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Ever wonder why certain dishes taste so much better when you order them from a restaurant versus when you make them yourself at home? Part of that is due to the fact that somebody else is doing the work … all of the work, from cooking to serving and cleaning up. That’ll boost any meal for sure. But there are also some hidden tips and tricks that professional chefs know that can take a meal from good to great and while it would take much more than a blog post to go over all of them (not that I know all of them anyway), I’m happy to share a few that you can try at home!

Below are three of my favorite ways to beef up any meal, especially if you’re unable to treat yourself to dinner at your favorite restaurant.

1.     Use Fat to Your Advantage

There are tons of benefits to incorporating (the right kind of) fat into your diet. But this post isn’t about your health. It’s about flavor. And flavor comes from fat. Try cooking rice in a salted blend of coconut milk and water together (half water, half cocounut milk) instead of just water. It will add a really great depth of flavor to something that can otherwise be kind of bland.

Other forms of flavorful fats include seeds, nuts, and egg yolks. Add sunflower seeds or pecans to your next salad or side dish and for goodness sakes, eat the egg yolk with your breakfast. Nothing is more bland than egg whites.

2. Frozen Herbs

I know that adding herbs to a dish for extra flavor is kind of a given but I’m actually talking about combining herbs with the advice from tip number one about fat. You can actually freeze chopped herbs in olive oil (just use a regular old ice cube tray). It makes it super simple to add a boost to your next dish and it’s a time saving trick too! Win-Win!

3.     Infused Salt

I see this more and more in restaurants, local markets, and grocery stores. Flavored flavoring, who’d a thunk it 😉 I’ve seen tons of options of flavored salt that range from spicy to sweet and even citrus notes. You can find really amazing options from artisanal businesses but you can also make your own if you like to experiment. Try adding dried herbs or peppers to your standard salt – or sea salt if you’re feeling fancy. You don’t need much – just about a teaspoon of extra flavor to ¼ cup salt.

What do you think? Will you give these tips a shot? Which dish are you most looking forward to beefing up?

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

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