So, I started this project as a creative outlet a few years ago, and in that time, my day-to-day has become a big creative outlet in its own right. That's really great. I'm inspired during the day and crashing with Bravo at night. I haven't really felt the
And yet. I still love to share little slices of my world, so I thought I'd take a moment to show you some of what I've been making at work, along with answering my most-asked questions.
Q: How are you not fat?
A: Well, "fat" is relative. Am I as skinny as I was that one summer in college when I worked out every morning and ate only Lean Cuisines? No. Do I have love handles in certain jeans? Yes.
I sample a lot. I scrounge all day and ask questions in our development kitchen. I rarely ever eat a whole piece of cake, or a mess of meat. Sometimes I do. I don't count calories. I just eat a little and move on. And I work out 3-4 times a week with
ClassPass. My biceps are hard right now and I'm not even flexing.
 |
| Delicious deep-fried salmon skins. I tweeted about them. |
Q: What do you do all day?
A: That depends. Every day is different, which I love. What remains the same
most days is I'm following chefs around, taking pictures, responding to emails, going to meetings, and eating.
 |
| I posted these on the ChefSteps Instagram as well. |
Q: What
is ChefSteps exactly?
A: ChefSteps is a food education and technology company headquartered in Pike Place Market whose mission is to inspire people like you to spend more time in the kitchen. That is not our boiler plate. You can read the longer version (and watch a cute little video!) of who we are and what we're setting out to do
here.
 |
"Want to taste-test some burger patties?"
"Duh," I said. We all told Ben we'd need the full burger experience to give helpful feedback. |
Q: Do you cook more now?
A: I do! I've mentioned before that cooking tends to stress me out. I'm a recovering perfectionist, and I'm highly motivated by rule-following, so I can get really anxious about getting recipes right before I feel comfortable experimenting. ChefSteps is helping me move past all that, slowly but surely.
 |
| EGGS. For some reason, people just go nuts for them. |
Q: Can I stop by your office sometime?
A: Absolutely! Tweet me, text me, or hit up my bud who sits right next to me and hosts all the tours: ellenk@chefsteps.com.
 |
| Pork belly steamed buns—coming soon! |
Q: Do you just eat all day?
A: Sometimes. I sit in our development kitchen, and we are asked to sample and
hand model, but that doesn't happen every day.
 |
| Squid ink steamed buns with deep-fried calamari—an experiment Nick did that was delicious. |
Q: Did I see you on YouTube?
A: Probably. I've taste-tested in a few videos and have delusions of ChefSteps Taste Tester #1 grandeur.
 |
| Quick pickles—the chronic! |
Q: What's your favorite ChefSteps recipe so far?
A: If I'm eating it and not attempting to make it, our brisket. If I'm making it and eating it, the chocolate chip cookies and pancakes made me feel good about my kitchen skills pretty quickly.
 |
Ben's banana cake. I've been trying to make #BennyCrocker happen. I think it will.
Q: Are you still gonna write about clothes and makeup and books and your dad sometimes?
A: I'm certainly going to try to.
|
 |
| A gorgeous mess of eggs for egg trials we ran. |
Q: What's the best part about working there, aside from the food?
A: Honestly, it's the learning. And I would have said that even if I allowed myself the option of picking the food. The biggest draw for my decision to come to ChefSteps was how interdisciplinary it is. I get to learn from people who are absolutely brilliant at what they do—chefs, writers, creators, coders, makers. This place is brimming with ideas. I hope you spend some time looking at it on the internets, since, you know, I put some of the stuff on the internets for us. If you don't, that's cool, too. Best if you just take a look, though. We're keeping it fun.
 |
| Beignets made from the same dough as the ChefSteps donuts! Posted this one on the CS IG, too. |
Let me know if you have any other questions for me. I have a few posts coming, and I'm sorry I'm sporadic. If you miss me, you can always keep up with me on
Twitter and
Instagram.
Until next!
