Andy Baraghani started his professional cooking career as a teenager at the legendary Berkeley, California, restaurant Chez Panisse, and he was truly just getting started. After working as a line cook at Estela in New York City, he was hired as the food editor at Tasting Table and eventually found his way to the Bon Appétit test kitchen, where he worked for over six years and won the hearts of many with his exceptional cooking instruction and his own kind heart. Andy’s rich story and sharp recipe writing chops come together so beautifully in his book, The Cook You Want to Be, published two years ago. So what has Andy been up to? It turns out, plenty—both online and offline. Here we catch up about what is good in the Baraghani universe, and it’s clear Andy is the guy he wants to be.

Also on the episode, we hear from Christian Reynoso about the recent TASTE feature he wrote describing his time working at San Francisco’s Zuni Café and the legacy of the cookbook that remains an absolute classic.

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MORE FROM ANDY BARAGHANI:

• Andy Baraghani’s Essential Kitchen Tools [Bon Appetit]

• Kimchi Udon With Scallions [Bon Appetit]

• How Andy Baraghani Became the Internet Boyfriend of Our Dreams [Out]

• The Zuni Café Cookbook Is Canon [TASTE]