Tag: Chef Tips
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My Version of Gyudon – Better Than Yoshinoya
When I was ten years old, my father took me to Yoshinoya for the first time. That bowl of beef and onion simmered in sweet sauce was my introduction to Japanese food — and it stuck with me. Now, when I make Gyudon at home, I do it my way. It’s not the traditional Yoshinoya…
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Negi Maguro Don – My Favorite Japanese Dish You Can Make at Home
Out of all the Japanese dishes I’ve tried, Negi Maguro Don has always been my personal favorite. It’s simple, humble, and deeply satisfying. You don’t need a high-end sushi bar or the budget for sashimi-grade platters — this is a dish you can make at home, and it still carries the same comfort and freshness.…
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How a Stormy Afternoon (and Spaghetti) Started My Culinary Journey
It was almost 20 years ago. I was a struggling mini-tour player, grinding through events out in Phoenix, Arizona. My game wasn’t in a good place. Every round seemed to bring more frustration than progress, and the pressure of trying to make it wore me down. Back then, the only thing that brought me any…
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How the Smash Burger Helped Our Kitchen Breathe
When One Menu Item Controls the Whole Kitchen When I first stepped into the kitchen at one operation I managed, I did what I always do when inheriting a system. Watch closely.Ask questions.Listen for the pinch points. It didn’t take long to find one. Nearly 8 out of every 10 orders were for a single…
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A Cheesesteak Smashed Burger, the Sugarbush Way
Sometimes, inspiration doesn’t come from within—it comes from a YouTube short. I was watching a clip the other night of a burger spot in NYC layering up a cheesesteak smashed burger. It was over-the-top, loud, and looked like the kind of thing you eat with both hands and a few napkins. But more than that,…
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How I Cooked 5 Dishes and Rice in Under an Hour — Using One Broth to Tie It All Together
What if you could make a full family dinner in under an hour?Five dishes, a pot of rice, no chaos — and everyone goes back for seconds. That’s exactly what happened in my kitchen tonight. The secret? A professional cooking technique called cross-utilization that I learned in restaurant kitchens and at Le Cordon Bleu, adapted…
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Even the Spice Has a Story
From the kitchen I stepped into to the quiet lessons of memory and taste. When I first walked into that kitchen, it was doing what most kitchens do.Good food. Solid effort. Just trying to keep up. But one detail caught me. A store bought Cajun seasoning. Scooped without much thought. That’s not how I learned…
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🧠 One Ribeye, Big Impact: How I Upgraded the Sugarbush Menu with a Simple Kitchen Strategy
When I stepped into the kitchen at Sugarbush Golf Club, I knew we could do more than just serve food — we could tell a story with every dish, and run smarter while doing it. Running a restaurant inside a golf club means juggling flavor, food cost, and guest expectations — and I’m always looking…
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🍔 The Story Behind Sugarbush’s Smashed Burger
There’s something magical about the first bite of a properly made smashed burger. When I first came to Sugarbush Golf Club, I wanted to elevate the food experience just as much as the golf. Sure, you can grab a hot dog at the turn—but what if you could finish 9 holes and bite into something…