An Interview with a Chef

Interviewer: Daniel, you are the head chef at The Copper Pan, one of the most popular restaurants in Austin. Where did you learn to cook? Chef Cole: In my grandmother's kitchen. She never measured anything. She cooked by taste and by memory. When I was ten, I stood on a chair next to her stove and stirred the soup. That kitchen was my first school, and this career began there.

Interviewer: What is the hardest part of a chef's job? Chef Cole: The hours are long, and the kitchen is hot and fast. But the hardest part is leading people. A kitchen is a team. If one person is slow or careless, everybody feels it. A good chef stays calm and teaches.

Interviewer: Which ingredients do you always keep in your kitchen? Chef Cole: Good olive oil, fresh lemons, eggs, and herbs from the garden. With those, you can make almost anything taste alive. Expensive ingredients do not make a good cook. Care makes a good cook.

Interviewer: What advice do you give young cooks? Chef Cole: Taste everything, write everything down, and do not be afraid of mistakes. Every great recipe in my notebook began as a mistake that tasted interesting.

Interviewer: And your favorite dish to cook at home? Chef Cole: A simple tomato soup, from my grandmother's notebook. It takes twenty minutes, costs almost nothing, and it tastes like my childhood.