Gabe Diaz

I spent twenty-two years in restaurant kitchens, most of them as sous chef at a bistro on Main Street in West Orange. My mother was from Camagüey, so the food I cook at home is black beans, picadillo and pollo asado, and that is often where lessons end up.

I teach the way I trained young cooks. You hold the knife, you stir the pot, and I stand next to you and explain why. We stick to dishes with ten ingredients or fewer that fit in one skillet or one sheet pan, and I plan portions so there are leftovers for the next day. If standing for an hour is tiring, we do all the chopping at the table and only move to the stove for the cooking.

On Saturdays I shop at the Montclair farmers market and usually build that week's lessons around whatever looks best. My kids say I talk to tomatoes. They are not wrong.