Looking Back: Food Tips I Learned from my Clients

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Like most bloggers, I’ve always had a day job. And if you’ve followed my posts, you know what it is: doing PR for food clients. It’s a job I’ve loved, that has sustained me over decades.

My client list over the years reads like a supermarket shopping list – agricultural commodity boards like mushrooms, raisins, dried plums walnuts, almonds, strawberries, iceberg lettuce, avocados, limes, papaya, fresh ginger, garlic, turkey, duckling, beef…. And brand accounts like Fleishmann’s Yeast, Spice Islands, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Glad Press ‘n Seal Wrap, Kikkoman, Ghirardelli, Progresso and Kerrygold. I’ve also worked on wines, liqueurs and more.

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Our Best Cooking Tips and Tricks

Special Fork is on summer hiatus from August 5 through Labor Day. Each Monday, while we’re on vacation, I’ll present another facet of Special Fork and highlight some features you might have missed.

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

A sensible way to learn to cook is to just do it, one simple recipe at a time. By following instructions in a recipe, you’re rewarded with something good to eat, and you’ll begin to learn cooking techniques along the way.

After more than three years of blogging, Monday through Friday, Special Fork bloggers have produced a rich collection of recipes, all taking no more than 30 minutes of prep time. And, embedded in many of the blog posts, are useful cooking tips and tricks that I am highlighting for you today.

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How to Read a Recipe

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Dave loves to tell this story: Looking for cooking inspiration, he found a crowd-sourced tilapia recipe on the Internet. He invested the time and money to purchase the ingredients. He cooked, following instructions carefully and after tasting…promptly tossed the dish in the trash!

Dave came to me to find out why the dish was inedible. Perusing the offending recipe, I wisely told him, according to Dave, “Just looking at the ingredients, I could tell you this recipe wasn’t going to work.”

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My Essential Pepin

Photo courtesy KQED from the Essential Pépin TV Series Photo credit: © 2010 – Cristiana CeppasToday, Sandy turns over her Monday spot to Mary Jane Reiter, Special Fork’s public relations manager, who blogs about her recent class with the legendary chef, Jacques Pépin.

By Mary Jane Reiter

Before there was Emeril, Bobby, Gordon or Martha, there was Jacques. Jacques Pépin has spent the last 60 years as a professional chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and host of many PBS cooking shows. His most recent TV show and companion book Essential Pepin contains more than 700 of his favorite recipes.

Jacques Pépin is MY celebrity chef. So when I had the opportunity recently to attend a techniques class for culinary students, taught by Pépin, I jumped at the chance. He spoke at the International Culinary Center in Campbell, California, where he is on the board.

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