Susan Burdian

Chef

Reads like hand-written instructions left by a close friend, while I rummaged through his kitchen, listening to a playlist he left cued up for my enjoyment. The recipes are wildly exciting but the food still feels casual, like a back yard barbecue (if that barbecue included the freshest farm produce, exotic ingredients from Southeast Asia, and a freshly killed pig you butchered yourself). Zak Pelaccio's recipes stretched me as a chef, in the most grounded way.

Rob Kirby

Chef