The Top Gun

Inside the home kitchen of Jennifer Biesty, executive chef at Coco500 and contender on season four of Bravo’s Top Chef.

Do you cook with friends?
I have some friends that are good cooks. Usually they say, “You should come over for dinner,” and then they’re hacking vegetables up with a really dull knife, and it’s so painful to watch. I’d much rather jump in there and do it myself. They almost expect it—like your friend who’s a doctor, and you ask him for advice on your bad back.

How would you describe your home-cooking style?
When Zoi and I actually cook at home, it’s definitely comfort food: Slow-braised oxtails, the unbeatable roast chicken. But honestly, it’s usually picking up the telephone or going out. We call in spicy larb ped (minced-duck salad) from Thai restaurants, and when I lived in the Richmond, near Ton Kiang, we’d just walk over and order salt-baked chicken, pea tendrils in garlic sauce and crab rolls. Why cook if you don’t have to?

What do you listen to when you’re cooking at home?
We have a record player and a big record collection. Coming from the East Coast and growing up with rocker brothers, I’m on the rock-‘n’-roll and hip-hop side of the music spectrum. My new favorite is a Southern underground hip-hop group called the  CunninLynguists. But we’re all over the place: PJ Harvey, Lucinda Williams—sometimes we’ll play Heart or a little Beyoncé for Zoi.

Fanciest meal you’ve ever made at home?
A summertime tasting menu for some great friends from New York. We started with raw Kumamoto oysters with lemon-and-black-pepper granita, and then, because they wanted to learn, we made pasta together: a golden caviar capellini. We moved on to lobster gazpacho and finally a roast duck with corn soufflé and heirloom tomatoes in basil oil. Then I think we just had ice cream—I always forget about dessert! 

Biesty recommends...

Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine $60; Cooks Boulevard, 1309 Castro St., 415-647-2665,	Cuisinart Griddler Panini Press $190; Neiman Marcus, 150 Stockton St., 415-362-3900,

Do you cook with friends?
I have some friends that are good cooks. Usually they say, “You should come over for dinner,” and then they’re hacking vegetables up with a really dull knife, and it’s so painful to watch. I’d much rather jump in there and do it myself. They almost expect it—like your friend who’s a doctor, and you ask him for advice on your bad back.

How would you describe your home-cooking style?
When Zoi and I actually cook at home, it’s definitely comfort food: Slow-braised oxtails, the unbeatable roast chicken. But honestly, it’s usually picking up the telephone or going out. We call in spicy larb ped (minced-duck salad) from Thai restaurants, and when I lived in the Richmond, near Ton Kiang, we’d just walk over and order salt-baked chicken, pea tendrils in garlic sauce and crab rolls. Why cook if you don’t have to?

What do you listen to when you’re cooking at home?
We have a record player and a big record collection. Coming from the East Coast and growing up with rocker brothers, I’m on the rock-‘n’-roll and hip-hop side of the music spectrum. My new favorite is a Southern underground hip-hop group called the  CunninLynguists. But we’re all over the place: PJ Harvey, Lucinda Williams—sometimes we’ll play Heart or a little Beyoncé for Zoi.

Fanciest meal you’ve ever made at home?
A summertime tasting menu for some great friends from New York. We started with raw Kumamoto oysters with lemon-and-black-pepper granita, and then, because they wanted to learn, we made pasta together: a golden caviar capellini. We moved on to lobster gazpacho and finally a roast duck with corn soufflé and heirloom tomatoes in basil oil. Then I think we just had ice cream—I always forget about dessert! 

Biesty recommends...

Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine $60; Cooks Boulevard, 1309 Castro St., 415-647-2665,	Cuisinart Griddler Panini Press $190; Neiman Marcus, 150 Stockton St., 415-362-3900,

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