What’s in the fridge?
Duo gets a peek in celeb chefs’ iceboxes
Adrian Moore and Carrie Solomon are opening the doors to some of the world’s most famous chefs’ refrigerators.
Moore, a New Hampshire-raised writer who now lives in Paris, and Solomon, an author and photographer also based in the French capital, give a look inside chefs’ athome food supplies through their new book, “Chefs’ Fridges: More Than 35 World-Renowned Cooks Reveal What They Eat at Home”.
The glossy pages of this new publication reveal photos and profiles focused on the fridges of culinary legends like José Andrés, Alice Waters, Daniel Boulud, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Ludo Lefebvre and Boston’s own Barbara Lynch. And the Track chatted with the two authors to find out what gastronomic gurus from around the globe are actually stashing in their own kitchens.
Olivia Vanni: What should we know about chefs and their fridges at home?
Adrian Moore: I think that the fridges run the full gamut.
Some, especially those with families, are packed with every provision possible and are largely influenced by the family imperatives. Nadine Levy Redzepi had a great family fridge, with everything from fermentation experiments to Galbani supermarket mozzarella. Frenchie’s Gregory
Marchand had a delightfully regressive fridge with fresh market veggies balanced off by a selection of mainstream cream cheeses (he is mad about Philly) and Heinz and Kikkoman condiments.
Others highly reflect the personality of their owner. For example, Daniel Bouloud’s massive
Samsung has lots of luxurious, high-ticket items: Dom Perignon and niche sake, balsamic vinegar made by chef-friend Massimo Bot
tura and chocolate from Thomas Keller. Chefs use fridges just like we do, it’s just they do more (and with more skill and imagination) with the things stored therein, than us mere mortals.
Carrie Solomon: Some were immaculate, meaning the bottled waters all faced forward (often a reflection of the character of a very detail-oriented and precise chef), and others were less organized, had sticky condiment jars (often from a chef who takes a more organic and more easygoing approach in the kitchen).
OV: What were the most surprising items found inside these fridges?
AM: Homemade marijuana gummy bears (Barbara Lynch), bear meat (David McMillan), wedding cake (Mette Soberg), birthday balloons (Dan Barber ), honey-preserved pine cones (Kristian Bau
mann). CS: I was surprised to see the connections between different chefs play out across the fridges. For example, Sean Brock has Dan
Barber’s Row 7 seeds in his fridge and experiments from the Noma
Fermentation handbook. And Nancy Silverton has Jessica Koslow’s jam in her fridge. Daniel Boulud also gets his eggs direct from Martha Stewart
… And Nadine Levy Redzepi has experiments in her fridge that came from Noma’s R&D chef, Mette Soberg.
OV: Who did you think had the most interesting fridge?
AM: I think our cover fridge from Alice Waters is quite impressive. Everything has a story, and is chosen for a reason. The majority of products she has are from friends she has worked with for decades (Chino Farms, Bandol wine from Domaine Tempier). Christina Tosi’s is amazing as well. You just want to binge on everything in it! (Various cookie doughs, pickled strawberry jam, even leftover Halloween candy).
Whose fridge do you envy the most?
CS: José Andrés fridge hits all of the taste-buds on my tongue. It really runs the gamut from Asian flavors, to garbanzos from Portugal, local farmers market beans, enticing eat-them-direct-fromthe-fridge style leftovers, Greek bottarga, honey from his own bees, persimmons, Spanish sausages, Nantucket scallops. It was really the dream fridge.