This Top Chef Alum Is All About Technique

Chef, TopChef Season 10 winner, and cookbook author Kristen Kish has refined her cooking to an art form. Taking root in classic French cuisine and adding influences from travels and her childhood, Kish’s style in the kitchen adapts and goes with the flow, but inspiration can come from almost anywhere. Even adding a new ingredient to a classic dish can shift things into a totally different realm if the mood strikes.

Still, technique is everything. Recently, “clean, simple, and refined” dishes have been planned for her upcoming Charleston, SC eatery (still in the works), which will reflect influences from its coastal cuisine. But whether the recipes come from her upcoming cookbook, her days working at amazing restaurants, or even her time on Top Chef, one philosophy always remains the same for Kish: “It’s all about technique. When you know the whys and the hows of what you’re doing, then you’re able to bend them to your will.” We choose to believe she also has culinary magical powers.