Serious Eats
Jeffrey's World: Behind the Scenes with Steingarten
We should all live in Jeffrey Steingarten's world. As food critic for Vogue, he's got one of the best food-related jobs out there, exploring the universe of very fine dining on his employer's dime. For the March issue of the tony fashion magazine, Steingarten was asked by his editor to hire a personal chef for two weeks and report on the experience. Starting Tuesday, Serious Eats goes behind the scenes with a video microseries as he hires British chef Paul Liebrandt.
From his Vogue article: "There was no time for me to hold auditions, only time for interviews. And then I might end up with a chef whose cooking I dislike, or who's in the grips of some bogus nutritional belief—or even some valid ones. How would I hide the truth when I leave most of the food on my plate? What if I feel like eating Chinese takeout or a pastrami sandwich? Would I end up having to sneak out of my own house? And what about our personal privacy? My wife and I live in an old, ungentrified loft, 90 feet long and 20 feet wide, except where the elevator shaft and stairway make it narrower. Our only refuge is the bathroom..."
Luckily, Steingarten found Liebrandt, who made his bones under Marco Pierre White and Raymond Blanc, among others, and who had some time to spare while scouting a location for his upcoming restaurant.
The assignment allowed for Mr. Steingarten to "consume large volumes of extremely good food and to learn more about cooking and ingredients"—all while lounging around in his bathrobe. Tough job, eh?
Unfortunately, Vogue doesn't publish Steingarten's column online, so you'll have to visit a newsstand or bookstore to read the rest.
We suggest you do, because on Tuesday, March 13, Serious Eats enters Jeffrey's World, going behind the scenes with the two in Steingarten's kitchen in a series of videos that document Steingarten and Liebrandt's time together. Be sure to visit for the microseries debut!
UPDATE: Watch the microseries here.