Vic Nardini takes recipes with a grain of salt, saying recipes are made to be broken.
Cooking at home is very different from cooking in a restaurant, he said. Nardini has done both.
He grew up watching his father cook.
Nardinis father owned a restaurant in St. Paul and would have his son sit on a box to peel potatoes. Nardini learned mostly from watching and doing.
After starting at his fathers restaurant, Nardini worked at different restaurants in the Twin Cities and then in Chicago. He moved back to the Twin Cities and taught cooking courses at Dakota County Technical College for almost 25 years. Now retired, Nardini and his wife, Janet, moved to Wadena in 2002 upon the urging of Nardinis sister-in-law and brother who live in the area.
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All along, Nardini learned new cooking tips. Hes still learning, he says. Even though he is no longer cooking for a restaurant or teaching students, Nardini continues to learn. He cooks every day for his wife.
He said he learned at each restaurant where he worked and from the students he taught.
As old as I am, Im still learning, he said.
Nardini considers himself a gourmet cook, simply meaning that he cooks food that is served attractively and tastefully, he said.
When cooking at home, there isnt a backup staff or time like in a restaurant, so Nardini suggests keeping it simple.
Each week, Nardini plans all the meals and makes a list of food items to buy at the grocery store. Putting it on paper makes preparing for meals less time consuming, he said.
If people wrote it down on paper it would make it easier, Nardini said. You should always make a list and stick to it.
He also plans for leftovers. But he wont just heat up leftovers the same as they were made the first time. Instead, if he makes pork chops for a dish, he will cook four pork chops and then set two aside for a completely different meal. It saves time cooking the pork chops the next day.
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I never make leftovers the same way, he said. It makes it interesting.
Also, Nardini said he rarely sticks to a recipe exactly as it is written. If someone would rather have medium cheddar cheese than sharp cheddar cheese, he or she should just change the recipe, Nardini said. Recipes are just a guideline, he said, and thats what makes cooking fun.
Nardini likes to emphasize organization in cooking.
If people organize, cooking can be fun, he said.
He follows preparation and organization, or mise en place, as some chefs like to call it. Having ingredients portioned and set out before cooking begins makes cooking less stressful, he said.
Some ingredients, such as spices, can be measured and set out anytime during the day.
If someone is interested in cooking, Nardini recommends watching cooking shows on television to learn tips. He maintains that anyone can cook and that people learn by watching and doing.
When Nardini isnt cooking, hes reading cookbooks that fill his bookshelves.
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Also, he and his wife like to travel. They have friends who live all around the country, he said.
