Ron Phillips Profile
United States Chef
Ron Phillips Profile
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FoodieGuy
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About me
Fortunately for me, I've called the San Francisco Bay Area home for almost 50 years. I have lived in small town Oklahoma, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and Houston. I consider the Bay Area to be the perfect place for one who loves food. The opportunities for great dining are endless, it seems. Every conceivable type of ingredient (well, almost) can likely be obtained here.....and we have great kitchen/cookware stores which carry anything one might need.
I always loved food, eating, dining out, entertaining, etc. I started cooking using recipes from such books as the Joy of Cooking, The New York Times Cookbook, Betty Crocker books, and many of the paperback Sunset cookbooks. I still have all of these books. My first stab at 'gourmet' cooking came in the early 80's. It was about the time that "The Silver Palate Cookbook" came out, and I got interested in good cookware. Lots of time has passed since then, and I've become a much better cook but have not had lots of time to devote to it because of other obligations in life (e.g. WORK).
I like almost any kind of food, but I particularly and fond of 'comfort food' along with Italian, French, German, Mexican, Indian, Spanish, Chinese, Thai and other international cuisines. Food from the South of France and Tuscany are favorites.
I love almost everything about food......researching cookbooks, browsing food-related websites, creating menus, using my kitchen's "toys", the preparation and presentation of meals and enjoying all of this with friends and family. I do NOT enjoy cleaning up, though. :-)
Cooking Influences
My earliest memories of things related to food are the meals my Grandmother Rodgers prepared on their farm in Oklahoma. She was an incredible cook, and everything was homemade with fresh ingredients, much of which was grown on their farm. Even today, I long for her food. Unfortunately, she did not cook using recipes (as far as I know) and her 'recipes' are lost forever. I'm still trying to come up with a biscuit recipe that is anywhere near like hers! :-)
Since I've lived in several major world-class cities and have had considerable travel opportunities, my tastes have become much more diverse than when I was that little boy eating Grandma's home cooking.
Recommendations
Favorite Cookbooks
- The Silver Palate Cookbook (Juliee Rosso & Sheila Lukins)
- My first 'gourmet' cookbook! I still love it and have 3 copies!
- Casual Cooking (Michael Chiarello)
- This book introduced me to 'gray salt', which I love!
- The PlumpJack Cookbook (Jeff Morgan)
- This cookbook was a big surprise hit with me!
- Weir Cooking in the City (Joanne Weir)
- Any cookbook by Joanne is excellent for any cook!
- Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home (Julia Child & Jacques Pepin)
- This is an excellent book with lots of insight into basic cooking!
- The Los Angeles Times California Cookbook (Los Angeles Times Staff)
- This is an old favorite of mine from the early 1980s.
- More Cooking in the Wine Country (Joanne Weir)
- You can't go wrong with Joanne's books!
- The Taste of Summer (Diane Rossen Worthington)
- Diane has written several cookbooks and they are all great! This was my first by her!
- The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (Marion Cunningham)
- I consider this to be an excellent reference cookbook with lots of basics.
- The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook - The Original Classics (Martha Stewart)
- Martha's books are NOT intimidating....as I always thought they would be!
- The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook - The New Classics (Martha Stewart)
- Another great cookbook from Martha!
- Mastering the Art of French Cooking - 40th Anniversary Edition (Julia Child & Associates)
- I always thought Julia's techniques would be too complex! Not so!
Chefs I recommend
- Joanne Weir (San Francisco, CA)
- Michael Chiarello (St. Helena, CA)
Restaurants I Recommend
- Boulevard (San Francisco, CA)
- A favorite of mine for years!
- Bistro Des Copains (Occidental, CA)
- This cute little Provence-style place is fantastic!
- Le Provence (San Francisco, CA)
- A wonderful store-front Provence-style place!
- Patxi's Chicago Pizza (Palo Alto and San Francisco, CA)
- I was very pleasantly surprised!
- The Butler & the Chef (San Francisco, CA)
- A very French unpretentious little place in South Park with ambiance!.
- Isa (San Francisco, CA)
- Love this place for it's many smaller dishes to share!
- The Belvedere (Beverly Hills, CA)
- Great food but incredible service!!!!
- Hotel Bel-Air Restaurant & Terrace (Beverly Hills, CA)
- Fabulous setting with food and service to match!
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