Zoe Guttenplan ✧

In the test kitchen, precision is everything. You need replicable results. But at your dining table? You need joy.

How could I create recipes for a living if my own stove was lying to me? I remember the exact moment I let go. I was making a simple summer squash galette. The recipe (one I had written myself) called for a "flaky, laminated-esque dough." But my kitchen was 85 degrees. The butter melted into the flour before I could even roll it out. The dough tore. The zucchini wept. zoe guttenplan

Then, last summer, I moved apartments. My new kitchen was half the size of my old one. The oven ran 25 degrees hot, and the lighting made raw chicken look like a Rothko painting. I panicked. In the test kitchen, precision is everything