The cook, the story, the philosophy.
I started HomeChefHoff during the early days of the pandemic, when a friend suggested I share what I'd been cooking online. What had always been a private passion — feeding the people I care about — suddenly became a small community of people cooking along with me from their own kitchens.
I don't cook from recipes so much as through them. I'll read four versions of the same dish, pull the best technique from each, then improvise from there based on what's in the fridge and who's coming to dinner. The recipes here reflect that: they're guidelines more than gospel, and I actively encourage you to make them your own.
My style leans heavily on the science-forward cooking of Kenji Lopez-Alt and the Serious Eats team, the flavors of Italy and the Mediterranean, and the kind of family recipes that don't have written instructions because they've been passed down through watching, tasting, and doing.
Outside the kitchen, I'm an executive at a technology company, a driving instructor for the Porsche Club of America, a skier, an avid reader, and someone who will happily talk food, wine, cars, or almost anything else for as long as you'll let me.
This site is a love letter to home cooking — to the idea that feeding people is one of the most meaningful things you can do for them. I hope something here makes its way to your table.
— Brian
Most home cooks under-season. Salt at every stage, taste as you go, and don't be timid.
Browning creates flavor. Don't be afraid of a screaming hot pan or a very hot oven.
Have everything prepped and ready before you start. Cooking is more enjoyable and more successful when you're not chopping garlic mid-sauté.
A Vitamix and a Thermapen will improve your cooking. But knowing how to build a pan sauce matters more than any tool.