Photo Brent Herrig

“When you do something good for people you don’t do good because you want something good to come out of it: you do it for the goodness of your heart and soul, what your parents teach you to do. I believe that if everybody does their part this would be a better place to live in.”

It’s not often that a chef moves me to tears in an interview, let alone twice.

Yet Chef Cardoz did just that.

Our chat together inspired many such moments, where his balanced belief system gave me confidence that kitchens aren’t always about ego, celebrity doesn’t always mean drama, and good food can be created by happy hands.

I could go on about how special this interview was, and how much I look forward to heading down to North End Grill again for a long lunch. Or how much I hope that Chef Cardoz and I do get to share a Portuguese meal together in Jersey (he’s from Goa, a Portuguese part of India where my Indian godfather is from which is how he met my Portuguese family). Or how the world, this city and my profession do seem friendlier knowing that such chefs are out there.

Head over to Serious Eats NY to read the full interview.

Stay dry and warm,

– Jacqueline

Oh, and if you missed it earlier today, check out my new “Private Chef-ing By the Book” post with Seamus Mullen’s HERO FOOD. I also interviewed Chef Mullen for this Serious Eats series!

Related articles

• Carrot Soup with Tarragon, Ginger and Toasted Pepitas – Private Chef-ing By the Book with Seamus Mullen (thedustybaker.com)
• I Chat With: Chef Jim Botsacos of Molyvos and Abboccato (thedustybaker.com)

In case I haven’t barreled you over the head about it enough, one of my favorite gigs is interviewing NYC-based chefs for Serious Eats NY. From the lauded and prestigious Daniel Humm at Eleven Madison Park to the oh-so-New-York Daniel Holzman of the Meatball Shops to the super-sweet pastry chef Stephen Collucci at Colicchio and Sons, I find so much inspiration and fun in these discussions!

So here are the past few weeks of interviews. You can also check out the whole series on my Words… page. If you have a few leisurely minutes of computer reading time ahead, I hope you enjoy seeing how we get food done in good ol’ NYC. Click on the images to be directed to the interviews.

Kenny Callagan of Blue Smoke, and this week’s Big Apple Barbecue Block Party (photo Joshua Bousel)

Alex Stupak, owner of Empellon Cocina and Empellon Taqueria (photo Brent Herrig)

Harold Dieterle, Owner of Perilla and Kin Shop (photo Brent Herrig)