10 Chef Blogs You Really Should Be Reading
To be a great chef, your mind needs to be slightly more attuned to the world around you than everyone else's. For that reason, the skills that make someone a great chef – powers of observation, inquisitiveness, an eye for beauty – are also part of the skill set that can make someone a lively and engaging writer. You might be surprised by how many great chefs and food personalities have blogs that you should be reading.
10 Chef Blogs You Really Should be Reading (Slideshow)
A few years ago, it seemed as if everybody and his or her mother suddenly had a blog. Blogging had stopped being the domain of Xanga and Livejournal, and became an easy way for anybody to communicate with the entire world. Plenty of chefs jumped on the bandwagon, and some of them had very good blogs, including Sean Brock, Laurent Gras, Chris Cosentino, Michael Symon, and pastry chef Michael Laiskonis. If you click on any of those links, however, you'll notice that none of them have been updated in years, and some are entirely defunct. Ask anyone who has a long-running blog as well as a full-time job, and they'll tell you that finding the time and inspiration to keep the content fresh and frequently updated can pose a major challenge.
Even though the initial burst of chef-bloggers has died down, plenty of well-known chefs continue to post to their blogs regularly, and other culinary celebrities, including some noted TV show hosts, have taken up the proverbial pen as well. They use their blogs as ways to ruminate about the dining scene, post personal photos and stories, discuss their latest work, and stand on their soapbox.
Reading a chef's blog is a great way to get just a little bit inside their heads, get a sense of their personalities, and to see what makes them tick. Some of these great blogs are updated more than others, but if you love food, we suggest bookmarking them all.
John Besh
This top New Orleans chef keeps this professional-looking blog updated with the help of a fleet of regular contributors. They post a whole lot of recipes for everything from barbecue beef brisket to Champagne cocktails, and articles range from tips on assembling a cheese board to the magic of Creole tomatoes.
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Burdain's Tumblr is mostly used as a travelogue, a companion to his CNN show Parts Unknown. But it's also a fantastic way to go behind the scenes and directly into his head, as he shares ruminations on topics including Iranian hospitality and why the Bronx reminds him of LA. Don't forget that Bourdain first rose to fame as a writer, and his talent is on full display here.