ArcaMax

I recently received one of the great honors of my career with the unveiling of my very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The best part of that day was that it took place in the presence of the people who make everything I do possible: the many chefs and other team members who work in my restaurants and catering company; and, most important...Read more

Everything I learned about good home cooking I learned from my mother and grandmother. Both of them ruled the kitchen of our family's cottage in the town of St. Veit in southern Austria, and the meals that they produced with basic equipment and humble ingredients proved every day that food cooked with a combination of knowledge, skill and love ...Read more

When May arrives, so many people across America begin thinking about how they'll celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the holiday commemorating the Battle of Puebla, an important victory in 1862 during Mexico's war against invading French forces. But it may surprise you to learn that the day is only a minor occasion in its home country, while Americans have...Read more

Thinly pounded slices of meat or poultry can become one of the most versatile ingredients in your cooking repertoire. Probably the dish for which my native Austria is most famous, for example, is Wiener schnitzel, literally "Viennese slice" -- a thinly pounded piece of meat that, in the style popular in the Austrian capital, is coated with ...Read more

All along the streets near my Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills, colorful banners have been announcing local observances for Earth Day. Officially celebrated on April 22, the event began on college campuses across the nation back in 1970 and aims to make all of us more aware of the importance of keeping our planet ...Read more

What's on your Easter menu? Chances are the main dish will be a glazed ham or maybe a juicy roast of spring lamb. And no doubt the table will also feature beautiful salads, sides or desserts starring fresh seasonal produce from the farmers' market, symbolizing the season of renewal.

But the ingredient people expect to see most of all on the ...Read more

"Why is this night different from all other nights?"

That's the age-old question at the heart of the Passover Seder, the ritual meal held on the first night of the holiday (which falls on April 10 this year) that remembers the exodus of the Jewish people from slavery in ancient Egypt.

At Spago restaurant in ...Read more

Taking a shortcut in the kitchen for the sake of convenience or to save money can sometimes lead to less-than-successful results. I won't use canned or bottled tomato sauce, for example, if ripe, in-season tomatoes are available to make a quick, sun-sweetened sauce from scratch. And I don't see the point of containers of pre-grated Parmesan; ...Read more

What's the best way to welcome spring? In the kitchen and at the table, this season of renewal calls for fresh and lively flavors that give our taste buds the feeling they are reawakening along with the planet.

To me, that often translates into big main-course salads -- beds of bright-tasting greens topped with generous helpings of ...Read more

As spring arrives, there are so many good reasons for food lovers everywhere to rejoice. Yet, often, the last thing you want to do when the days are suddenly longer, brighter and warmer is to spend time in the kitchen when you have fun things waiting to be done outside, from playing with your family and friends to going for a walk to working in ...Read more

For so many of us, winter has been far too long and cold this year. Snow across the Northeast and Midwest. Heavy rains on the Pacific Coast. Tornadoes across the South. It can be hard to believe that springtime is less than two weeks away.

Farmers' markets are on the verge of the new season, and soon we'll be savoring all kinds of fresh green ...Read more

I've recognized an interesting pattern from the questions and recipe requests I'm always getting. With all the different food options and occasions for eating that each week brings, most people are concerned about cooking for two main types of meals: weekend brunches and weeknight suppers.

As you might guess, the styles of recipes they want for...Read more

My catering team's biggest challenge every year is preparing the food served to more than a thousand stars at the Governors Ball following the Academy Awards, which takes place this coming Sunday, Feb. 26. Across the nation, from here on the California coast in "La La Land" to "Manchester by the Sea" on the Massachusetts shoreline...Read more

Valentine's Day is barely over. A month and a half after the holidays, we have finished another round of indulging ourselves with too much rich or sugary food. As a result, I know that many people now are trying to recommit to their New Year's resolutions to eat more healthfully.

And yet, here comes one more of ...Read more

In recent years, many fans of fine restaurants have become familiar with the French-style dessert known as a pot de crème -- literally a little "pot of cream." You may sometimes hear this sweet treat described as a kind of chocolate pudding, but to me there is no comparison.

An egg yolk-thickened pot de creme, which is very gently cooked in a ...Read more

Since I first opened my "Asian fusion" restaurant, Chinois on Main, in Santa Monica, Calif., back in 1983, I have celebrated the Chinese New Year -- which arrived this year last Saturday, January 28, and is generally observed for seven days. We've always held a big feast at Chinois, and this year (designated the ...Read more

As you may know, almost every day of the year seems to have some special food "holiday" associated with it. Some are obvious, like July Fourth being National Barbecue Day or Christmas Eve's National Eggnog Day.

But I've been scratching my head trying to figure out why January 27 should be officially recognized as ...Read more