My kid could cook that: Alinea responds to our cookery, schools us
His name is Theo. He's 5. He cooks way better than we do.
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As far as food fights go, this has been a fun one. Last week, Decider and the Chicago Reader teamed up to try our hand at the Alinea cookbook. (It had been baffling us for a while.) Soon after the article posted, we heard from Nick Kokonas, Alinea chef Grant Achatz's business partner, who had seen our video and was incredulous of the results: "7 hours? Really? WTF?" (He also told us that cheesecloth was a terrible idea and probably ruined our shot at cider gel.)
He said a video response would be forthcoming, and the man is no liar. We've been outdone by two kids—Theo, 5, and James, 9—albeit kids with a much fancier kitchen and a damn good advisor helping them out, not that we're bitter. Here's a sample:
James: The first thing I made was scrambled eggs, when I was about 7.
Kokonas: So about two years? And now you're going to take the Alinea book? ...Does it seem hard or easy?
James: It seems about medium-ish.
Kokonas: So about two years? And now you're going to take the Alinea book? ...Does it seem hard or easy?
James: It seems about medium-ish.
So we're hanging up our chef's hat and giving away a free copy of the Alinea book. Write us with "Alinea contest" in the subject line and the book could be yours. There is one catch, though—you're bound to try cooking one of the recipes and to let us know how it goes. Update, Dec. 3: We've given away the book, and the winner has promised to try her hand at multiple courses. She'll report back shortly...
