Food People, Parent Picks: Chef Nelson's Favorite Things
Chef Dad Energy! What Chef Nelson is cooking, feeding, and loving—on the line and at home with baby Mason
Food People, Parent Picks: we ask our favorite chefs, food writers, and industry insiders who we interview in our Order Up! Series to share the products, books, and bites they can’t live without.
Small Bites:
🍽️ Spring & Summer on a Plate - fresh from Peas & Hoppiness
There’s something magic about seasonal eating — and Peas & Hoppiness knows how to bring it to your table. Each week’s menu highlights the season’s freshest produce (think juicy strawberries, bright greens, tender asparagus) and turns it into simple, delicious meals. Bonus? Seasonal ingredients are often more nutritious and more affordable, so it’s a win for your body and your grocery budget.
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After opening three standout Bay Area restaurants and making waves on Top Chef, Chef Nelson German could easily rest on his culinary laurels (revisit our special Father’s Day Order Up! interview with Chef Nelson, here). But these days, it’s the small wins that feel the most meaningful: a baby giggle during breakfast, a perfectly preheated pan, a shared plantain bite that makes his son smile.
Just ahead of celebrating his first Father’s Day weekend, Nelson’s back for our Food People, Parent Picks series to share his kitchen wisdom, favorite ingredients, and the rituals that keep him grounded. From mastering heat control to celebrating heritage flavors like culantro, his tips bring culture, care, and confidence to the home cook’s table.
Whether you're cooking one-handed while holding a baby or just trying to keep dinner joyful, Chef Nelson’s picks might be the inspiration you need heading into the weekend.
🍳 What’s a cooking skill you think every home cook should practice?
Control your heat! Don’t cook on super high heat — it takes control away from you and puts it in the pan’s hands. Medium-high is where you want to be. Preheat your pan properly, and stick to something like cast iron. When you’re in control, cooking feels less scary, and that’s when great things happen.
🥣 One ingredient you always keep stocked?
My Dominican sazón — it’s a staple in my kitchen.
🍴 A kitchen tool you swear by?
A whisk! Not just for desserts — I use it for sauces all the time. It helps everything come together beautifully.
📔 Favorite cookbook or one that shaped how you cook?
Marcus Samuelsson’s The Soul of a New Cuisine. It digs deep into African roots and flavors, connecting me to the ingredients I grew up with, straight from the motherland.
🍤 What do you always order on a menu?
Fried calamari. Simple, but I love it, I absolutely adore it, and will always order it.
☕ Any daily ritual that grounds you, especially with a baby under a year old?
My cafécito. It’s more than caffeine — it’s comforting, a connection to my mom, and a moment to pause and breathe.
Any ingredient from Dominican or African culture you wish more people knew about?
Culantro — not cilantro, but a cousin of it. It’s key in sofritos, beans, and rice, and even great in teas. It’s amazing how it connects Afro-Latino and Southeast Asian cuisines.
🥘 Any artisan food makers you love right now?
My friend Illyanna Maisonet, a Puerto Rican chef and writer bringing Afro-Latino roots to life with her sazóns and spices. Her book, Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook, is a must-read. [Bookshop.org, Amazon]
🔪 Favorite food gift to give or receive?
Sofrito — homemade, jarred magic that adds flavor to everything. Also, cookbooks and chef’s knives — they’re gifts that inspire and symbolize respect and legacy.