Chef Blog

I’d go so far as to say that the first bite of warm slice of freshly baked banana bread is like a good hug. Am I right?! If you don’t yet have this relationship with banana bread, do yourself a favor, because can’t we all use a little more comfort food in our lives? And February 23rd is National Banana Bread Day, so get to baking! 

Japanese knives are desirable for so many reasons, but mainly for their hard steel and light, thin, super sharp edge. This makes them the ideal choice for slicing, dicing and more precise cutting jobs.

Today it is hard to go anywhere without finding a pizza joint, but it’s considerably easy (and delicious) to make at home. With just a few ingredients from your local supermarket, you can make your own homemade crust and top exactly as you like for pizza night.

A mismanaged steak is truly disheartening to see, especially when it’s a high-quality cut of beef. Knowing how to cook a perfect steak is a kitchen skill that will impress any dinner guest and bump your meal up from merely “good” to “exquisite”.

Fast food may have a corner on the burger market, but few would argue that the best burger is one wrapped in waxy paper.  A juicy, thick burger made fresh to order cannot be beat. 

Dalstrong has donated 200 professional chef knives to Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) and has committed to donate 1,000 more in 2021. A workforce development nonprofit that provides underserved teens a pathway to jobs, C-CAP provides culinary, job, and life skills to middle and high school kids across the United States. 

Trained in France from an early age, Chef Romain Avril applies his world-class culinary skills to teaching gourmet cooking in an approachable style. Though he’s not a vegan, his passion for the healing power of food has inspired him to work on a mostly vegetable-based cookbook. He sat down with Dalstrong to talk about his favorite new recipe, why he hates shortcuts, and his advice for cooks just starting out. 

Look closely at your serrated knife; see how it’s made up of individual curved serrations? Each one of these beveled serrations needs to be sharpened individually, one at a time.

In a time when many restaurants are closing across the country due to COVID-19, Dominique Crenn and Dalstrong have come together to unite a struggling community. Through a donation of more than 200 culinary tools — including knives, aprons, and accessories — to Crenn’s foundation, they have supported the effort to feed San Francisco’s homeless population, providing about 2,000 plates a week.

From pop culture depictions to our own personal histories, pizza is ubiquitous. As long as it exists, it will continue to improve our lives by filling it with delicious flavor. But there’s a way to improve on the pizza experience. There’s a way to make it feel even more special, more personal. Homemade pizza is a way to improve not only its taste, but also the significance of the act of sharing your favorite pizza recipe with a group of friends.

Argentinian meat master Ruben Maislos doesn’t just cook to eat. For him, it’s a way of life. Influenced by his South American roots, as well as cultures all over the world, he draws inspiration from fellow social media food influencers and is passionate about sharing what he learns. He sat down with Dalstrong to talk about his love of asado, his frustration with food waste, and why pizza is life.

A dinner party is a joyful occasion, and your guests will surely have a great time regardless of what you decide to do as far as table setting. But going the extra mile, incorporating decorative elements, and following these etiquette conventions will go a long way towards communicating to your guests how important they are to you, and making your dinner party an absolute hit.

Be creative and trust your palate. You’ve got this! Salmon is a rich, relatively mild fish. It takes on flavors easily, and is delicious paired with roasted potatoes or a crunchy slaw, or serve it with sticky, steamed rice and bright green grilled bok choy. 

Tway Nguyen sat down with Dalstrong to talk about her mom, her love of McDonald’s Sprite, and how her dream to open a froufrou Malibu restaurant shifted to sharing her love of Vietnamese dishes with the world.

Whether you ordered a pepperoni pizza from Domino's or brought home an arugula, prosciutto and roasted garlic pie from your local foodie haven pizzeria, you still want it to taste (almost) as good the second time around, right? 

Sushi chefs often spend their entire lives perfecting the art of making sushi! But learning how to make sushi at home is actually relatively easy with the right tools and tips. 

Being a home cook is more than just knowing your way around the condiment rack. If you feel you’ve already mastered the art of home cooking, the next step is to take even more ownership of the food preparation process by cutting your own meat on a butcher block. And in order to do that effectively, you need a good butcher knife.

There’s a reason why turkey production companies have a hotline for Thanksgiving turkey cooking emergencies on the holiday; there is much confusion about what is the best strategy for cooking a turkey.  Fear not, this guide will give you all the information needed, regardless of the cooking method you choose. 

Cooking brisket is a long and arduous process, but by the end you’re rewarded with a tender, succulent piece of meat. In order to best enjoy this tough cut of beef you should use a slicing knife, otherwise you risk damaging the meat and making a mess.

Whether it’s the summer grilling season and you need to add some variety to your weekly backyard barbecue or you want something hearty and full of flavor to pair with your winter squash, grilled pork chops are the ideal and often forgotten meat.

Guga Goods and his culinary laboratory has produced shocking results — both delicious and horrifying. He sat down with Dalstrong to talk about his love of sous vide, why he’d like to cook a peanut butter steak for Joe Rogan, and his favorite new discovery that came from an internet troll.