3 Recipes We Think Every Cook Should Master

By Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer, Bon Appetit

Conde Nast Digital StudioNobody can become a somebody without mastering his or her craft. And it's often the humble tasks--the day-to-day practice of simple skills--that build the foundation for excellence. Ask Thomas Keller to sweep the kitchen (not that we'd dare), and we bet you could eat off the floor when he finished. Think of how many eggs Julia Child beat in order to perfect the classic tender omelet. Watch Alice Waters wash lettuce someday, and you'll see the care and joy she takes in it. It was Martha Stewart's supple pie crust that helped build her empire. When Mario Batali stirs cornmeal and water together in a big pot over low heat, he's like an alchemist spinning straw into gold--any shaved white truffle on top is simply a flourish.


We've worked with a number of assistants and interns in our kitchens over the years. How do we gauge their abilities before signing them on? We ask them to roast a chicken, make a salad, and bake a chocolate cake. That may seem like a fairly modest challenge, but you can tell a lot about a person's cooking skills from these tasks.

See also: 25 One-Bite Appetizers

Roast Chicken:
First, there's choosing the bird itself: Is it organic and locally raised, or one of those hormone-injected, bodybuilder-like things? Do the cooks rub the skin with butter, olive oil, or nothing at all? How are those trussing skills? Do they roast long and slow or high and fast? Once the bird has cooked to crisp, golden perfection, is it set aside to repose, and if so, for how long? When it comes to the carving part, what's their grasp of avian anatomy? Finally, do they consider it a sin to leave those delicious juices in the bottom of the pan instead of using them to whip up a lovely sauce?

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Classic Salad:
When they make the salad, what is the choice of greens--tender, crunchy, or both? How do they wash, dry, and store the leaves? Is the vinaigrette made with lemon juice or vinegar? What oil is chosen, and what's the ratio of acid to oil? How and when do they dress the salad?

Related: Sheet-Pan Dinners

Chocolate Cake:
Even a simple chocolate cake requires some baking acumen, not to mention imagination. A sponge cake is really just two foaming batters folded together as the flour and cocoa are gradually sprinkled in. Visualizing those delicate batters, you can see and know how to carefully mix them together without deflating one tiny bubble.

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We'd love to invite Thomas, Julia (wish we could), Alice, Martha, and Mario for lunch and cook this meal for them. Bet they would just eat it up. And maybe afterward, Thomas would be so kind as to show us how to sweep the kitchen floor.

Get the Recipes:
Roast Chicken
Classic Salad
Chocolate Sponge Cake

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25 One-Bite Appetizers
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