How Chefs Keep Track of Their Recipes

I liked this article: How Professional Chefs Organize Recipes With Digital Devices – WSJ.com. Although the article focuses on digital devices, good old paper notebooks make an appearance:

Whether it’s a pile of food-splotched printouts or a cluttered digital desktop, many cooking enthusiasts are swimming in recipes, with no good system for storing them. Is there a better way to collect and store recipes so they can be easily retrieved later on?

Even the pros struggle. Most chefs rely on some combination of digital readers, apps and email—so much the better if the device fits in the back pocket of chef’s pants—plus traditional paper notebooks or index cards….
Some chefs refuse to give up old-school methods. For many chefs these involve a pocketsize notebook made by Moleskine, with plastic-coated covers and an elastic bookmark. Robb White, the dean at the Culinary Institute of Michigan, has filled more than 300 with recipes, each one with a sketch of the dish or a plating idea on the back. Notebooks are designated by entrée or appetizer type, and he stores them by year. His system helps him spot and keep track of food trends, he says. “I get made fun of a lot—all my chef buddies think I’m nuts,” Mr. White says.

300 pocket size Moleskines full of recipes and sketches… be still, my heart!

One thought on “How Chefs Keep Track of Their Recipes”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.