Michael Ruhlman has written beautiful books on a number of topics—pediatric heart surgery, boat makers, and boarding schools, to name a few. But his soul, along with many of his most famous titles, seems to lie in food. He champions both the nutritional and emotional value of cooking: “[Cooking]'s just as important and takes just as long as showering,” he told us, “but I’d much rather you didn’t shower.” While making his delicious recipes for Panna, he continually reminded us to spend time with our partners any time we were waiting for the food to finish cooking. We agree with Ruhlman: cooking is essential to living. And to really get the most out of it, Ruhlman wants to make chef-quality food accessible to home cooks. He’s partnered with renowned chef Thomas Keller to write three cookbooks, including The French Laundry Cookbook, and with Chef Brian Polcyn to co-author two books on cured meats. Ruhlman has also written over a dozen of his own cookbooks, on everything from sautéing to schmaltz.Ruhlman came to the Panna studio to take us on a deep dive into one of our most popular ingredients: chicken. After years of cooking with some of America’s best classically trained chefs and editing their recipes, he’s honed all the necessary techniques—from trussing a simple roaster to flattening breasts (with a frying pan!) for an iconic chicken paillard with lemon-caper sauce. From Szechuan to yakitori to three kinds of chicken salad, Ruhlman will show you the many ways this humble bird can truly shine.Michael's Books:Ratio (2010)Grocery (2017) The Making of a Chef (2009)
Chef and restaurateur Zakary Pelaccio once confessed to a friend: “I never want to cook the same thing twice.” This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with his inventive, ever-changing cuisine. Drawing on a globe-spanning array of influences, Pelaccio’s food defies categorization. Pelaccio first turned heads in 2005 when he opened Fatty Crab, his Malaysian-inspired West Village hot spot. Why Malaysia? He’d gone there for a visit, stayed for a year and half, and “fell hard for lip-scalding chiles, unbelievably funky fermented condiments, and freshly made coconut milk”—ingredients that were given star turns in dishes like short rib rendang and his signature chili crab. After over a decade of thrilling critics and customers alike, Fatty Crab closed its doors in 2016.By 2011, Pelaccio's curiosity and ambitions were driving him on to the next big thing. He and his wife, chef and alchemist Jori Jayne Emde, swapped New York City apartment living for a barn in the woods upstate. Along with Jori, partner Patrick Milling Smith, and co-chef Kevin Pomplun, Pelaccio developed Fish & Game, a restaurant housed in a renovated 19th-century building in Hudson, New York. The uber-local ingredients—including produce and animals raised on the restaurateurs' own land—and smart blend of Americana with international technique (he makes kimchi out of rhubarb) have earned Pelaccio a collection of laurels: Fish & Game has been a James Beard Foundation Awards finalist every year since it opened, and Pelaccio won James Beard's Best Chef in the Northeast in 2016.Pelaccio's signature? Whether it's his roast turkey with a spicy twist or Swiss chard with (surprise!) clams, expect strong, surprising flavors that creatively complement good ingredients without overwhelming them. Zakary Restaurant:Fish & Game Hudson (Hudson, NY)Zakary's Book:Eat with Your Hands (2012)