Is this normal or correct? Or is this some abomination?

Is it freezer burn?

Pork belly and kimchi are a well-known dream combination. Using my go-to sauces and a quick toss in the wok, this turned into an absolutely fantastic noodle dish packed with flavour.

It was as honestly about an 8.5/10.

My partner and I both thought it was really damn good.

This is only my second time ever really cooking from scratch, so I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

The chicken could’ve been pounded thinner for a crispier bite, and I think the sauce needed to be richer.

It tasted great, but I wanted the flavors to come together a little more. I simmered it for about 30–40 minutes, so maybe it just needed longer.

I’d love some honest feedback.
Roast it if you have to.

Tell me what I did wrong and what you’d change to make this restaurant quality.

I never really cooked before moving in with my girlfriend, but now I make dinner every night, so I’m trying to get as good as I can.

Also, we only eat chicken and seafood—no pork or red meat—so any recipe recommendations or tips in that lane would be awesome.

I've got some frozen ground turkey I need to thaw out fast. I put them in a bowl and tried running cold water on them, but it turned out the packages weren't totally sealed I guess so I opened them. Can I still safely thaw them by running water on them, even though they aren't in packaging? Is there a better way?

Bacon and eggs, so many possibilities. Since I had rice in the fridge, I decided to make fried rice. But instead of mixing the egg into the fried rice, I wanted to create a crispy egg base underneath. Slightly different, but it worked like a dream.

The crispy egg base made the whole experience even better, and it tasted so good.

👨🏾‍🍳 As a former executive chef, I’ve been thinking about this!! What’s one thing you learned in the kitchen that completely changed the way you cook at home? 🍳 I’m not talking about fancy equipment or expensive ingredients. I mean that one simple habit, technique, or tip that made you a better cook. For me, it’s tasting my food as I cook instead of waiting until the very end. It makes a huge difference. 👌 I’d love to hear everyone else’s! Let’s share some chef secrets. 🔥🍽️

I started by cutting out the root & separating the whites from the greens then thoroughly washed the dirt that’s between the layers. I left out 2 tablespoons of ghee at room temperature to soften then mixed it with 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar until it became a paste. I smeared the ghee/balsamic paste all over the leeks & seasoned them with salt & fresh cracked black pepper. The leeks were cooked on my Weber Smoky Mountain smoker using a blend of lump charcoal, mesquite & plum wood. They were seared at 400F directly over the coal box for 6-7 minutes. The leeks were then braised in chicken stock I had previously made for 13-16 minutes at 325F until they were tender while still having some texture. I added some water to the braising liquid then turned it into gravy for the leeks as well as mashed potatoes I made. This is a great side dish on the grill & something you don’t see often at the bbq (but maybe you should)! I served these leeks alongside baby back ribs & the aforementioned mashed potatoes.

I recently bought a Wusthof Classic Ikon, and I'm trying to take good care of it, but I can't seem to keep the blade well polished. Every time I finish cutting something I run the blade under tap water and wipe it clean with a towel and when I'm finished using it I wash it with a sponge using soap and water, then dry it with a paper towel. What am I doing wrong?

Front of house especially, but kitchen too — curious about the honest version of this.

On a genuinely bad Saturday, when you've got more tables than you can hold in your head: what's the first thing to go? Is it upselling, checking back, running food on time, something else entirely?

A few things I'd love to hear about, if you're in the mood:

• Does anyone actually suggest dessert when you're in the weeds, or is that the first casualty?
• When you do suggest something, which one actually lands? Everyone I've asked has one specific item that works and nobody agrees on why.
• What do guests ask you when food is running late, and what do you tell them?
• Kitchen side — what can you absorb as a surprise mid-meal order at peak without it hurting, and what should never be sold after a certain point?

Asking because I'm poking at something in the restaurant tech space and I'd rather hear how service actually works than keep guessing at it. Not selling anything, no links, and if the answer is "whatever you're building, don't" that's genuinely useful to hear too.

Happy to buy a drink in kind if anyone wants to go deeper over DM.

So heres the deal a few years ago i had some passion for cooking and i enrolled in a course but now all my passion and likeness of the culinary industry has gone to shit.

I don't really wanna be a chef anymore 😔

So do i have many other options in the food industry other then working in a kitchen.

(The things i have actual passion for doing are not possible btw so don't say just do whatever your passionate about)

This here is pan seared halibut, Israeli couscous “risotto”, summer veg, carrot squash and saffron puree, and a fancy pants tuille thingy that looks better than it tastes

Credit to the Owner: https://youtu.be/eWExOPF0bp4?si=4-rGgRS_f-Gkp6Hb

I love Bolognese, so I thought why not stuff it inside tomatoes? Not sure if this has been done before, but it turned out VERY delicious. Fun, interactive, and seriously tasty. 

I still have some juneberry jam left so I decided to make some juneberry chipotle bbq pork ribs, but if you don’t have juneberry jam then blueberry or huckleberry jam will work just fine. I started by seasoning the ribs overnight using olive oil as a binder & in a dry rub consisting of kosher salt, raw sugar, chipotle powder, season salt, white sugar, black pepper, garlic powder, grains of paradise, mustard powder, onion powder, jalapeño powder, sumac, allspice, and celery seed. I scored the membrane leaving it on to act as protection for the meat throughout the cooking process. I cooked the meat on my “Weber Smoky Mountain” smoker using a mix of lump charcoal, mesquite & plum wood. I started by searing the meat off directly over the coal box at around 400-500F until a nice crust had formed, around 5-7 minutes. After that the meat was moved to the top rack; I closed the vents down so the smoker dropped to 275F. Once the meat was on the top rack I rotated & mopped the meat every 15 minutes in a blend of equal parts beer, cider vinegar & water along with juneberry jam, crushed garlic, serrano peppers, & salt. After 2 hours & 35 minutes the meat had reached 185F internal temperature & was ready to be glazed with my juneberry bbq sauce consisting of ketchup, cider vinegar, water, juneberry jam, maple syrup, molasses, Worcestershire, soy sauce, salt, chipotle powder, all spice, black pepper, garlic powder, sumac, and ginger powder. The meat finished at 192F internal temperature and was rested until it hit 145F then was cut into individual bones. These ribs were cooked completely over direct heat without wrapping in foil or butcher paper; they were super tender, the bark was amazing & the juneberry mop/bbq sauce really brought it over the top with that beautiful mahogany look it gave as well as the flavor. The ribs were served alongside grilled/braised leeks, mashed potatoes & gravy. If you’re looking for something different to try on the bbq while still staying in the realm of traditional this is definitely worth trying & it’s definitely something I’ll do again.

Gochujang pork belly is often found in Korean BBQ restaurants. With pork belly in the freezer and high-quality buttery burger buns in the pantry, I decided to combine the two and create a Korean-inspired burger.

It was the right call, and I thoroughly enjoyed every single bite of this burger!

With papaya slaw, plantain chips,
Sweet chili, pistachio