Instructors generally start at the CIA teaching Skills 1 & 2-arguably the most enjoyable & rewarding classes in the curriculum. When you finally get moved to another class you get a sense that you're doing ok... I went to Cuisines of the America's in the CE building and enjoyed researching the history of our great country. That's where I learned about hoppin' John, pot likker, hoe cakes and grits!
Hoppin' John
One of my favorite places to go for amazing food is Charleston. Low country cuisine is filled with interesting history. On my last visit I learned about growing corn, rice, local seafood & fried chicken (maybe bourbon too!)
I visited plenty of great restaurants, toured a few gardens and enjoyed some of the wonderful cuisine of the Gullah people.
It's possible that hoppin' John originated as a recipe created by the Gullah people. The Gullah people are descended from enslaved African people from the rice-growing region of West Africa.
Like many original recipes, over time different people add an ingredient or make a substitution. My recipe is inspired by my many visits down to Charleston, tasting many, many delicious versions. Eating hoppin' John on New Year's Day is considered good luck, usually served with collards in pot likker & sweet corn bread.
Hoppin' John
Prep Time: 2o min
Cooking Time: 18 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients
1/2 Cup Black-eyed peas
1 ea Bouquet garni
Smoked Ham Hock, optional
1 oz. Olive oil
2 Tbsp Bacon, minced
2 Tbsp Celery, minced
2 Tbsp Onion, minced
1 ea Garlic, whole cloves (peeled) minced
1/2 Cup Long grain Rice
t.t. Kosher Salt & Crushed Black pepper
Sachet d' Epices (bay leaf, thyme) not wrapped in cheesecloth
1 1/2 Cups Water, hot
4 Tbsp Herbs, freshly chopped (parsley/ green onions)
How to Prepare Hoppin' John
Step 1 Black-eyed Peas
Place the black-eyed peas onto a clean cutting board, pick through any broken pieces, stones etc.. and discard.
Rinse black-eyed peas in cool water, put into a pot of cool water and soak for 2 hours; strain.
Place in a sauce pot, cover with cool water and simmer with a ham hock until tender-about 40-50 minutes. Check for doneness by tasting. Reserve.
Step 1 Rice pilaf
While the black eyed peas are cooking, prepare the rice.
Heat olive oil in a sauce pot, when hot add the bacon, garlic, celery and onions; lightly cook until soft/ translucent.
Step 2
Add the rice and toast it (parch it) to gelatinize the starches and add a little flavor. This will take about 4 minutes, season with salt and pepper.
Step 3
Add the liquid, bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a simmer. Cover and place in the oven at 350° F for 17 minutes to cook. Take the pot out of the oven.
Step 3
Fluff the cooked rice with a fork and fold in the black-eyed peas. You can add chopped parsley or green onions as an option.
Season to taste.
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 3 Cooking Pork Spare Ribs
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.
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.
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 2 Cooking Rice: creating socarrat—
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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.
From Talk to Action: A Chef’s Challenge for School Lunches
The legendary New York-style cheesecake was famously popularized by Lindy’s Restaurant , an iconic Theater District deli opened in 1921 by German-immigrant Leo "Lindy" Lindemann and his wife Clara . A NY-style cheesecake has a dense but velvety cream cheese base, citrus zest, and a distinct cookie-dough pastry crus t. For years, I took the bus into NYC to work in amazing restaurant kitchens. On one bus ride I met and became friends with a manager at the legendary Lindy’s Restaurant. One day, he did the ultimate honor: he shared the closely guarded, original cheesecake recipe with me. This new recipe is directly inspired by that legendary Lindy’s classic, capturing its iconic velvety richness and signature flavor profile, but re-engineered for a modern, protein-packed lifestyle. Why This Recipe Delivers High-protein swap : Cottage cheese provides a clean, protein-packed base that replaces heavy fats without sacrificing richness. Silky texture : Blending the batter thoroughly ensures a velvety smooth consistency that rivals any NY-style cake. Savory-approved : Simple, foolproof assembly that requires no pastry-chef precision to get a perfect bake every time.
One of the great pleasures of my career is spending time each year working as a Culinary Educator aboard a cruise ship alongside my wife. She teaches baking & pastry while I focus on savory cooking and culinary techniques. Our travels take us to fascinating ports around the world, providing opportunities to explore local markets and study regional cuisines. I have a particular affection for the Mediterranean and always make it a point to seek out local variations of pesto, one of the world's great culinary treasures. One evening aboard ship, the pasta station served rigatoni with a choice of pesto, marinara, or Alfredo sauce. The cook prepared each order by reheating the pasta in hot water and then finishing it briefly in a sauté pan with the selected sauce. I watched in disbelief as he prepared to heat the pesto exactly the same way. "Horror!" flashed through my mind. Pesto is not a cooked sauce. Heating it aggressively dulls the fresh basil aroma, darkens its vibrant color, and diminishes the delicate flavors of basil, garlic, pine nuts, and extra virgin olive oil that make pesto so special. I may have startled the cook when I quickly called out, "Please don't cook my pesto!" Instead, I asked him to simply toss the hot rigatoni with the pesto off the heat, allowing the warmth of the pasta to gently release the fragrance and flavor of the basil. The result was exactly as pesto was intended to be enjoyed—fresh, vibrant, aromatic, and unmistakably Mediterranean.
As chefs, we spend years mastering sauté work. I remember my early days working the sauté station for lunch in a French restaurant in NYC. We served over one hundred guests in an hour-and the food was excellent — a dozen hot pans on the flat top, stocks simmering, mise en place of freshly chopped herbs, minced shallots, butter for mounting into sauces à la minute. There is rhythm to good sauté cooking. You learn quickly that great sauté work is not about rushing — it is about organization and control .