World-Renowned Violinist Itzhak Perlman's Cooking Motto Is "The More Butter, the Better"

Itzhak Perlman conducted the New York Philharmonic, survived polio, earned over a dozen Grammys and was awarded a triad of medals from three different U.S. presidents. One thing he’s never done? Meet Ina Garten — until today!

To prepare for his arrival, Ina cooked up some potato galette: a French potato pancake. It may not be the latkes the Israeli-born musician is used to, but when Ina’s cooking, you know it’s going to be a 10/10 meal.

Ina’s Potato Galettes With Smoked Salmon

The Barefoot Contessa’s take on a potato pancake begins by peeling and julienning a single russet potato. She pats them dry to ensure a crispier galette, then seasons with salt and pepper before sauteing in canola oil.

Now in the pan, Ina uses a spatula to flatten the bundle of potato strips into a pancake shape, which she leaves undisturbed. After five minutes, she brushes the sides with unsalted butter before flipping to cook for an additional four minutes.

Once out of the pan, she lets the galette rest on a paper towel to drain any excess oil. She tops it with two tablespoons of crème fraîche and ribboned slices of smoked salmon. After some chives and salt, it’s ready for Itzhak.

From Tel Aviv to the Silver Screen

Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1945, Itzhak was 3 years old when he first heard a violin on the radio. Shortly after, he received his first fiddle, but it wasn’t until he tragically contracted polio a few years later that he began to truly focus on his craft.

Itzhak’s career began in 1958 when Ed Sullivan held a competition in Israel to scout acts for his Cavalcade of Stars tour. After performing across the United States, Itzhak began at Juilliard, where he would go on to teach decades later.

In the early '90s, the legendary John Williams reached out to Itzhak, asking him to play violin on the score for a movie he and Steven Spielberg were working on. Itzhak agreed, and the film went on to gross over $322 million at the global box office and win seven Academy Awards, including Best Original Score and Best Picture. It’s called Schindler’s List. You may have heard of it.

While the world may know him as a violinist, Itzhak has a culinary side. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he posted a series of cooking videos, one of which shows him grilling up a mean skirt steak.

Itzhak’s Scrambled Eggs With Caramelized Onions

“The more butter, the better,” proclaims Itzhak as he begins heating a large chunk of butter in a large skillet — a motto Ina claims to own (which she does). Enough so that the onions are “swimming” in the butter.

He dumps a large bowl of diced onions into the skillet, which he caramelizes until they’re translucent. When Itzhak is cooking, don’t expect traditional units of measurement.

Ina cracks six eggs in a glass bowl, which she passes to Itzhak along with a whisk to perform the essential scramble. He pours them over the sauteing onions, but quickly moves the pan off the flame to let the existing heat cook the eggs. Itzhak notes that this is so they don’t turn out like the “rubbery” eggs you’d find at a continental breakfast — ones you could “go and play tennis [with].”

Ina lightly toasts a couple of slices of bread to serve with the eggs. "That looks gorgeous," she says as Itzhak plates up. "And [it was] so easy to do — especially if you have a famous violinist doing it."

The Tale of the Missing Violin

When Itzhak was 18, he was performing in the finals of a competition hosted at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. Following his performance, he left his violin in the dressing room and returned to the stage, where he obviously won. His future wife, Toby, had seen a man in a raincoat going up and down the stairs holding a violin — not knowing Itzhak’s was missing. The Guarnerius violin was on loan from Juilliard and ended up in a pawn shop a few blocks away. The following day, an article was published on the front page of the New York Times reporting the missing fiddle. The pawnbroker saw the listing and promptly contacted the school. He’d only given the thief $15 for the instrument. At the time, it was valued somewhere between $25,000 and $50,000. Today, Guarnerius violins sell for as much as $15 million.

Ina’s Strawberries Romanoff

To return the favor for making Ina a plate of “fabulous” scrambled eggs (which Itzhak called “pretty good”), she whips out strawberries and martini glasses to make Strawberries Romanoff. Fun fact: Strawberries Romanoff is a purely American dish. The pseudo-Russian name originates from a Hollywood restaurateur who dubbed himself “Prince Romanoff.”

Once the strawberries are sliced in half, Itzhak pours orange juice over them; a less fun alternative to Ina’s orange liqueur recipe. After adding a quarter cup of granulated sugar, she lets the mixture marinate and turns her attention to the topping.

Sour cream, brown sugar and vanilla extract are mixed into a bowl, which Ina eyeballs rather than measuring and calls “the Perlman method.” She then folds it into a whipped mixture of heavy cream and confectioners' sugar to add richness.

Now that everything is ready, Ina scoops the strawberries into a martini glass and tops them with a dollop of cream.

Maybe next time they’ll save some for Jeffrey.