Hi! I’m Chef Tess.
I love to eat weird, wacky, and wonderful food. Whether I’m browsing a cookbook, or walking down the aisles of a grocery store, I always seek what’s different and unexpected.
I originally started this blog in 2016 for my senior thesis in college. I fell in love with cooking in a Food Writing class and used this blog as a creative outlet to better understand it. I combined my insatiable hunger with my relentless curiosity and created an online space that introduces unique ingredients to the American palate.
Eventually, I turned my passion into a career. I’ve been a cheesemonger, restaurant cook, recipe developer, and personal chef. But at the end of the day, I’m still a home cook looking for seriously unconventional, exceptionally cool ways to change up my daily eating.
Born in France, raised in the USA, and obsessed with Japanese aesthetics, I developed a culinary style inspired by my heritage and cultural interests. But I draw endless inspiration from culinary wonders around the world.
This blog is here to help you get creative in your kitchen with ingredients that you’ve likely never heard of before. In a world that demands dynamic, food can no longer be average.
Let’s be BRAVE and BOLD together! Adventurous cooking awaits…
MEET TOM THE RAMBUTAN
In a tropical forest far far away, lives a super cool and eccentric rambutan fruit named Tom.
Tom (or Hairy Cherry as his friends call him) wanted to meet other funky foods just like him. As Tom began to explore the world and make new friends, he was convinced that offbeat ingredients need a place in home kitchens too. Then Tom met the equally quirky Chef Tess who made his dreams come true. Together, they made it their mission to use funky foods to bring not just curiosity, but also fun, unique, and inspiring culinary possibility into your kitchen.
That’s why everything that Tom and Tess do is with an extra bit of novelty.
OUR MISSIONS
- Discover super cool, out of the ordinary food!
- Learn how to use them in your everyday cooking.
- Grow your kitchen confidence, inspiration, and creativity.
- Support small food businesses and their craft.
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