• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

MASTER’S CLASS: FOOD & WINE’S MAGAZINE’S LONG-REIGNING EDITOR HAS A DARK SECRET IN NEW BOOK

Written by DAN MCCARTHY Posted November 7, 2014 Filed Under: Eats, LIFESTYLE

Photo by Scott Murry
Photo by Scott Murry

The fact that Dana Cowin, editor-in-chief of Food & Wine since 1995, has gone so long without letting it slip that the magazine’s top dog had no idea how to cook is a feat in of itself. Think about how many endless interviews with world-famous chefs, panels, demonstrations, and the sheer volume of content has been overseen by someone who, by her own admission, knows a lot about food but knows next-to-nothing about how to make it. It’s kind of astounding.

 

And in lieu of keeping that fact that she had no idea how to cook under lock and key any longer, she admirably exposed her secret to a hand-selected group of what amounts to 65 of the best kitchen talent in the world, and simply asked them to help her learn.

 

The result, Mastering My Mistakes In The Kitchen, ($34.99) released earlier this month, and she’ll be at Northeastern in November with some familiar Boston faces.

 

So, why let the cat out of the bag now?

Having been at [the magazine] for 20 years, I decided it wouldn’t damage the relationship I have with chefs and readers. And at the same time [get] great tips and recipes I could share with a whole new audience.

 

Biggest takeaway from the whole experience?

That the culinary and human condition are one in the same. Cooking is less about technique as it is who you are as a person. You actually need to say to yourself and say i’m going to do this and only this for next half hour, and then if you’re really present in the moment while following instructions in recipe, patiently, you’ll have something good at the end. In the end, it revealed that I’m quite impatient, often unfocused. and I don’t like to practice. (laughs). That’s a good reflection. I didn’t like school and studying, I was just very intuitive. But you can’t be an intuitive cook if you’re not practiced.

 

You worked with some pretty amazing Boston talent. Kristen Kish (Menton), Ming Tsai (Blue Dragon), Joanne Chang (Flour Bakery). 

Yeah, and I had [already] admired them for what I have eaten in their restaurants. But learning from them showed me what great teachers chefs need to be, so, at least for a moment, I got to be a line cook for them. All of them have such a deep knowledge.

 

Examples?

Ming has a lot of magic and mystery [about food] he can reveal. Kristen [showed me] cooking is paying attention to flavor first, and time/perfectionism second, and I loved how practical Joanne was. She reminded me you don’t need 10 years in the kitchen to cook.

 

What’s the key thing a novice can look to your book for? 

The key here is desire, and looking at what is holding you back from cooking, and about shutting up that voice in your head saying “I’m not good at this.” If you have that voice, you may as well never pick up a knife.

 

DANA COWIN AND HER BOSTON CHEF FRIENDS. COOKING DEMO AND TALK AT BLACKMAN AUDITORIUM AT NORTHEASTERN. 360 HUNTINGTON AVE. NOV 13. TICKETS AT TICKETS.NEU.EDU


 

DAN MCCARTHY

Dan is a freelance journalist and has written for publications including Vice, Esquire, the Daily Beast, Fast Company, Pacific Standard, MEL, Leafly, Thrillist, and DigBoston.

More from author
  • DAN MCCARTHY
    https://digboston.com/author/dan-mccarthy/
    cannabis massachusetts pandemic
    RANGE OF VOICES TESTIFY TO OPEN CANNABIS DISPENSARIES DURING PANDEMIC
  • DAN MCCARTHY
    https://digboston.com/author/dan-mccarthy/
    BIG CHILL: A YAWN OF A CENTENNIAL, DINNER WITH MICHAEL J. FOX, AND THE MICHAEL BENNET PRIMARY TEST
  • DAN MCCARTHY
    https://digboston.com/author/dan-mccarthy/
    THE POLICY POLICE: CANNABIS COP AND GOP COHORT CHALLENGE CANDIDATES AND EDUCATE VOTERS ON WHY DRUGS SHOULD BE LEGAL
  • DAN MCCARTHY
    https://digboston.com/author/dan-mccarthy/
    ACCESS DENIED: BUTTIGIEG PACKS ROOM, BRUISES INDEPENDENT MEDIA EGOS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Filed Under: Eats, LIFESTYLE Tagged With: Blue Dragon, Chefs, Cookbook, cooking, cuisine, culinary, Dana Cowin, DigBoston, Flour Bakery, Food & Wine, Joanne Chang, Kitchen, Kristen Kish, magazine, Menton, Ming Tsai, Northeastern, recipes, Restaurants

WHAT’S NEW

2021 Biden inauguration Boston

PHOTOS & RECAP: “NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN” RALLY IN BOSTON

2020 Indian farmers' protest - On a truck. Photo CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain by Randeep Maddoke, randeepphotoartist@gmail.com.

OPINION: IS DISSENT ANTI-NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM?

WU ASSERTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTS IN HER CAMPAIGN

WU ASSERTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTS IN HER CAMPAIGN

STREET MEDICS BOLSTER PROTESTS IN MORE WAYS THAN YOU MAY REALIZE

STREET MEDICS BOLSTER PROTESTS IN MORE WAYS THAN YOU MAY REALIZE

HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP

HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HONORED, SPEAKERS ADDRESS RACISM

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HONORED, SPEAKERS ADDRESS RACISM

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • APPOINTED SOMERVILLE OFFICIAL SPURS OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC MOB SCENE by MARC LEVY
  • Aerial View Parkman Bandstand at Boston Common. CC BY-SA 4.0 2017 by AbhiSuryawanshi. NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM by MATTHEW ANDREWS
  • VIDEO: COP WHO BRAGGED THAT HE HIT PROTESTERS SHOWS HOW BAD APPLES THRIVE IN BOSTON by CHRIS FARAONE
  • PRISON HORRORS BY THE NUMBERS by SARAH BETANCOURT
  • IT’S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT’S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT? by ZACK HUFFMAN

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

Footer

digbos

“Trump was voted out. However, this is not a man “Trump was voted out. However, this is not a mandate for #Biden and #Harris.” https://digboston.com/photos-recap-no-honeymoon-for-biden-rally-in-boston/ #photo #rally #march #left #protest #inauguration #Boston #Massachusetts
OPINION: IS DISSENT ANTI-NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM OPINION: IS DISSENT ANTI-NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM? #Boston #protest for Indian farmers, Saturday 1/23/21, 12-1 pm at the #Massachusetts State House https://digboston.com/opinion-is-dissent-anti-nationalism-or-patriotism/ #India #politics #food #farmer #protest #justice #solidarity @monica_gill1
HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO A HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP https://digboston.com/no-justice-how-officials-in-one-mass-town-took-extraordinary-measures-to-appease-a-controversial-cop/ #ArlingtonMA #police #reform #cop #racism #controversy #BlackLivesMatter #Massachusetts
Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for host Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for hosts, servers, bartenders, bussers … What happens to those #jobs if virtual kitchens continue to flourish? https://digboston.com/ghost-story-virtual-kitchens-appear-to-be-the-next-big-thing-but-at-what-cost/ #restaurant #labor #work #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
“I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan “I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan. 7 in the same country we went to bed in on the 6th.” https://digboston.com/former-mass-gubernatorial-candidate-predicted-violence-before-assault-on-capitol/ #politics #Massachusetts #national #Capitol #WashingtonDC #MAGA
RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL http RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL https://digboston.com/radical-and-relevant-the-life-of-harry-brill/ #obituary #organizer #radical #sociologist #democracy #politics @UMassBoston @BklynCollege411 @UCBerkeley #Boston #Massachusetts #NewYorkCity #Berkeley #California
NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 #PROTEST ON BOSTON CO NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 #PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM https://digboston.com/no-honeymoon-for-biden-1-20-protest-on-boston-common-4-pm/ #opinion #progressive #left #action #inauguration #Boston #Massachusetts
Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this lat Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this latest incarnation of a #beer that’s been in the making for months. https://digboston.com/video-jacks-abby-x-boston-celtics-pride-and-parquet-hoppy-lager-unboxing-tasting/ #fun #video #review #Boston #Massachusetts
Jostling for position and influence are the disadv Jostling for position and influence are the disadvantaged candidates, existing industry participants, and municipalities … https://digboston.com/the-road-to-home-delivery-pt-5-dogs-in-the-fight-identifying-the-players/ #cannabis #politics #analysis #Massachusetts
The candidates will be interviewed about the upcom The candidates will be interviewed about the upcoming race. https://digboston.com/wu-and-campbell-to-speak-at-mayoral-candidate-webinar/ #politics #mayor #campaign #Boston #Massachusetts
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]