Author: Chris Young

Legendary French chef Joël Robuchon earned 31 Michelin stars by being the master of simplicity. His chocolate soufflé cannot be beat — just three ingredients and a Swiss meringue that makes it rise above all others. But it had to be made to order. By sneaking two extra ingredients between the bubbles and a clever…

A French press and a frozen Cometeer capsule are all you need for a proper latte at home — no espresso machine required. The French press technique creates a microfoam that’s smooth enough for latte art. For foam that holds 15 minutes or more, add a tiny amount of xanthan gum — though note that…

French physical chemist Hervé This invented chocolate Chantilly as part of his pioneering work in molecular gastronomy. The idea is simple: give chocolate a liquid-to-fat ratio similar to heavy cream and it can be whipped into a foam just like whipped cream — no dairy required. I learned the technique from Heston Blumenthal when I…

Heston would hold the glass up to the light, squinting through the layers of pea mousse and langoustine cream. He was looking for perfection. He found haze. This was The Fat Duck’s jelly of quail with crayfish cream. It was Heston’s tribute to Alain Chapel, the French chef whose restaurant in Mionnay had changed how…

My latest video shows how you can make two quarts of rich, gelatinous stock in about an hour, using a five-dollar rotisserie chicken and a pressure cooker. It will be better than a traditional stock simmered all day. Everything you’ve been taught about stock-making was optimized by Escoffier for a nineteenth-century brigade kitchen, but your…

The night I wrapped the first day of shooting for my latest video on cryo-searing, I came down with food poisoning bad enough to make me pray for the sweet embrace of death. By morning, the rest of the shoot was canceled, and I was kneeling at my toilet, bargaining with God for mercy. Misery,…

The full recipe for my smokeless smoked ribs can be found here. Read on for the full behind the scenes story and a lot more of the science behind the madness. “The next video will be easy, guys,” I lied. Five weeks, eight locations, two states, and me in my underwear channeling Walter White in…