New Books for Chefs Just Like You!
By Lana Engelhart
The Complete Cookbook for Teen Chefs is an exciting new book brought to you by America’s Test Kitchen Kids (ATK). For the first time ever, ATK is bringing their skills, hands-on learning, and major kid-approved recipes to a kitchen near you. No matter if you want to make something easy breezy and fast, or a dish that is fancy and Instagram worthy, this cookbook has you covered--with easy-to-follow recipes and awesome photos to keep you on track and inspired. Maxwell Surprenant, 18, is one of the book’s featured young chefs.
Fun fact about this chef: “When I was 10 years old, I won a national cooking contest. I made my version of vegetable fried rice and I put apples in it. I know it sounds crazy, and I’m not sure how people liked it with apples, but it was my way of experimenting and having fun, and I think that came through in the cooking video. I think that cooking allows for creativity and innovation, and you can make the recipes yours,” he says. His love for food and experimenting only continued as he got older, and now Maxwell is a part of the ATK kitchen.
What to expect
“The cookbook has over 70 fun, yummy recipes, which include diverse recipes such as Pajeon (Korean scallion pancake) and Biang Biang Mian (flat hand-pulled noodles). Each recipe has been tested by a group of the more than 3,000 ATK teen testers and is only included in the book if 80 percent of those who made it said they would make it again. There is something for all levels—beginner, intermediate, and advanced, and sidebars give cooking instructions and tips,” Maxwell says. “The book includes foods for breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner, sides and sweets. It’s a great cookbook to get started, as the beginning gives an outline of basic cooking skills, terms to know and a list of basic tools needed in the kitchen. I found that it’s easy and interesting to read, and the photographs make me excited to try cooking everything!”
A passion for food
When Maxwell was little, he loved baking cookies, cakes and sweet treats with his mother and grandmother—American and Filipino foods. Later, he loved making breakfast foods like eggs, pancakes and smoothies. “I progressed to making dinner: tacos, sliders, chicken and fish. Cooking allows me to be more independent, and it’s become a fun hobby. I like to find recipes that are healthy and tasty, and easy to make,” he notes. “I have some food allergies, so cooking for myself is safe since I know my ingredients. I enjoy cooking for family and friends because it brings people together. For every celebration, I like to bring something to share, and my brownie cookies are becoming very popular! Next year I’m off to college, and I’m glad that I know how to cook.”
Does the chef have a favorite recipe? He loves the pan-seared strip steak! “I learned to cook steak just recently, and it was not as hard as I expected. It’s three ingredients: steak, salt and pepper. The trick is to use a non-stick skillet, meat thermometer, and flip the steak every couple of minutes to get the flavorful brown crust without overcooking the inside. I practiced a couple times, and now I feel confident cooking it. My dad likes to grill, but I taught him how to cook the steak on the stove, and it worked out well. Recently, when my friends came over, they thought we were going to pick up food at a restaurant, but I set the table, made the steak and they loved it. I also found that the steak tacos and cheeseburger sliders are crowd pleasers for sure!”
Words of Wisdom
Maxwell encourages you to dive in because it’s “fun and yummy.” If you can read, you can follow a recipe, he believes. “Set up all your ingredients and tools that you need beforehand—the ATK cookbook is great because it outlines everything for you. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes because that’s how you learn and get better. I’d also advise cooking new and different things because you might discover new favorites. For example, I love avocado toast and acai smoothie bowls. It’s easy to make for breakfast or snacks, as long as I have the ingredients in the refrigerator. So, another piece of advice is to go to the grocery store so that you can stock up on the ingredients that you need to make your go-to meals. For my birthday and Christmas, I asked for cooking gear, and my parents and grandparents were more than happy to get me what I needed.”
As an ATK cook and tester, he remembers learning how to decorate cupcakes and now he makes cupcakes and decorates them with icing in different ways: smooth, sprinkles and swirly. “I also learned more about the science behind cooking like the physics of making popcorn—and that’s something that I make a lot when I’m studying or watching movies. It’s fun to learn how to plate your food because when you make a delicious recipe, it’s nice to know how to present it so it looks appetizing and beautiful. I think that cooking a meal for someone—even yourself—is a kind and special gift.”
Check out this great title, make a mess (but clean up when you’re done), and pick up some new culinary skills!