Jeffrey Steingarten

Profession: Food critic at Vogue, author of The Man Who Ate Everything and It Must've Been Something I Ate
Interests: Animals, vegetables, minerals, water ballet, politics
Ideal secret ingredient: Caramel
Culinary inspiration: Victor Arguinzoniz, a chef from Axpe in Spanish Basque country, who grills everything over coals of olive wood and oak
Favorite food: None. If I had any favorites, I would not be the man who ate everything.
Food you won't go near: Ditto
Weirdest things you've ever eaten: Red ant eggs (when in season), chicken's brains, roast bamboo worms, casserole of pig's brains--all in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Favorite food destinations: Alba, Barcelona, Paris, Chengdu, Axpe, Bangkok and Manhattan
Alternative dream job: Being a civil liberties lawyer who wins all cases