What A Chef Serves Vs. What A Chef Eats 

As a former line cook, I totally feel what he said when we rarely feel like cooking for ourselves after a 12-hour day of cooking. I think the show The Bear got it perfectly right, where a huge part of the time, after we're smashed from a long day, we go home and eat a PB&J and some Doritos.

I’d love to see this become a regular series.

As a chef, those last few lines said everything. It's hard to look after yourself and eat regularly, so when you finally sit down and make something for yourself, you may as well go all out with it. Besides eggs and toast in the morning, I maybe cook food at home once a week. When you spend all day every day cooking for other people, the last thing you wanna do on your time off is cook some more!

I think people are misunderstanding this... people are getting hung up on the wagyu, oyster mushrooms, etc. and these bougie things, but he did mention he looks for one pan applications and little prep, and he did just that - cheese, slice it up and oil & salt; salad, slice up avo & onions and put vinegar, oil, and salt; steak, sear it and rest it; and the side is shallots, garlic, mushrooms, and soy sauce. Extremely simple execution compared to what he has to do at work, but he uses good ingredients because this was something he "treats" himself... replace the ingredients with "lower quality" and now it's something everyone can attain to.

I worked at a very popular izakaya in my hometown between semesters once. The chef made the kinds of ramen, sushi, and sashimi influencers would specifically seek out for their content. I regularly saw him spend his break eating instant noodles mixed into baked beans.

he explains each step really well that its interesting to watch and you pick up on so many little helpful tips

I love seeing what people cook for themselves because there's usually some odd little ingredient or dish that they like, that they probably wouldn't include if they were cooking for others.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm so fascinated by the way he cut up and presented the wheel of cheese. It's so simple yet so elegant, and I keep getting hung up on it and have to go back to this video every few days just to watch him cut the wheel of cheese again. I'm gonna have to buy myself a wheel of brie or something and serve it that way, too. It just looks too good.

more of this chef please!! the way he cooks, personality, vibes

Great series concept. I love how Chef Whitener is so frank with the separation between work and personal care.

Make more of these videos, please! I love how simple, yet delectable, his dishes were. High quality ingredients often don’t need too much beyond themselves, and this certainly highlights that aspect.

you know he's a chef the way he picks up a ripping hot steak with his bare fingers

I was wondering why his salad looked so familiar, then he mentioned it was Cuban. Every time my parents would make that same thing, I always thought it wasn’t an actual salad, but seeing a professional chef consider it one feels really validating.

As for someone who has been working in Restaurants for the past 4 years. In a Restaurant, I try to make the best-looking/tasting dish. At home, I take a couple of steps back to make a chill dinner/meal nothing fancy, very simple.

The stuff he cooked at home is so simple yet the combinations are 10/10

I really enjoy Chef Jon's whole overall approach, such a down-to-earth guy. Love it man keep it up, only wish you more success!

Definitely need more of this series.

7:52 that small smile is just perfect like you know you did something that makes you happy and it oozes a little to your face

I love this! Super interesting to see what chefs cook at home. Looks so good, steak/onions/mushrooms is always a reliable combo.

So effortless! Loved this episode. Food looks incredible!

loved all of this, also the explaining of the cookware he preferred

This is so cool. I have so much respect for pro chefs. I love cooking for my family but love sitting down to enjoy the food I cooked with them. I made an incredible roast lamb leg yesterday with garlic cloves and rosemary shoved into holes I cut in the meat. I cooked it for 1hr 45 so it was perfect medium and juicy and delicious! I ended up simmering the leftover meat and bone with vegetables to make a hearty lamb soup. It was perfect!

Love this series, please do more of it!!!😊

I always wondered how differently chef’s cooked at home, great insight and great video!

Not sure why but I got an instant vibe that his restaurant dishes changed very regularly. No wonder he's an acclaimed chef when he combines both the years of experience/learning techniques with creativity and adaptation to whatever quality ingredients are available.

I wish this guy had more videos. Aside from the obvious cheffing skills…. He’s entertaining and well spoken.

this is very very inspiring, more of this series please!

This guy chef is brilliant!! I watched so many times!! Love everything about this video!! One amazing pan yes!!

Based on spending a lot of time working in or hanging out with friends/family who have careers in restaurants, I can 100% honestly say what the vast majority of chefs cook for themselves at home is nothing. Or at least cook the laziest food possible. "The cobbler's children go shoeless". Most people who work in restaurants really genuinely just have no interest in cooking for themselves when they get home. At the last place I worked I was one of only 2 people in the entire line/prep cook team who actually cooked for themselves regularly. And these were cooks with years to decades of experience, most of whom were culinary graduates. One of the prep cooks there made a point of asking every single cook he ever worked with if they cooked at home, and "yes" as an answer came up so rarely that he was surprised every time. He said it was fewer than 1 in 10 that cooked for themselves on anything but a rare occasion. The truest part of the whole video was when dude just laughed and said "no chef wants to cook when they go home".

This is fascinating. It reminds me of the old PBS Anthony Bourdain 'Mind of a Chef' series. So great! I hope this content continues along with the other excellent shows ATE does!!!

I love how well he explained what he was doing.

I appreciate chefs who speak in a language I can understand. Thanks.

the warm lighting reminds me of cooking with dog video's, such a comfort

1-pan cooking had a lot of advantages. Low mess, faster, and the density of the meal is whatever is in the fridge.

BEAUTIFUL home kitchen.

This is spot on appreciate everything about this video

Subbed. Love this, hungering for more

I love this channel, always new and interesting videos.

Please upload more content. You are literally the best there is out there😮

i love this video. So much to learn and collect, from the beautiful design of the pan, to keeping it clean and simple, giving one self good quality food, love this so much. And as a cuban, loved to see the avocado salad shout out

Super informative! Looks absolutely delicious.

Outstanding, was always curious what you chefs at the top of your game crave.

More of this series, please

Great video! Amazing idea and beautiful execution 🙏

If this is not a series will yall consider making it one I really enjoyed this!

I’m the head chef at a restaurant in New Orleans. Most nights I’m eating frozen pizza or ham sandwich’s. I don’t have the energy to cook for myself. I told my wife to tell her family that I’m a manager at the restaurant, not a chef; one thing I’ve learned is that people always want you to cook for them at family get together’s/holidays etc.

One of my fave restaurants, love to see this.

That was such an easy and simple thing and super good for you. Amazing just one pan

i like this concept, look forward to see more.

love this! more please

This was by far amazing one 😀

excellent idea for a regular series

This was honestly a great little recipe video (obviously you don’t need to use wagyu), but from the title I was expecting more of an “everyday” chef’s meal at home. He says himself that this is his treat meal. And he also says that he’s eaten it three times this weekend, so it’s not that it just happened to be what he was cooking. It feels like he chose this dish BECAUSE it is pretty impressive. Like I said, still a good video, but I was hoping to see a more realistic view of what a chef eats day-to-day. 👍

The simplicity was amazing id cook and eat this nightly if I could

I LOVE Mt. Tam from Cowgirl Creamery!! I found it when I ran a half marathon in CA in 2015. Been a fan ever since (although I live on the East Coast).

This is a great recipe!

8:39 oh my gosh this is soo true. whenever i host a dinner/barbeque or anything that involves me cooking for others i get completely grossed out by the food i make and never feel like eating, and most times i dont. i thought it was just a me thing but ig its a chef thing haha

That looked amazing!

Worked in a kitchen for years. When I got home I would either order delivery from some place or make something super simple where there is very low effort and 1 pan if possible.

I tried the steak and mushroom sauce with some regular grocery store beef and it came out amazing.

this guy is great!! get him on more videos!!!!

"what a chef eats" not being a bag of cold McDonalds makes me immediately question this whole video

Totally identify with the not wanting to eat after you've cooked lol You're usually tasting along the way and just want to rest after all your effort (plus cleaning). This is why it's such a gift to have others cook for you.

being grossed out by eating food is definetly the realest thing in this video. i am a cook and i literally never have an appetite anymore.

Most chefs eat the corners of the baguettes, the avocado that is slightly turning brown, the slice of cheesecake that broke when slicing, the scallop that the prep cook shucked improperly, etc…

i love the video, and i def wouldn't mind seeing more chefs at home, but i think it would be interesting to film them also as they cook in their own restaurant you know?? to see how they approach a dish for their clients from start to finish and also what their ''mood'' is. just a suggestion!!

This was a great watch! I'm hungry haha

looks amazing

So fascinating, from his perspective he is utterly passionate about food, and wants the best whether it's for himself or his customers, still at the end of it all the craft becomes too much for oneself.

I really like this video concept

Amazing meal thanks Chef and love your Humbleness!!! I get the Crock Pot feeling all the time 😂. You put something in and it smells amazing allll day dinner time ehh I am good .

Great video and if I ever get back to Cali, I'll look his restaurant up. Meanwhile, I have just ordered Wagyu beef online, wanting to test something new to me, and am glad to have the basics of a recipe to make with it. (Oh, and the avocado salad sounds yummers, too. I did make avocado smoothies with raw onion back in the day before I was "told" smoothies need to be sweet - but I'm too savory to go sweet, so will adapt!).

I'm so upset we didn't get to see anyone try that delicious food! Idc if you're the behind the scenes crew! I wanna see you too!

Missing the about to eat crew but still a great video as always

*when my girlfriend comes over me: turns the kitchen into a 5 star fine dining kitchen *when i'm alone me: cooks white rice, fried egg, sausages and call it a day.

This chef is a vibe 😂👌 Much love to you dude 💚🤙

i 100% agree, sometimes you just have to entertain yourself

The simplest lesson here that many of us home cooks still haven't taken to heart is just how much the pan cools down when adding new ingredients

Cowgirl creamery from Point Reyes is some of my favorite cheese I can find in my local grocery store. Good choice.

Great video. The chef seems really cool

Because of this video, I went out of my way to eat at HLAY, and it is an awesome restaurant! Thanks for the recommendation!

Cool! What is that single burner he uses? Induction?

Those dishes at his restaurant are masterpieces

Chefs are such hard workers ❤👏

Those skewers at 1:50 - can I order a boatload of those? They look sooo good!

oh boy, where can I get those black plates? I am looking for them for years now.

I wanna see the crew eat at the end! All that prep and we didn't get to see a single bite eaten :'(

damn, I'm the 1 millionth subscriber🤣🤣🤣, congratulations guys

Seems like a guy I would like to hang out with. Great video.

This is good. The homie Jon is killing it with his menu. K Town all day!

Is heavy how hard can be to cook for yourself even knowing all the tricks and convos. People often asked me how good the stuff i make for myself must be and is like… i just eat breakfast and is eggs with a pice of bread 😂 Is so real the way we should take care more of ourselves by trying to do this at least once a month! Agree agree agree MAKE MORE CONTENT LIKE THIS!!

More please

He gave it to the camera crew. :) Looks delicious.

I love plum powder, my favorite childhood snack was french fries topped with plum powder it's amazing. If anyone see plum powder they should buy and try it.

Wow he is a great chef

Beautiful!

Super cool guy!

Just FYI, All Clad makes five ply cookware. It ain't cheap.

the way he just casually touch his steak WHILE IT'S COOKING.. for some reason, I wanna be able to do that too

I made the avocado salad, it was wonderful thank you so much