6 Pro Chefs Reveal How They Pack For Lunch | Test Kitchen Talks | Bon Appétit

lunchtime rolls around and I'm like where's lunch Chris gets a little cranky crazy like making like Furious making like scrambled eggs for myself yeah you know pissed so let's let's get into lunches we can't have Chris skipping lunches and you know I could eat a little skip lunch no today we're in the Test Kitchen sharing our go-to lunches lunch is a luxury nobody really has time for lunch if it's there I'm so happy here you go it's a good excuse to use up leftovers oh I love leftovers if I had to pack myself lunch this would be it Chris you close your eyes all right I want anything weird tomorrow meet me at the dock boat's up 5 15. we're going fishing for salt water fishing uh I get seasick it's actually perfect that you get a little seasick because I'm gonna take care of you with an all-around go-to on the boat little lunch oh this is like lunch on the boat yeah we're going fishing striped bass are in the blue fish the yellow-eyed monsters are coming through and we're we're slamming them Chris we're gonna go down a little tour here first up Chris and if you know you know man kidding me I I thought you were stick to legs with that attitude you started eating clam chowder goldfish stay with me Chris it gets worse saltine crackers two sleeves I had a brought four are you like my child like this is about we're like spins go go make lunch he'd be like great I'm good but don't worry Chris boom pbj's you know I hate peanut butter I didn't know you were coming little Christmas dips Chris Chris tuna salad and chicken salad a couple apples Chris ah dessert I'm with you there we got the the classic honey crisp all right and then last but not least Chris it's it's bone broth I usually like I do like a mix so it's nice hot broth with some grated Ginger it's been going for two days at my house smells nice yep mix of beef and pork this is good the broth is really good right the broth I can I can really Vibe with I grew up on the apricot jam I love apricot jam it makes a fantastic peanut butter and jelly so my preferred family peanut butter at the moment I'll get like the uh the Smuckers all natural you a creamy or chunky I only do almond butter no peanut butter I forgot that about you no big deal we're good boom you're sitting there next you're sitting on the back little chair next to the motor or whatever and you're just scooping this stuff up with your cracker shove on it but that's it that's my boat in Shore salt water fishing you're bringing you know a new a new green horn friend which uh Chris doesn't love tuna fish you know Saltines well maybe I got my Saltines I got my Apple yeah you just been cooking all morning anyway so you know how much you love Saltines and goldfish until you're out in that experience okay okay I I believe that Cheers Cheers I'm going to share a lunch from a time when lunch was important it's when I was in school okay and it's what my parents would uh pack me which at the time I was so embarrassed about I don't know why I was embarrassed uh but it was always this like brown and white like plastic basket not unlike this one and then when you like opened it it would be like oh my God a whole I went to school um in India I grew up in India I was there for the first 20 years of my life that Tiffin daba is actually super iconic it has compartments this one is super modest it only has three but really they can go up to five or more I put together something that's very typical of what my parents would pack okay it was really balanced you know I was very healthy it would always be some kind of carb that you can use to eat the rest of the food it would always be chapati in my case or like Roti because my favorite I love it I refuse to eat rice as a kid and I'm still a big fan of rice and then the middle tier was always like some kind of Curry and the last one was always like my favorite though it sounds weird but it was just plain yogurt it looks so good I know now I'm like wait did I really complain about this yeah what is wrong with you I don't know many things I guess okay so let me start by serving you a roti okay Roti is a flatbread you know really simple it's just whole wheat flour water salt so this is green beans okay with coconut and Curry Leaf okay it's a very Southern way of cooking vegetables Southern Indian way of cooking vegetables and then we have yogurt Indian food is usually spicy and you want the yogurt to kind of cool off in the very end act like a palette cleanser in a way this is everything too yeah and there's chicken curry oh that's so good the mustard seeds is pretty strong yeah I think black mustard seeds but the most assertive yeah they can overpower easily that's delicious and I love the crunch from the green beans oh yeah you know different types great because because it's stainless steel it's dishwasher safe it's convenient and easy to clean you can keep food separate like something wet something dry no it's genius um it is it really is genius everybody needs a different carrier in their life [Music] okay imagine a young Kendra is going to work this is my real work bag she opens it up and then it is her lunch this is this is it would you like some realism this is realism yeah I bring my Pine container in a little produce bag to make sure in case anything spills this is my go-to lunch it is a grain salad of course it's a green salad she loves a green salad so my go-to move is to cook a grain and then add whatever I have in my fridge I had a sheet pan dinner the night before chicken and carrots with pharaoh and some herbs and some feta and some onion there's almonds and dates for nuts and a little sweetness and that's that and a little lemon juice and olive oil this looks like a true to go lunch situation this is it true to go easy and simple yes that looks really good and ask for drinks this is my move in The Test Kitchen I found this pitcher and I fill it with water and I put it on my station because if I do not I will not drink water for eight hours yeah just imagine after you eat this you have to go back to writing a story maybe this is so good changing my mind about cold lunches okay having a salty cheese having herbs having a dried fruit having a nut something Crunchy just keeps it interesting this feels so healthy and Hearty and I love the texture of the grains but you could do obviously anything whatever your you had for dinner any roasted vegetables any protein and the dressing is just olive oil and lemon juice which I do ahead of time because there's not like a leafy vegetable that's gonna go soggy it just seems like super convenient on the go delicious you haven't skipped on flavor and texture I would eat this foreign did it [Music] to set the scene I was in London yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah you're there I was in London years and years ago and they're these green Huts where cab drivers would go to get like lunch one of the things that they had on the menu was a plowman's lunch plowman's what is a Plowman like a person who operates the plow oh really yeah no I mean come on there's a reason you know no so like a piece of cured salami you'd get a few slices of some nice sturdy bread a nice sharp cheese such as a red luster it's nice the cheese that needs no introduction I love that cheese right delicious oh Chris um you know ice pack keep things crisp a piece of fruit pickle the way English people mean it which is sort of like Savory sweet Chutney this like Branston pickle is like a classic one so you know you basically have like dried fruit a little bit of sweetness a little bit of acidity and it goes great with sharp cheese damn everybody's got an insulated bag and you should too this is light it's adaptable whatever you have on hand you can make a version of this I'll take that any day like this is like a nice great piece of sourdough I always have like a little bit of cured meat around let's always have some like the world nice fancy cheese around this is that's my jam that's my master Lester you know Lester yeah I know Lester we go way back not in a Cheesy mood right now but you're okay yeah I know what it is this is what I love it's like there's nothing to do I like moving around from element to element building little like moments you know a little bites oh you know what I don't want a cheese sandwiches bite I want a little salami and apple I like that keep the Intrigue it's not like a monotone a flavor it's Branson pickle vegetables sugar I don't need that I mean barley malt vinegar but with the with a really sharp cheese it's nice balance also this is a Honeycrisp apple it is right it's the chosen Apple it's very good it's so good although the old Apple Way keeps a doctor apple day keeps the doctor away that ain't true Chris because that thing actually isn't that good for you it's a sugar bomb what's wrong with it no you're it's like almost like your body breaks it down it's like having like a small cup of Coca-Cola a couple apples Chris ah I'm sorry it's good it's it's whatever it is it's worth it it's worth it you know that's the dessert today you earned it today Chris thanks man [Music] if you want to be in control of what you're eating especially in the Test Kitchen the best thing is to bring your lunch I usually leave it to chance but if I wasn't going to um I would bring leftovers and it would probably look something like this poor containers and they kind of like your Tiffin because they stack they are which is really convenient and it also like separates everything out so nothing is touching chips like I'll snack on all day long specifically jalapeno flavored kettle cooked chips then we have some fruit so usually whatever's in season right now berries are bomb so we've got those and then this is a kale salad that I make embarrassingly often because it keeps you full but light and this one has like roasted chickpeas in it so you get a little bit of protein too on the spectrum of lettuce kale is the best one to like keep sitting and like eat the next day like soggy Romaine soggy arugula not it soggy kale equals tender kale soggy kale is a 20 salad in a restaurant exactly it's gonna hold up well throughout the day like even if you don't have a fridge at work to sort in oh yeah that's that's a good one yeah and it just gets better with time I feel like the salad has like parm capers is chickpeas and then massage kale and like a honey Dijon dressing oh okay that sounds really good this is yeah the dressing it's like just a simple like shake to emulsify situation there's lemon juice in it too and bread wine vinegar oh so it's like super acidic um Punchy super delicious it's like my favorite dressing I just like season like a can of drained and rinsed and dried chickpeas okay um put them in the oven to roast and then like 10 minutes before they're done roasting I also add in Capers so they get a little bit crispy in there as well oh okay the chickpeas in the salad are honestly for protein they can hold up really well you could do like chicken or salmon if you wanted to I just like generally lean vegetarian so chickpeas felt like the right option especially if you keep it out at like room yeah I think having chickpeases Yeah because sometimes you feel like chicken should be warm or like cold chicken is you know what I mean like totally and I think when you cooked it like this it really yes it doesn't stay crispy but then it just kind of changed the nature of it of it yeah onto these chips I'm obsessed with Kettle cook chips I get these pint containers from work please don't tell anybody that so you can kind of see the pile of them over there we use them to take home like whatever we've made through the day so I end up like with new ones every time I go home I just end up with so many and they stack so nicely in the fridge they're like great all-purpose containers the main objective with this lunch is like convenience and flexibility this is leftovers this is something fresh this is something that like I would have in my pantry already if you don't like soggy salads switch to kale I mean if you do like soggy salads I think that's a problem it's lunchtime my God this lunch to me is super nostalgic because when I was growing up my mom packed my lunches she made a lot of fresh food that was such a privilege and luxury I'm grateful I got to experience that but you know when you are working and away from family I don't get to pack lunch as much as I'd like the first Leo is a little salad you have cilantro some cucumbers and limes love acid need acid we went to a restaurant one time and Rachel was like sorry can you just bring me a plate of lives and they did and she squeezed it over everything no I'm that ghost and then the center compartment has yogurt cooling again especially in the summer I need something that's you know refreshing and light topped with some chili and cumin seeds and a little bit of salt and here I have Masala rice just like how my mom used to make it oh it's so good Masala literal translation is spiced the secret is that always make leftover rice it's sauteed with some onions and spices like turmeric and mustard seeds cumin seeds this is just how my mom makes it when I open a lunch box I need to feel happy yeah and this does that are you kidding me look at this I love this rice it's so flavorful all those spices are doing right such big things and with the lime on top just brightens everything up I love having the yogurt alongside for cooling for dipping your cues in yeah this is super accessible and versatile because you're not using any off beet ingredients like there's literally just onions in this and rice use your spice Pantry to make this your own this lunch tastes like home to me I make it often and I don't think I'm going to lunch any other way other than the grain salad camera made it's not like my parents would send this home with me when I left for the day they would actually like bring it over like hot and steamy again sorry to my parents this is my worst nightmare I'm like when I think about what I don't want

Channel: Bon Appétit

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Keywords: ba test kitchen, bon appetit, bon appetit test kitchen, brad leone, chris morocco, easy lunch, fast lunch ideas, food, healthy lunch, healthy lunch ideas, healthy lunch recipes, how to pack lunch, kendra vaculin, lunch box recipes, lunch ideas, lunch recipes, packed lunch, packed lunch ideas for work, packing lunch, packing lunch for work, perfect lunch, rachel gurjar, salad lunch, shilpa uskokovic, test kitchen talks, work lunch ideas healthy, zaynab issa

Id: KAsWn0go2WA

Length: 15min 28sec (928 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 08 2022