Chefs are professional rebel-rousers, and getting schooled by them? Not for the faint of heart. Trust me — I went to culinary school. But Michelin-starred chefs? They’re on a whole other level. One redditor, currently training under those starry kitchen legends, invited the internet to ask literally anything. Naturally, the food nerds (hi!) showed up for expert advice, hot tips, and all the juicy behind-the-line secrets.
A: “The first one is taste, taste, taste. Keep tasting what you’re making and adjusting until you like it. Too many people are not tasting their food and are hoping it will taste good once it is on the plate.”
2.
Q: “What’s a tip you learned from a Michelin chef that you doubted would work until you tried it…”
A: “Let me think…I can think mostly of small technicalities that will improve the taste of existing foods. One example that I learned and have since always used is beurre noisette, or browned butter. It makes everything better. After you cook a steak, a piece of chicken, or even fish, brush it with a little beurre noisette.”
3.
Q: “If you’re super poor, what are the top five things you need in your kitchen, as far as sauces and seasonings?”
A: “For seasonings, pepper, a good quality paprika, garlic powder, cumin and coriander, and maybe something like garam masala. For sauces, have soy sauce, oyster sauce, tomato paste (not really a sauce but a must), and Dijon mustard.”
A: “No, it can’t. MSG is just the extracted ‘umami’ taste, completely different from the ‘salty’ taste.”
A: “Use a ripping hot grill pan — the trick there is to use no oil.”
6.
Q: “Whenever I buy chicken breast from a store and then cook it at home, I notice a gross tendon in the middle, and then the whole meal is ruined for me. However, it isn’t there when I order it at a restaurant. What is it? How can it be removed?”
A: “You can remove the tendon by pinching it between a fork and pulling it out with kitchen paper, but I usually don’t bother. Instead, I use chicken thigh, not breast! It tastes way better and is more foolproof.”
7.
Q: “I’ve seen some Italian chefs on the internet saying you shouldn’t cook garlic and onions together. Which is weird because many, many recipes call for this very thing. What are your thoughts?”
A: “It’s probably like an Italian cuisine purist thing. I do it all the time, and so do all of your favorite restaurants.”
8.
Q: “I see all these videos of chefs quick-chopping vegetables into perfect slices, and they just have this exactly celery-shaped thing that falls into slices, or a half-onion that’s still onion-shaped until they pick it up and it falls into perfect cubes. I try to do this, and the food sticks to my knife, turning into a giant chaotic mess… What am I doing wrong?”
A: “To be honest, most of this comes down to having a sharp knife, which all chefs in these videos have. A sharp knife does half the work. Some precision cutting does the rest. The stickiness also depends on what kind of knife you use. If you invest in a good chef’s knife, you’ll solve many problems.”
9.
Q: “So I thought chefs were all about the sauces. What’s a great sauce for seafood pasta? For steaks, would it be brown butter, chimichurri, or something else?”
A: “The best sauce for a seafood pasta is made from the seafood itself. Use the heads and shells from shrimp to make a bisque, and use that as your sauce for the pasta. Like clams or mussels, the cooking liquid is the best sauce base. Then just follow the classics. White wine, garlic, tomato, I like some saffron as well. For steaks, I love a red wine sauce or a classic green peppercorn sauce.”
A: “It would have to be some sort of curry, either Thai or Indian. Homemade curry paste, coconut milk, and whatever veggies are in season. Green beans, asparagus, peas, lentils, whatever you can find, throw it in there and it will taste good.”
11.
Q: “What are your favorite seasonings and in what combinations do you like to use them the most?”
A: “I prefer working with fresh ingredients rather than seasonings. So instead of garlic or onion powder, I use their fresh counterpart. But I love a good quality smoked paprika from Spain. Also, a nice aromatic seasoning is Piment d’Espelette from the French Basque Country.”
A: “The best trick for a homemade tomato sauce is to make it as you normally do, but add some canned roasted red peppers. This adds a really deep and complex flavor to your sauce. Also, use an immersion blender for that extra silky smooth texture.”
A: “A good home cook has all the time in the world to complete his one dish. A chef has to complete 50 of them in an hour and have all of them turn out the same.”
14.
Q: “Any tips on which spices handle toasting better than others? I usually toast them mixed, but thinking about it now, that might be a bit basic.”
A: “Toast your whole and ground spices separately. If you do that, you’ll be all right.”
15.
Q: “I like salmon, but I am bad at cooking it. Any best practices for a good pan-seared salmon for beginners?”
A: “Do you buy your salmon skin-on? If so, get a nonstick pan. (Yes, as a beginner, nonstick is your friend.) Then, preheat some neutral oil on medium heat and put the salmon skin side down.”
16.
Q: “Why doesn’t my Italian seasoning have any flavor? It smells fucking fantastic but there is barely any flavor.”
A: “Because it’s bullshit. Herbs lose all their flavor once dried. Try using fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, and basil.”
17.
Q: “Is caviar that hasn’t been finished returned to the fridge and then served to the next guest?”
A: “No, never. The guest already paid a huge amount for it, so the profit has already been made. The kitchen staff will happily snack on it, though.”
A: “I typically prefer using sources of natural MSG in my cooking, like a really good quality ripe tomato, wild mushrooms, stuff like that. When I make fried rice or noodles, I always add a bit of MSG.”
A: “Put some vinegar in the water, this really helps. Then, crack a fresh egg into a ladle. Make a little vortex using a spoon or whatever. Then, just lower the egg directly from the ladle into the middle of the water and simmer until all the white has clearly set.”
A: “The thing that restaurants where I’m from are always ruining is steaks. No one seems to be able to deliver a consistent wall-to-wall medium rare except for the high-end restaurants.”
A: “As a chef, I prefer wild-caught fish. But when I cook for myself or my family, I just can’t always get a hold of it, and I don’t always feel like filleting. I buy the farm-raised salmon anyway; it’s not that bad where I’m from.”
A: “I’ve had to work both shifts, and honestly, I’d still pick night. Because everyone is there, you’re all having fun, and after a long night, you crack a couple cold ones together.”
A: “Lots to choose from, but my go-to protein would be scallops. Looks elegant, tastes amazing, and is not something you’d eat every day.
A: “I love scallops! The trick here is to only sear one side of the scallop; on both sides, it would be terribly overcooked. Just put them in a ripping hot preheated stainless steel pan and sear for like four minutes on one side. Don’t touch them, they will release from the pan when ready. Then flip and baste if you want.”
A: “You just have to do it a lot. And also, have a sharp knife. That will improve your knife skills drastically as well.”
26.
Q: “How do you feel when most professional chefs say going to culinary school is a complete waste of money?”
A: “I mean, it can be. Most people just start dishwashing as a first job when they’re 16, and they work their way up. For others, like me, who picked another career path that didn’t work out at first, it’s a great option. I was into cooking long before culinary school, but boy, did I learn a lot.”
27.
Q: “Can you point me to resources to make the perfect Nashville hot crispy chicken sandwich? I know it’s not fancy, but I can’t get it right at home. The coating is always too thick and just isn’t great. I’m desperate here.”
“Use 30% cornstarch in your dredge. This will stop gluten from forming and will prevent your crust from going cakey. Also, add a teaspoon of baking powder to your dredge. Hope this helps!”
“It depends a lot on the thickness. Just get a nice sear on both sides, and you should be in medium-rare territory already. If it’s a thick one, you can pop it in the oven for a few minutes to cook it through without burning the sear.”
A: “I have a mini sharpener set and I hone my knives before every use.”
Did you know Tasty has Michelin Star chefs in its recipe archives? Cook like a chef in your own kitchen with step-by-step instructions (or with help from a video), by downloading the free Tasty app and searching “Marcus Samuelsson.”
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