakes, cookies, and pastries just a little bit better, these are practical lessons that will immediately change the way you approach the craft. One of the things I admire most about Renata is that she doesn’t see fine dining as something exclusive or unattainable. Instead, she treats it as a way of thinking. Precision isn’t about perfectionism; it’s about removing variables so your creativity has room to shine. The same discipline that helped her succeed at Eleven Madison Park and Saga now shows up in a neighborhood bakery where the goal is simple: make someone’s day a little better through a great pastry. It’s a reminder that excellence rarely comes from complicated techniques. More often, it’s the accumulation of small, intentional decisions repeated over and over again until they become second nature. Introduction Hello, and welcome to Five Rules for the Good Life. I’m your host, Darin Bresnitz. Today, I’m back in Greenpoint chatting with Renata Ameni, who is the executive pastry chef and partner at Birdee. She’s here to share her five rules for bringing fine dining to everyday baking, about the importance of having a scale at home, how choosing the right plateware elevates what you bake, and that by perfecting the balance of salt and acid, you’ll be able to level up your at-home baking game. It is incredible insights for someone who has baked at some of the highest levels of dining and a great guide for anyone who’s looking to try baking at home for the first time or for anyone who’s looking to raise their prowess. So let’s get into the rules here on HRN. From Brazil to Fine Dining Renata, so nice to meet you coming from my old stomping ground of Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Thanks for making the time to sit down and chat with me. Of course, thank you for having me. Brazil has such a rich tradition of pastries. What do you love about Brazilian baking culture that is different than French or Italian or any other parts of the world? First of all, it has a lot of eggs, has a lot of yolks because it comes from the Portuguese. So the Portuguese nuns, they use egg whites to starch their uniforms, so they had all these egg yolks leftover. So they start making sweets with that. I feel like in Brazil, the pastries, the sweets, they’re very easy to make. It’s very easy to make at home. It’s fast. You don’t need thousands of equipment or anything like that. So I think that this is great. Lessons from the World’s Best Kitchens You’ve worked at some of the highest upper echelons of fine dining, Jean-Georges, Eleven Madison Park, and Reisa. What mentality and what tips did you take away from those moments in your career? Those places changed my life. It was a lot about discipline, especially at Eleven Madison Park. The practice, like boring thing that you have to make every day, that really makes you better. The way that you approach your cooking, more than just sit down to eat, it’s the whole experience to make people feel that they’re special. Opening Birdee Pulling from your background from Brazil and baking there and working in these fine dining restaurants, you have now opened your first solo bakery, Birdee, in Williamsburg. When did you realize it was time to take flight on your own? What did you want to say? Working in restaurants, pastry chef always has to kind of adapt to what the savory chef is doing, right? Sure. I always had all the freedom at Crown Shy and Saga and everything that James would let me do anything. But still, you have to align with the kind of food that the restaurant serves. At one point, I’m like, I just want to be able to do my own thing. It’s not that I wasn’t. I really was. I just wanted not to be behind anyone’s shadow, which was really hard for me because then you kind of own the spotlight. Everything you make is on you. Can’t blame on anyone else. The Five Rules Rule #1: Get a Scale I am not a baker. I am much more comfortable as a savory chef. A lot of the times when you think about that type of cooking, you go more to these fine dining, high-end, Michelin-star type restaurants. What most people don’t realize is that you need to bring those same elements if you want to have that same type of success when you’re making baked goods, which is why I’m so excited for you to chat about your five rules for bringing fine dining to everyday baking. Now, when I got into bread, I got the first piece of equipment that you talk about and it changed everything. What’s your rule number one? Get a scale. Full stop. It’s the simplest thing. It doesn’t have to be a fancy scale or anything like that. You can get measuring spoons too. No. Just get the scale. It’s worth it. It’s a little investment. It’s going to really change the way you bake. It’s easier, you’re going to make less mistakes, and it’s going to be worth it. Rule #2: Have Your Mise en Place Ready Once you get a scale, once you know the exact weights, I have found that being prepared is another key part of baking. So being prepared in this way is a big part of rule number two. Have your, we call it in restaurants, mise en place. It’s going to be a huge problem. You’re going to have to do it all over again. And that’s what I tell my team. I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I still do it. I finish scaling things. I go back to the recipe and I kind of cross everything that is already scaled. You can always adjust to savory. When that bread is fully baked, there’s no putting salt back in. No, there’s not. And it depends on the bread you’re making. You have sourdough, whatever. It’s going to take you three days to be able to make that recipe again. Rule #3: Elevate Your Plateware Since I mostly make pizzas, I have either a cutting board or a metal pizza platter that I serve all my food on. Anytime I do anything else, I feel like the presentation is always lacking. Having these elements in your pantry makes up your rule number three. The plateware where you serve your food is going to matter because a lot of fine dining is the presentation. Have wooden boards or if you have a big platter, things that are really nice that you already have at home. It’s not like you have to go buy anything. Of course. Be creative. Sometimes you think you have this vintage stuff at home that was from your mom or your grandma. It’s going to elevate whatever you want. Rule #4: Garnishes Matter Once you have the pastry or the bread or whatever you baked on the plate, adding little flourishes can take what you’re making up to another level, which is your rule number four. Garnishes, they matter. If you’re making a cake, make a crumble. Put a little crumble on top. Put fresh fruits. If you’re able to buy microgreens and microflowers, they’re your best friends. It takes nothing. You don’t have to do anything. But if you put it on top, it already looks super elevated. Rule #5: Balance with Salt and Acid You’ve done the measuring. You’ve done the plating. But when you’re thinking about what goes into making an elevated fine dining type of baked good, pulling from the savory world makes up your fifth and final rule. What’s rule number five? Salt and acid. All the time. All the time. Always salt. And acid is super important, especially for cake. Put some acid in the frosting. It’s going to take something that is, “Oh, this is tasty,” to, “Oh my God, this is amazing.” I like this burnt honey cake that we make at Birdee. It’s very salty in a good way because there’s the burnt honey and you add the salt and it just brings you to a whole other level. I like to serve it with a very acidic strawberry sorbet. Where to Find Birdee Renata, if people want to see what you’re serving or check out what you’re doing or just come by the shop, where can they go? Come to Birdee at the Refinery at the Domino Building, and we’re there literally every day of the week. Amazing. Well, Renata, I cannot wait to swing in and grab some pastries. Something very sweet and something very sour. Thank you so much for having me. I hope to see you there soon. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Renata Ameni

  6. 22. Juni

    Joe Beddia

    Joe's Five Rules for Building a World for Yourself Joe Beddia didn’t just build one of the best pizzerias in America—he built a world. From the moment you walk down the alley and step through the door at Pizzeria Beddia, you can feel that every detail exists for a reason. In this episode, Joe shares his Five Rules for Building a World for Yourself, from finding work that genuinely inspires you to surrounding yourself with people you want to spend your days alongside. We also talk about the challenge of protecting your values as success arrives, why your name is your most valuable asset, and how building something lasting requires equal parts conviction, curiosity, and restraint. Whether you’re opening a restaurant, starting a business, or simply trying to create a life that feels like your own, Joe’s rules are a thoughtful roadmap for doing meaningful work on your own terms. There’s something about going home to Philadelphia that always resets me. Maybe it’s because so much of who I am was shaped there, or maybe it’s because the city has always rewarded people who care more about substance than spectacle. Every trip home is an excuse to revisit old favorites, but even more than that, it’s a chance to see what people have built since I left. Joe’s restaurant is one of those places. It isn’t just a great pizzeria—it feels complete. Every corner, every plate, every decision reflects the same point of view. As someone who spends a lot of time talking to people about creativity, I find fully realized visions endlessly inspiring. They’re a reminder that the best work doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when someone has the courage to imagine an entire world—and then patiently builds it, one decision at a time. Five Rules for Building a World for Yourself Joe Beddia Hi everyone, before we get into today’s episode, I have a little bit of housekeeping to take care of. I am so excited to announce that I am partnering with the Food Institute who has acquired HRN and is the new home for Five Rules for the Good Life. Together, we’re going to be growing I couldn’t be more excited about this new partnership and excited to see where we take the show. Introduction Hello and welcome to Five Rules for the Good Life. I’m your host, Darin Bresnitz. Today, I’m in my hometown of Philadelphia chatting with Joe Beddia, the chef and owner of Pizzeria Beddia and the author of the incredible pizza book Pizza Camp. He’s here to share his Five Rules for Building a World for Yourself. We talk about the importance of doing things that inspire you, working with people you want to be around, and staying true to your vision and values as you grow. It’s a great conversation for anyone starting their own business—or anyone looking to build something meaningful with intention. So let’s get into the rules. Building a World Joe, so good to see you. Thanks again for all the hospitality the last time I was in Philly. Welcome to the show. Thank you. Excited to be here. For anyone who’s ever visited Pizzeria Beddia, they really get a sense of your vision. How did you approach bringing your worldview and mentality into the restaurant? I had a unique circumstance where I had a very small pizzeria for five years. It was literally myself making pizza in a 300-square-foot shoebox. When our lease was up, I was approached by a startup restaurant group in Philadelphia. I got creative control over the menu, the design, and everything, which is probably pretty rare. I worked with a lot of friends and really tried to create something special. It was a different time. We were developing this in 2017. Money was different. We did it for a lot less and got a lot more for our dollar. I was there when it opened, and I was there a couple months ago. You can still feel the DNA of what you wanted to build, even though it’s evolved over the years. How has it changed? It’s evolved through the people. We have different cooks now. Our head chef and sous chefs are different. I’d probably say the restaurant is the best it’s ever been. That’s really a testament to those individuals and how they’re able to work together. At this point, I don’t really want any credit. I created something, but I’d like them to take ownership. Giving someone the opportunity to be creative and own new menu items has been amazing. From my perspective, it’s such a great experience because you walk down this little alleyway, see the neon sign, walk through the door, and suddenly you’re inside this whole world you’ve built. What do you hope people feel when they come here? I like keeping tradition alive by using really great ingredients and making well-fermented dough, but I also like stretching ourselves creatively. We pickle strawberries and make burrata salads. You can come for a traditional pizza that reminds you of your childhood, but you can also have a great soft serve with amaro on top or a beautiful bottle of wine. It’s about honoring tradition while giving ourselves permission to be creative in the same space. Now that you’ve been open since 2019, written an incredible book, and received so much recognition, I’m excited for you to share your Five Rules for Building a World for Yourself. Rule One Go Where You Feel Comfortable A lot of people feel like they have to constantly push themselves or chase opportunities that don’t really fit who they are. But your first rule is about grounding yourself before you build something. What’s Rule Number One? Go where you feel comfortable. That’s a tricky thing because you should absolutely challenge yourself. But you should also feel like you’re in a space that makes sense for you. You want to work for a great chef. It might be difficult. But if you’re learning and growing, every failure becomes growth. It’s kind of like Philadelphia. You come into this town and it’s rough around the edges. But once you prove yourself, people invite you into their homes. Kitchens work the same way. You have to earn your place. Rule Two Find What Inspires You You have to be inspired enough that you’re willing to dedicate your time—and really part of your life—to something. I feel fortunate because I became obsessed with pizza while working in restaurants. I’d travel to New York, visit all the old-school places, go to Di Fara, Totonno’s, Una Pizza. I was fascinated by serious pizza makers. Eventually I started experimenting on my own and realized, “I want to take a shot at this.” How do you become inspired? For me, it was traveling and tasting. That’s what changed everything. Once I found that inspiration, I decided to go all in. Rule Three Work With People You Want to Be Around Going all in on a restaurant means endless hours. Finding the right people to spend those hours with is one of the hardest parts. What’s Rule Number Three? Work with people you want to be around. Someone doesn’t have to have the most experience in the world. They just have to be a good person. They need to care, show initiative, and be interested in learning. You can teach almost anyone the technical side of the job if they’re passionate about the work. Rule Four Figure Out What Medicine Works for You Even if you’ve found inspiration and surrounded yourself with good people, this work is still incredibly difficult. There are great days and terrible days. Rule Number Four? Figure out what medicine works for you. It’s a little tongue-in-cheek because when I started, the medicine that worked for me was drinking—which isn’t something I’d recommend to anyone. Eventually it led me down a path where I was overusing alcohol to deal with stress. That pushed me toward therapy and healthier ways of dealing with anxiety. I’m not sober, but I have a completely different perspective than I did in 2013 when I opened the original pizzeria. I just opened a restaurant in London, and I realized that one of my rules now is simply finding something healthy that genuinely works for you. There’s a tremendous amount of stress in this business, and you need a way to manage it. Rule Five Your Name Is Your Currency Now that you have two restaurants and years of success behind you, I’m sure you’ve had opportunities that didn’t align with the world you wanted to build. Your fifth rule is about staying true to yourself. Trying to stay true to who you are and your values. There are always going to be offers. People will want you to sell something or attach your name to something you don’t really believe in. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve done less and less of those things. Your name is your currency. It’s all you really have. So you want to spend it on things you genuinely believe in and can be proud of. Closing Joe, congratulations on everything. If people want to come have a slice, a whole pie, a bottle of wine, or simply experience the world you’ve built, where should they go? Pizzeria Beddia, 1313 North Lee Street in Philadelphia. Or Bar Aetna in the Newington Green neighborhood of London. Incredible. Joe, I can’t wait. I’ll be back for Thanksgiving and we’ll definitely stop by to pick up some pies to bring home. Thanks for making the time. Great to see you as always. Excellent. Thank you. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Joe Beddia

  7. 8. Juni

    Adrianne Calvo

    Chef Adrianne Calvo has built a life around the belief that flavor is the ultimate north star. As the chef, writer, and restaurateur behind Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant and Bar in Miami, she has spent her career proving that the fundamentals never go out of style. In this episode, she breaks down her Five Rules for Cooking with Maximum Flavor — from why the real work happens before anything ever hits the pan, to how controlling moisture is the secret most cooks overlook, to why the final ten percent of a dish is responsible for ninety percent of its impact. Whether you are cooking for the people you love or just trying to get more out of what you make at home, this one will change the way you think about what's on your plate. What I love about sitting down with Chef Adrianne is that she reminds you that flavor is not a technique, it's a commitment. It's easy to chase trends, to pile on ingredients, to rush to the finish line — and she calls all of that out with such clarity and warmth that you immediately want to go back into the kitchen and start over. The way she talks about tension, contrast, and intention made me think less about cooking and more about how the best experiences in life are the ones that engage you rather than just comfort you. That's the kind of conversation that sticks with you long after the meal is over For my first piece for Caper, I wrote about Jingbo Lou and the incredible community he has helped build at L.A.’s Alpine Courtyard. His approach to the landlord-tenant relationship is a true innovation and something that could be a north star for the shifting restaurant landscape. Introduction Hello and welcome to Five Rules for the Good Life. I’m your host, Darin Bresnitz. Today, I’m in Miami sitting down with chef, writer, restaurateur, and teacher, Adrianne Calvo, whose spot, Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard, Restaurant, and Bar, has been serving up. She’s here to share her five rules for cooking with maximum flavor. She talks about the importance of preparation before putting anything in the pan, that the amount of moisture in a dish can be maker and that the final 10% of finishing determines 90% of its impact. It is a great conversation for anyone who leads with flavor in the kitchen as looking for extra tips to get the most out of what they make at home. So let’s get into the rules. Getting Started: A Culinary Journey Chef Adrianne, so nice to meet you. Thank you for sitting down with me all the way from Miami. Welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. You got into the culinary world at such a young age. What foods and flavors drew you in? I got into the — yeah, I wanted to be a journalist. I was put in a cooking class by mistake my junior year of high school, and it wasn’t until Johnson and Wales University came in and did a demo doing a strawberry and cream cheese stuffed French toast that completely enchanted and captivated me. That exact dish that made me switch paths for the rest of my life. Hopping on this path must have opened up such a big world to you and put you on so many adventures, including heading to Napa Valley, which was a big inspiration for you in your life and your restaurant, Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Bar. What was it about that area that inspired you so much? One of the culinary competitions that I had won while at Johnson & Wales University, and I chose to go to Napa Valley because going to culinary school, they really focus on that connection of the land, the food, and the wine and how it makes people feel. I’ve been hearing about for two years now. I want to feel it. I want to go experience it. And I wasn’t even of legal drinking age. Boots on the ground. I remember going with my mom and I was like, oh my gosh, everything they said is real. This is like Narnia for bon vivant. I remember thinking one day, if I ever have a restaurant, I want to bring that feeling to Miami. At that time, Miami was really missing the mark. There was no connection to land, food, wine, sitting down at a table, bursting with different flavors, really knowing the story of where your food came from. Don’t even get me started on the wine. I don’t even know if Miami knew the term wine in the early 2000s. Napa really inspired my very first restaurant, Chef Adrian’s Vineyard Restaurant and Bar. That’s not to say that your restaurant doesn’t follow those, but it seems that flavor is your North Star. Oh, yes. Why does that element of cooking dictate everything you do? It’s the fundamental belief that trends come and go. And much like fashion, Coco Chanel that said, what’s great will always be great. I’m just paraphrasing it. That’s what classics are. And you are right. We don’t follow trends. We’re actually the opposite of that. The human experience of being able to find the guiding principles in your cooking and your life and your business makes me so excited for you to share your five rules for cooking with maximum flavor. Rule #1: Build Flavor Before Heat Ever Touches the Pan Your first rule is something that I have gotten so much better at and learned the importance of as I’ve cooked over the years. What’s your rule number one? Rule number one is build flavor before heat ever touches the pan. So many people rush to get things in a pan. Maximum flavor doesn’t begin at the stove. It begins in preparation, seasoning your proteins in advance, tempering ingredients the right way, and understanding how salt migrates and what separates dimensional cooking from flat execution. Rule #2: Control Moisture Like It’s Currency You talk about salt and you talk about adding flavor. Some of the times when people prepare a dish in advance, there’s a marinade or they’re drawing moisture out. It can affect the way that things actually cook, especially if you’re looking for a crust with the steak or a nice type of sear. Your rule number two talks about keeping this in mind when it comes to moisture. Rule number two is control moisture like its currency. Water is the silent saboteur of flavor. Excess moisture prevents caramelization and this is like a big deal for me. So many cooks and even well-trained chefs don’t realize you just take a scallop that’s very moist by nature and you season it and then you throw it in a pan to try and get that nice sear on it. Yeah. You’re never going to get a sear. You’re just going to poach or steam that scallop. You’re never going to get color on it. You’re going to overcook it to death. Removing that moisture, taking that extra step to pat it dry. Oh my goodness, that’s a secret. You want that sear, that char, and you can only achieve that by removing the moisture. Rule #3: Layer with Intent, Not Excess Removing items when you’re cooking and editing, especially when you reference someone like Coco Chanel, is really important to achieve the final result that you want. And even though you talk about maximum flavor, that doesn’t always mean more is more. What’s your rule number three? Rule number three is layer with intent, not excess. More ingredients do not equal more flavor. Precision does. Intention does. Think in layers. Fat for richness, acid for lift, salt for amplification, heat for a little intrigue, and texture for memory. Just think of something simple like a burger or a hot dog, and sometimes people will put potato chips on it, and that crunch really makes a difference. Just having that sensory really makes for that unforgettable bite. The fat versus the acid, the salt versus the sweet — that balancing of flavors really does make an impact when you’re putting together any sort of either savory or sweet dish or just cooking for something that really is going to awaken the palate. Your rule number four talks about how comfort isn’t always the goal. Rule #4: Cook for Contrast, Not Comfort Oh no. What’s your fourth rule? Rule number four is cook for contrast, not comfort. The palate remembers tension. Crisp against tender, bright against deep, hot against cool. Oh my gosh, when you think hot against cool you just think of warm apple caramel tart and then cold ice cream. A perfectly cooked dish without contrast is forgettable. A dish that plays with opposition becomes addictive. Great cooking doesn’t soothe, it engages you. You put all this time into cooking, you’ve had this preparation, you’ve thought about the balance, you’ve controlled the moisture. Your fifth and final rule talks about pulling it all together and it’s where a lot of people, including myself, get really nervous right before you present what you’ve cooked to the people you love. What’s your rule number five? Rule #5: Finish Like It Matters Finish like it matters because you’re cooking for the people you love. Oftentimes, you’re pulling it out of the oven. You just, boom, goes on the table. It’s a race to the finish line. But the final 10% of a dish determines 90% of its impact. A squeeze of acid right at the end, a drizzle of olive oil, fresh herbs — I love that. Where to Find Chef Adrianne Well, if anyone wants to try your complete dishes at the restaurant or join any of your cooking classes on live streams or pick up your book, where can they go? How can they follow along with what you’re up to and what you’re doing in the world? You can follow me on socials at Chef Adrianne, and that’s the same handle for YouTube, for the livestream, for the channel, or you can pick up any of my cookbooks on Amazon or wherever books are sold. Amazing. Congratulations to everything. I can’t wait to swing to the restaurant next time I’m in Miami. Oh, thank you so much for having me. It was awesome, and congratulations on everything you’re doing. Get full access to Five Rules for the Good Life at fiverules.substack.com/subscribeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Adrianne Calvo

  8. 1. Juni

    Noah Galuten

    Noah Galuten has spent years cooking alongside some of the best chefs, pit masters, and grill masters in America, so when it came time to write Grill Time, he wanted to share everything he had learned. He joined the show to share his Five Rules for Better Grilling, covering everything from why gas grills deserve more respect to the flavor advantages of cooking with wood and charcoal. We also get into the surprising power of mayonnaise, why chasing perfect grill marks can be overrated, and the one tool that will instantly make you a more confident cook. Whether you’re feeding a crowd or just trying to get dinner on the table, these are practical rules you’ll actually use. Summer has officially arrived. The days are longer, the drinks are colder, and every meal suddenly feels like a good excuse to be outside. There’s something about cooking over fire that changes the pace of the day. Neighbors linger a little longer, friends show up a little earlier, and dinner becomes the event instead of the thing that happens before it. If you’ve been looking for a reason to dust off the grill, invite some people over, and make the most of the season, this conversation is the inspiration you need to get started. Photo by Kristin Teig Jacaranda’s recent opening in Los Angeles has had the culinary community abuzz with Daniel Patterson’s return to fine dining. Opened and owned with his wife, Sarah Lewitinn, this thirty-seat, tasting menu has been years in the making. Read my latest profile for Fine Dining Lovers on them, their love story and their road to opening. Introduction Hello, and welcome to Five Rules for the Good Life. I’m your host, Darin Bresnitz. Today, I’m joined by Noah Galuten, whose new cookbook, Grill Time, Why You Should Be Grilling for Better, Healthier, Easier, and More Delicious Meals, is out now wherever books are sold, to share his five rules for better grilling. We talk about how there’s no shame in the gas grill game. With that being said, nothing tastes better than smoke in food and how one secret ingredient is the key to better grilling. Summertime is here and if you’re looking to get outside and to do some cooking, there is no better conversation for some inspiration and some rules to get your grill game going. So let’s get into the rules. Why Grilling Is Different Noah, it’s so good to see you. Congratulations. Your new book has been out for a little less than a week. Grill time. Thanks for stopping by and making time for the show. Thank you for having me, man. This first week has been so great. Summertime is here. It’s time for grilling. What do you love so much about this season and cooking this way? There’s so many things I love about grilling and the great thing about living in Los Angeles is you can grill 12 months out of the year. I know. I try to be nice to the people who don’t have the weather that we have. That’s true. Grilling is just the way that I actually find myself cooking for my family the most often. It is easier, cleaner, faster, often healthier than you would do it on the stove. There’s stuff that I would never do on a stove in a million years that I will do on a grill a hundred times out of a hundred. To cook a piece of chicken, to put on a salad, who’s pan searing? No one. It’s always grilled chicken at a restaurant. Throw it on a gas grill in the back, charcoal grill. You’ve got something instantly. A lot of people get intimidated by grilling. It’s usually due to one bad experience because they’ve only tried it a handful of times. How do people get back on the horse after having a grilling mistake? It’s like anything. The second time is going to be so much easier. The barrier to entry is basically having a grill. And once you have one, do it a couple times, get better at it. Writing Grill Time Once you find that inspiration of what to cook and how to cook it, it just makes you want to get outside even more. With so much of this type of cooking under your belt, how did you select the stories and recipes you wanted to share? When a band has their first album, they spend their entire life creating it and then your second album is two years later and you’re trying to come up with a whole lifetime of stuff. This was this lucky stroke of mine because my first cookbook was so much of my family cooking growing up, my mom’s food, the food that I make for my family at home. And then I have this whole other side of grilling that I’ve been doing forever and learning from amazing mentors like Kevin Bloodsoe for Bloodsoe’s Barbecue and with Ari Colander for Seafood Stuff, Jeremy Fox for Vegetables. I got to lean all that information into the way that I cook and grill at home. So it just spilled out of me. It came together so quickly. There was so much food that I cook all the time on the grill that I’ve never gotten to write about. Grilling cookbooks were just different from regular at-home cookbooks. Grilling is the type of cooking practice that you can always get better at. You can always refine your approach. Rule #1: There Is No Shame in the Gas Grill Game Now I’ve been around a lot of chefs who swear on nothing but aged pecan wood or cherry wood or some other sort of refined— Those people don’t cook for their kids on a weeknight is my theory on that. I love cooking with wood and charcoal. I have an entire outdoor cooking show on Tastemade called Barbecue Smokeout I make with Kevin and Bloodso. It is an amazing way to cook and I love it. But with that being said, a great part of my life is getting dinner on the table and being able to throw— The Gas Grill is an incredible— A Gas Grill, there is no shame on it. And there’s no reason that just because you can make something more delicious with Smoke or Charcoal that will take longer time that you shouldn’t just do the easier option when it’s easier. And having limited time on a weeknight or when you’re just trying to make a quick lunch, gas is great. Rule #2: Nothing Tastes Better Than Grilling Over Wood and Charcoal But when you do have the time, maybe it’s a weekend, maybe it’s a holiday, your rule number two talks about this type of grilling. Rule number two, nothing tastes better than grilling over wood and charcoal. So I kind of break this book down into two categories, Sure Weeknight Grilling and Weekend Project Grilling. Yes, I have cooked so many slow smoked pork ribs in the thousands over my career at Bloodso’s and I’m very good at it. I’ve had it a million times, but now my favorite rack of ribs in the world— I call it smoke grill. They do it in the book where essentially you take a classic grill. I love these PK grills. It’s a really old company that’s been doing it forever. You essentially push all the charcoal to one side of the grill, put wood chunks on top, almost like you’re doing a reverse sear like on a two inch thick ribeye. Instead of— You Get A Smoky Crispy Edged Rib That’s Done In Half The Time Of A Slow Smoke. You Can’t Fake The Flavor Of Smoke. Rule #3: Getting Char on One Side Is More Important Than Getting Char Everywhere Rule Number Three is getting char on one side is more important than getting char. So this comes out especially with things that are quicker cooking like a burger patty, asparagus, zucchini. If you try to get char all over the entire thing, especially if you’re on a gas grill that’s not super firepower, doesn’t have a ton of BTUs, get that char and that coffee. Rule #4: Mayonnaise Is the Secret to Better Grilling There is a chef trick that I was taught years ago about how to add some more moisture and flavor and to give yourself a little bit of grace when you’re cooking on the grill, which I’m so happy because it showed up as rule number four. Here are the haters. They know what’s coming. Guys, it’s mayonnaise. Yep. Mayonnaise is the secret to better grilling. And all you weirdo mayonnaise people out there, you guys are worse than cilantro people because theirs is a genetic condition. You guys just can’t stop talking about how you don’t like mayonnaise. It’s not about tasting mayonnaise. It’s not about eating mayonnaise. It’s about the chemical properties of a perfectly emulsified fat that you can use it for so many things on the grill. The big one to me, and I learned this from my buddy Ari Colander, who’s an incredible chef, painting the thinnest veil of mayonnaise on a piece of fish or a whole fish allows it to become virtually nonstick on the grill. It also allows you to get seasonings to adhere perfectly to it and it makes it brown better. I can cook perfect crispy skin salmon on the grill with just one flip, a little bit of mayonnaise, some salt and pepper and it’s amazing. Anything that you can do to add extra flavor and give yourself some breathing room on the grill is a rule well used. Rule #5: Use a Meat Thermometer Your fifth and final rule deals directly with understanding when to take your meat off the grill. What’s your rule number five? Use a meat thermometer. What are we talking about here, guys? It’s the easiest game changer. There’s this masculine thing of, no, I don’t need it, I know meat, I can touch the palm of my hand, no worries. You know the exact internal temp of a pre-marinated Trader Joe’s pork? And that’s fine. This is a sub-rule to this rule. Cooking it properly. Closing Noah, congratulations on everything. If they want to pick up a copy of Grill Time or come see you on your incredible book tour that has a lot of delicious food and great guests, where can they go to learn more? You can go to my website for all the tour dates. I have a 21-city tour with some of the best chefs and restaurants in the country. People like Chris Bianco, Frank Piniello, Ann Kim, Aaron Franklin, Kevin Blood. So it is a crazy, crazy, crazy lineup. I’m so blown away by the kindness of the people in our industry. Check that out on my website. Also, an

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Five rules for the good life and other tips for living well as told by those who made it their business to do so. fiverules.substack.com

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