Max is a self-taught cook who has been in the restaurant industry for seven years. He got his start cooking and running kitchens in Boston, and Dartmouth, Massachusetts, before moving to Providence, Rhode Island, and ending up in Chicago. Though he has had some success in restaurants, earning a James Beard Award nomination, and winning a Starchefs Rising Star award, He is now glad to be taking a step back from the kitchen to be able to connect with the passionate home cooks that come to learn at The Chopping Block.
Recent Posts
Modernist Cooking: Intro to Sous Vide
Many moons ago, I created a class at The Chopping Block called Modernist Boot Camp. This class was… long. And complicated to put on. And expensive. And of limited appeal. For these reasons, the class ...
There are a few reasons why fall is the best time of year. The oppressive summer heat is abating, mosquitos are dropping dead, new and wonderful fruit is coming into season, and of course the most ...
When we decided to relocate to upstate New York part of the agenda was to spend more time enjoying the outdoors. Living in Chicago, this was one area of life that was definitely lacking. In order to ...
There are lots of reasons to host friends and family at your home: to bask in the camaraderie of those you love, to celebrate an event or milestone, or just to have fun. I think for a lot of those ...
Looking around at the landscape of what types of books are being published when it comes to cooking, you could be forgiven for thinking that your only options are books from celebrities of one flavor ...
Behind The Scenes: Prepping for a Restaurant Part II
When you work as a cook in a restaurant, getting food from raw ingredients to finished dishes can, in some ways, be more straightforward than cooking at home, or less, depending on your point of ...
We find ourselves in the early stages of high summer. This unfortunate circumstance comes with many downsides if you live in upstate New York. Blistering temperatures (hotter every year!), air thick ...
I’ve lived in a lot of places. Not as many as some, but I'd venture to say more than most. In the last 15 years, I’ve lived in 19 different apartments, rooms, or houses. That’s 19 kitchens I've had ...
What goes on in the kitchen of a restaurant can be a bit of a mystery. Even if the restaurant has an open kitchen, by the time the public at large is looking on, almost all the work has already been ...
Cooking eggs is one of those things that professional cooks tend to obsess over. Even the number of pleats in a traditional French toque (100) supposedly represent the 100 different ways to cook an ...