Not Enough Cooks in the Kitchen?

My love for the holidays runs deep because I, like David Sedaris, was once a Macy’s Christmas elf. Well, not exactly—but I could have been. As a chef, I’ve spent thousands of hours over the years designing, building, frosting, rolling, and baking for Santa’s imminent arrival. I’ve cooked on the holiday stage at Macy’s, prepped the Who-hash for dozens of family meals, and fed the reindeer too many inappropriate things to count.

I had the elf position on lock early on in life. I’ve always loved to cook and even as a boy could wrap gifts with the precision of an origamist. (No tape. Believe it.) In my house, there are really only two months of the year that matter: August, when we eat figs and sea urchins on vacation in Italy, and December, when nature shares her most precious foods—freshly pressed olive oil, panettone, and white truffles.