I enjoy traditional potato salad with Kewpie or Duke's mayonnaise but fell in love with this delicious warm, potato salad recipe while practicing for the Master Chef exam. It's a warm potato salad with a vinaigrette-great with russet, all purpose or fingerling potatoes.

Warm Potato Salad

On International Cuisine Day of the CMC exam, a chef is challenged to prepare a German style menu (10 portions)

Split Pea soup with croutons

Wiener Schnitzel with warm  potato salad & a bibb lettuce salad with lemon vinaigrette

-it's quite challenging! I practiced the meal as often as possible & now like to prepare this potato salad recipe with fingerling potatoes; but you have to eat it when it's freshly made, no refrigeration...absolutely amazing!


I don't have a large property to grow fruits & vegetables but I always find room to grow some various potatoes. It seems like a miracle to dig into the soil & find beautiful potatoes.


I always make sure to make a special potato recipe with my harvested potatoes. (like this one)



Prep Time: 2o min

Cooking Time: 20 min

Yield: 4 portions


Ingredients      

2  lbs.       Fingerling potatoes                       


Dressing:

1  tsp.      Sugar                                                     

2  oz.       Champagne vinegar                       

2  oz.       Olive oil                                     

1/2 tsp    Kosher Salt                                       

t.t.            Black pepper                                   

1 Tbsp    Dijon mustard                             

3 oz.        Shallots, minced   

6  oz.      Chicken stock, hot                               

2  oz.      Green onions, sliced thinly                             


How to make Warm Potato Salad

Step 1

Scrub the fingerling potatoes in cool water to get rid of any soil or green spots. Place the potatoes into a pot of ambient water and bring to the simmer. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, strain. While still hot, peel the skins from the potatoes and slice thinly. I wear a double pair of gloves since the potatoes are very hot!

Step 2

While the potatoes are cooking, mix sugar, vinegar, oil, mustard, seasonings and shallots with the hot stock-this gently cooks the shallots. Whisk together and taste-adjust as needed; slice the potatoes into the warm dressing.

Step 3

Allow the warm potato salad to set for about an hour at room temperature, covered with plastic to macerate. The potatoes will soak in the delicious dressing. Top with sliced, green onions before serving.

note; do not refrigerate!

Gazpacho & Summer Tomatoes

By Tom Griffiths • September 4, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 6 Gazpacho & Summer Tomatoes

Summer Corn: Soup, Grill, Roast or Fritters?

By Tom Griffiths • September 4, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 5 Summer Corn: Soup, Grill, Roast or Fritters? 

Summer Eggplant

By Tom Griffiths • September 4, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 4 Cooking Summer Eggplant

Cooking Spare Ribs

By Tom Griffiths • August 11, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 3 Cooking Pork Spare Ribs

Beginners recipe: Pork Spare Ribs

By Tom Griffiths • August 8, 2026
Years ago I traveled around the south for a few weeks researching some of the amazing foods of each region. In Charleston, I was introduced to a local pig farmer, Tank Jackson who manages Holy City Hogs. Tank and his wife raise heritage breed pigs and distribute the pigs around the country. He offers on-site cooking whole pig roasts, primal cuts and sausages, and I believe he produces the best pork in the country.

Seafood; Griddled Swordfish Steak

By Tom Griffiths • August 8, 2026
Years ago, while working as a chef in a busy continental restaurant, we featured grilled, fresh swordfish on the menu—finished with a generous spoonful of herbed compound butter and capers. It was popular and delicious. One afternoon, a seafood purveyor stopped by with a sample of frozen swordfish steaks, fully thawed and ready for evaluation. Curious, we grilled it side by side with the “fresh” swordfish we had been serving—fish we believed to be of high quality. The result was surprising. The frozen swordfish was superior—firmer, cleaner in flavor, and more consistent in texture. In contrast, our “fresh” fish, likely several days out of the water, lacked the same integrity. It was a defining moment and an important reminder: in many cases, properly handled and quickly frozen seafood can offer better quality than fish labeled as fresh. For chefs, understanding sourcing and handling is just as critical as technique—especially with a product as prized as swordfish.

Cooking Rice: creating the socarrat

By Tom Griffiths • August 8, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 2 Cooking Rice: creating socarrat—

The Biggest Mistake People Make When Cooking Scallops

By Tom Griffiths • August 6, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 1 The Biggest Mistake People Make When Cooking Scallops 

Eggplant Caponata

By Tom Griffiths • July 27, 2026
The name "caponata" itself has a fascinating origin story. One popular theory suggests it derives from capone, the Sicilian word for mahi-mahi. Historically, wealthy Sicilian aristocrats enjoyed a sweet-and-sour fish dish. Because seafood was too expensive for the working class, local home cooks substituted fish with affordable, meaty eggplant. Over time, this creative peasant food evolved into the beloved antipasto we celebrate today, often rounded out with celery, olives, and capers.

Children's lunches cooked by Chefs

By Tom Griffiths • July 23, 2026
From Talk to Action: A Chef’s Challenge for School Lunches