The Wednesday Chef is written by me, Luisa Weiss, a writer and home cook in Berlin, Germany. I used to live in New York City, where I edited cookbooks and blogged and ran around gaping at the wonders of the world around me. New York! Greatest city in the world. But in the fall of 2009, I moved back home to Berlin, where I was born, to write full-time. Berlin's pretty nice, too. It's taking good care of me.
I grew up in Berlin with an American father and an Italian mother. This gives me all kinds of questionable authority on food, and the ability to speak several languages. It also means I like all kinds of things: Leberwurst sandwiches and Pflaumenkuchen when I'm in Berlin; pizza al taglio and roasted rabbit in Urbino; dan dan noodles and char siu bao in New York. I am perpetually homesick, so I cook to anchor myself and find joy in the small things: a perfect apricot, the texture of sea urchin, the smell of bread baking in my kitchen. And writing about food, well, it seems to go hand-in-hand with cooking for me.
This website was started in August 2005 as a way of working through a mountain of recipe clippings from The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. Five years later, that pile doesn't seem to have gotten any smaller.
My book, tentatively titled My Berlin Kitchen, will be published by Viking Press in a few years. Can you tell that I'm practically levitating as I type? This is my dream come true. If you want to read a little bit more about how all that came about, click here.
You can reach me at wednesdaychefAThotmailDOTcom, become a fan on The Wednesday Chef on Facebook, or follow me at twitter.com/wednesdaychef.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is your blog called The Wednesday Chef?
It's not because I only post on Wednesdays, or only cook on Wednesdays. Wednesday happens to be the day that newspapers traditionally publish their food sections. Since my blog task, as I've defined it for myself, is to cook my way through all my newspaper recipe clippings (and newly published recipes, too), I decided I'd have to label my blog in some way that would reflect that. A little secret: I actually think my blog name is kind of corny, but it's way too late to fix it now, and in any case, other people seem to like it. Thank goodness!
What kind of camera do you use?
I used to have a dinky little point-and-shoot (in the Panasonic Lumix line which uses Leica lenses, which - if you're a camera geek - is kind of great), but now I use a Nikon D80. I have a 50 mm lens on it, a fixed lens, and although I keep talking about getting a wide-angle one next, the fixed lens serves me really well. If you want to see my other photos, you can find me on Flickr.
Can I use one of your photos on my site? Can I use one of your blog posts on my site?
Actually, probably not. Everything on this site - photos and text - is protected by copyright. I can make exceptions, but please email me directly to ask permission and do not take anything without permission.
I'm coming to New York City for a visit. What restaurants do you recommend?
Check out my very favorite places here. If you want more, I highly recommend New York Magazine's restaurant section, easily searchable and all-encompassing.
Can I advertise on your blog?
I'm currently in an ad network run by these kind folks. But thanks for asking!
I have a blog. Can we do a link exchange?
I don't do link exchanges. I only link to websites that I love to read and visit regularly (though I admit that my blogroll needs updating). But if you'd like to email me or leave me a comment pointing me to your blog, feel free - I love discovering all the amazing blogs, writers, photographers, and general creative geniuses out there. The internet is a great place, full of inspiration.
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Press:
"highly amusing..." - The Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2006
"Two of America’s most notable newspaper food sections get a proper licking in this clever culinary blog. ...Whatever recipe Weiss takes on, she chronicles the outcome with an honest, no-holds-barred writing style. And in less than two years she’s gathered quite a loyal and vociferous readership. - Culinate.com, April 19, 2007
"The Wednesday Chef has such a unique angle. Weiss’ writing [is] is really enjoyable...[and] she is very honest. You can trust her. Weiss will be the first to tell you if something (gulp) does not impress." - MSN City Guides, August 2007
"My favorite of the moment is The Wednesday Chef...a New York writer who chronicles her attempts at cooking recipes clipped over the years from The New York Times and the LA Times. I admire how regularly and ambitiously she cooks and posts, usually with plenty of yummy pictures. Reading it is almost enough to get me through until the weekend, when I might be able to cook again." - Food & Wine, September 2007
Number 3 on the Times of London's list of 50 of the world's best food blogs - February 2009
"New York-based Luisa Weiss started this blog as a way of documenting her trawl through clippings of recipes from the New York and LA Times. A mix of recipes and humorous anecdotes...it's a charming blog packed with information (indeed, a whole 700 words about coleslaw)." - The Times of London, February 2009
"I love thewednesdaychef.com, written by Luisa Weiss, a book editor living in Queens, New York. [Her blog] is very American, so full of a particular brand of warmth and honesty...There are also some great recipes ( Turkish-style pasta with beef and yogurt, or banana and crystallised ginger cake). This blog is about life and – as another blogger, Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com, puts it – the recipes that 'intersect’ it." -Telegraph, July 2009
Gourmet.com
Epicurious.com
Yumsugar.com
Slashfood.com
Featured in:
The Wall Street Journal
The South China Morning Post
The Seattle Times
delicious Magazine
Heard on:
Tom Douglas's radio show
I grew up in Berlin with an American father and an Italian mother. This gives me all kinds of questionable authority on food, and the ability to speak several languages. It also means I like all kinds of things: Leberwurst sandwiches and Pflaumenkuchen when I'm in Berlin; pizza al taglio and roasted rabbit in Urbino; dan dan noodles and char siu bao in New York. I am perpetually homesick, so I cook to anchor myself and find joy in the small things: a perfect apricot, the texture of sea urchin, the smell of bread baking in my kitchen. And writing about food, well, it seems to go hand-in-hand with cooking for me.
This website was started in August 2005 as a way of working through a mountain of recipe clippings from The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. Five years later, that pile doesn't seem to have gotten any smaller.
My book, tentatively titled My Berlin Kitchen, will be published by Viking Press in a few years. Can you tell that I'm practically levitating as I type? This is my dream come true. If you want to read a little bit more about how all that came about, click here.
You can reach me at wednesdaychefAThotmailDOTcom, become a fan on The Wednesday Chef on Facebook, or follow me at twitter.com/wednesdaychef.
****************************
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is your blog called The Wednesday Chef?
It's not because I only post on Wednesdays, or only cook on Wednesdays. Wednesday happens to be the day that newspapers traditionally publish their food sections. Since my blog task, as I've defined it for myself, is to cook my way through all my newspaper recipe clippings (and newly published recipes, too), I decided I'd have to label my blog in some way that would reflect that. A little secret: I actually think my blog name is kind of corny, but it's way too late to fix it now, and in any case, other people seem to like it. Thank goodness!
What kind of camera do you use?
I used to have a dinky little point-and-shoot (in the Panasonic Lumix line which uses Leica lenses, which - if you're a camera geek - is kind of great), but now I use a Nikon D80. I have a 50 mm lens on it, a fixed lens, and although I keep talking about getting a wide-angle one next, the fixed lens serves me really well. If you want to see my other photos, you can find me on Flickr.
Can I use one of your photos on my site? Can I use one of your blog posts on my site?
Actually, probably not. Everything on this site - photos and text - is protected by copyright. I can make exceptions, but please email me directly to ask permission and do not take anything without permission.
I'm coming to New York City for a visit. What restaurants do you recommend?
Check out my very favorite places here. If you want more, I highly recommend New York Magazine's restaurant section, easily searchable and all-encompassing.
Can I advertise on your blog?
I'm currently in an ad network run by these kind folks. But thanks for asking!
I have a blog. Can we do a link exchange?
I don't do link exchanges. I only link to websites that I love to read and visit regularly (though I admit that my blogroll needs updating). But if you'd like to email me or leave me a comment pointing me to your blog, feel free - I love discovering all the amazing blogs, writers, photographers, and general creative geniuses out there. The internet is a great place, full of inspiration.
******************************
Press:
"highly amusing..." - The Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2006
"Two of America’s most notable newspaper food sections get a proper licking in this clever culinary blog. ...Whatever recipe Weiss takes on, she chronicles the outcome with an honest, no-holds-barred writing style. And in less than two years she’s gathered quite a loyal and vociferous readership. - Culinate.com, April 19, 2007
"The Wednesday Chef has such a unique angle. Weiss’ writing [is] is really enjoyable...[and] she is very honest. You can trust her. Weiss will be the first to tell you if something (gulp) does not impress." - MSN City Guides, August 2007
"My favorite of the moment is The Wednesday Chef...a New York writer who chronicles her attempts at cooking recipes clipped over the years from The New York Times and the LA Times. I admire how regularly and ambitiously she cooks and posts, usually with plenty of yummy pictures. Reading it is almost enough to get me through until the weekend, when I might be able to cook again." - Food & Wine, September 2007
Number 3 on the Times of London's list of 50 of the world's best food blogs - February 2009
"New York-based Luisa Weiss started this blog as a way of documenting her trawl through clippings of recipes from the New York and LA Times. A mix of recipes and humorous anecdotes...it's a charming blog packed with information (indeed, a whole 700 words about coleslaw)." - The Times of London, February 2009
"I love thewednesdaychef.com, written by Luisa Weiss, a book editor living in Queens, New York. [Her blog] is very American, so full of a particular brand of warmth and honesty...There are also some great recipes ( Turkish-style pasta with beef and yogurt, or banana and crystallised ginger cake). This blog is about life and – as another blogger, Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com, puts it – the recipes that 'intersect’ it." -Telegraph, July 2009
"Luisa Weiss [is the] mastermind of The Wednesday Chef. These women engage their readership with food-related narratives and storytelling techniques, garnering comment counts in the triple digits and cultivating a community of loyal fans." -PBS.org's Need to Know, July 2010
Number 8 of The
Top 100 Culinary Blogs - July 2010
Gourmet.com
Epicurious.com
Yumsugar.com
Slashfood.com
Featured in:
The Wall Street Journal
The South China Morning Post
The Seattle Times
delicious Magazine
Heard on:
Tom Douglas's radio show
