730: How Maxine Sharf of Maxi’s Kitchen Bet On Herself

9:42Maxine Sharf:Wow. The coconut water, if you're getting coconut water, comes in like, it's like a plastic jug that has like a print of someone's shih tzu dog on it. Like, it's just a kind of kitschy, fun vibe. And the coconut water is really good for cooling down because it's a kind of mala hot pot situation.

10:00Aliza Averbach:What a great pairing. I don't think I've ever had coconut water with hot pot in New York or L.A. or wherever.

10:04Maxine Sharf:Especially if you're doing the mala style. I think it's really good. Another fun thing that I had this time is I went to a douhua tofu pudding place in Zongshan neighborhood that's called Ran Museum. I don't know what's up with that name.

10:17Aliza Averbach:That's a great name. How's the branding?

10:20Maxine Sharf:I mean, it's cute. I sat right outside. They have a little table, which was nice. And everyone, you know, I was four people. We each got our own kind of tofu pudding. Mine was a seasonal one that had fresh strawberries and pineapple shave ice on top. also grass jelly and it was just kind of glistening in the light as we were sitting and eating. So I felt like I was a really good kind of advertisement for the place.

10:43Aliza Averbach:What's tofu pudding like? I mean, is it like sundubu that kind of smoothness or is it like blended? I'm trying to envision what this is.

10:50Maxine Sharf:I'm talking about like a silky, but, you know, all one piece, like not like blended kind of soft tofu. It could be sweet or savory. This is a sweet place. So it comes with, you know, maybe a brown sugar syrup or ginger syrup that goes on top and then peanut or taro ball. You can kind of choose your ones. But since I was on my Taiwanese fruit vibe, that was kind of the direction that I went in, which was really fun. And then also I think southern Taiwan, I'm biased because that's where my girlfriend's family is. But I think that is the area in Taiwan that has the best food. So I had some really good meals there.

11:27Aliza Averbach:So tell us a little bit about the foods in the south and how do you get there from Taipei?

11:32Maxine Sharf:Well, the high speed rail is incredible in Taiwan. I think it's, it makes me angry because I wish we had high speed rail here because it would be such a game changer. But, you know, we took high speed rail down from Taipei to Tainan, which is an hour and a half. So super easy to get down there. I think if you're visiting Taipei, you could even take a day trip and do that. And my favorite meal that I had in Tainan is a soup dumpling place that is so good that I made us go back two days in a row because I was thinking about the soup dumplings since. And it's called Shanghai Delicious Soup Dumplings.

12:06Maxine Sharf:I'm going to try to say this in Mandarin, but apologies for my tones. It's called Shanghai Delicious Soup Dumplings or Shanghai Ha Weidao Shaolong Tang Bao. So it's a really popular place in Tainan. And lots of families, friends, people hanging out. The soup dumplings are the best soup dumplings I've ever had. They're just delicate, thin wrapper that just bursts with the soup dumpling juice. And the second time we went back, my girlfriend's mom was like, you know what? We're each getting our own steamer basket full of soup dumplings.

12:37Aliza Averbach:Oh, you went solo steamer.

12:39Maxine Sharf:I got a whole steamer basket for myself. And that's the way to live. Like that is true luxury. and the front of the restaurant, they have cases with all of the kind of chilled vegetable sides. So we got really good garlic eggplant there, green beans with pork. You can just refill them. Oh, I love this place.

12:58Aliza Averbach:So it's like a communal vegetable sides with all the shell and bobs.

13:02Maxine Sharf:Yeah. So you could order, you know, we got like sesame dumplings or mala noodles. Like they have a whole menu of things that you would order from the kitchen, just like checking it off on a sheet of paper, which I would say is a very common way to order in Taiwan One is they'll give you the sheet of paper. You check off what they want. They'll bring it to you. And then at the end of the meal, they'll kind of tally up all of the little veggie sides that you brought as well. And then you just kind of bring that to the cash register and check out. So that was really good. And my last recommendation is this is such a local deep cut.

13:32Maxine Sharf:I don't know why anyone listening would go here, but it was maybe my best meal of the trip. So I wanted to mention it. But I was in Mingjian, which is like a very rural area known for producing tea and dragon fruit and pineapple. And I was there visiting my girlfriend's grandparents' gravesite. And at the gravesite, we needed to get somewhere to eat afterwards. And we had three people who worked at the cemetery recommend this clay pot chicken restaurant, which I guess is something that that region is known for is clay pot cooked sweet potatoes or clay pot cooked chicken. This was the best crispy chicken I've had in my entire life.

14:08Aliza Averbach:Do you think that it's the freshness of the chicken, the years of technique, getting that crispiness?

14:13Maxine Sharf:I think it's the clay pot. So it's these really big, deep urns. And I think that the chicken goes all the way down at the bottom. And it gives there room for the steam to kind of cook off and render out really well. And they serve this chicken cut up into pieces with a little bowl of the jus for dripping. And then on each side of the plate, there's kind of like a swipe of white pepper. So you can kind of take the chicken, dip it in the drippings, dip it in the pepper, eat it that way. Our table, of course, was full. We had bamboo soup. We had wood ear mushrooms cooked with pineapple, which is something I never had before, but I think was like a very local thing because they're growing so many pineapples in that region.

14:51Maxine Sharf:We had this kind of like fresh foraged fern side dish, but really the chicken was just so exceptional. So if you happen to be in Mingjian, I'll link to all of these in the show notes, but this is a place called Aran Wen Gang Ji, which is RN's clay pot chicken.

15:07Aliza Averbach:Eliza, you've done such a beautiful job of painting this picture of Taiwan. And it's amazing just hearing about all these dishes and the style of cuisine and getting around. It feels like this is where we need to go and visit.

15:21Maxine Sharf:I mean, yeah, I feel like I don't want everyone to come because I like how it's chill. But I do think that Taiwan is such an underrated travel destination. I think the food is so delicious. There's so many really beautiful crops being grown there. It's an island. So obviously the seafood is so spectacular. And I think that like Taiwanese people also are just, I find to be really welcoming and friendly. I didn't even get to talk about the coffee culture, the tea culture that's happening there. But I do think that Taipei is kind of coming up as maybe the next big travel destination for people. And I would say that everyone should go and be sure to go to these places.

16:01Aliza Averbach:I love it. Thank you so much for taking the time to share all these wonderful restaurants and cafes.

16:07Maxine Sharf:Yeah, thank you for letting me talk about Taiwan.

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18:24Aliza Averbach:Please support our show and let them know we sent you. Maxine Scharf, welcome. This is Taste. So great to meet you.

18:31Maxine Sharf:Thank you, Matt. I'm so excited to be here. Thanks for having me.

18:34Aliza Averbach:I'm a fan of your work.

18:36Maxine Sharf:Oh my gosh, I'm so flattered. Thank you.

18:38Aliza Averbach:It's so creative, and I think this book is like a culmination of a long journey to get here. And I think we're going to talk about your story because I think many of our listeners can relate to somebody who, you know, you had a job, you lost a job, you just had to do the project. And like that's what inspires a lot of creative projects. Yes, 100%. But before that, you lived in New York for seven years and you're back and forth a lot. So I have to know, like, where are your spots? Where do you like to dine out?

19:06Maxine Sharf:Yeah, I would say my favorite restaurant in New York right now is Birds of a Feather in Williamsburg. My husband and I love like really spicy Sichuan food. And I like die for like the numbing peppercorn too. I know some people find that weird, but I'm like, oh my gosh, it's a whole sensory experience. So I love birds of a feather. And then like oftentimes we'll also hit Jongro in Koreatown. Have you been there?

19:30Aliza Averbach:I've been to Jongro many times.

19:31Maxine Sharf:Yeah, I'm sure. That's a good one. Yeah. Isn't that a good one? That's a good one. They have the best in addition to the meat, obviously. Have you ever had the, I'm sure you have, the mul nagmyeon, like cold noodles. I think there they call them the green tea noodles, but it's like this really chewy cold noodles. And they're the best.

19:48Aliza Averbach:I love Jongro for me that's like after midnight barbecue oh I haven't gone late okay yeah this is a good tip back in the day but K-Town 32nd Street come on yeah the best right so great do you go do you dip into you live in LA do you ever go to like Korean restaurants in LA oh yeah we've been on a whole tour we were supposed to go to Hong Kong and Taipei for New Year's but it was

20:10Maxine Sharf:just like feeling like too much so we canceled our trip and we ended up instead doing like a a little Asian food tour in LA. So we tried out a few different spots in Koreatown as well as like the San Gabriel Valley too where there's a lot of really good Chinese food. Oh, wonderful. Yeah.

20:26Aliza Averbach:Any favorites come to mind?

20:29Maxine Sharf:We tried a new one called Suwon, Colby. I don't know if you've been there. We love Chosun too. Yeah, those are the two that I feel like stand in my mind. But I need your recs. I know you know Korean.

20:41Aliza Averbach:Yeah, as much as I can get to LA and try to visit new spots and New York's great too. Yeah. Take us back to 2022. You're laid off from a tech job and you decide at that moment you're going to bet on yourself. You're going to pour energy into this food blog that you had started. Tell us about that time and how were you trying to go professional, so to speak, with the food writing?

21:08Maxine Sharf:Yeah, definitely. Great question. Yeah, I remember the day I got laid off. I was obviously so upset. I think I cried most of the day and it felt like such a gut punch because I had been at the company for four years. I was very dialed in. I was trying to get a promotion. It wasn't like I was, you know, coasting along. And obviously was super upset that day, but then felt this little internal pull towards like, maybe this is my chance to chase my dream and see if I can make it doing the cooking stuff full time. And I remember I told my husband and I was almost like a little bit embarrassed to tell him thinking like, Like, oh, I don't know.

21:42Maxine Sharf:Like, she's just going to work on the cookie stuff. And he was so supportive. And even before that moment, he had always been like, it's Maxie's Kitchen. That's what you're meant to be doing. So I basically made that decision and woke up the next day and filmed three recipes and basically just started running as fast as I can, kind of chasing that dream and just working so hard. When I first went full time with Maxie's Kitchen, I was posting six new recipes a week. And that's like developing the recipe, filming it, doing the voiceover, writing out the recipe. Like I was just working on it constantly.

22:17Maxine Sharf:But it was really fun. And very quickly it started to kind of gain momentum, which I was really excited about. And I started to like see that maybe I was going to be able to do it full time.

22:27Aliza Averbach:What's it like in the first few weeks, though? I mean, it must be you're like you were in like tech product mode doing that job. You switch over to this hobby of yours, but you're transferring some of that energy and some of that organizational know-how. What's the feeling like inside? It was really exciting.

22:46Maxine Sharf:Like I was even having a hard time falling asleep and then waking up really early because I was like, oh my gosh, I'm finally now like chasing this dream. And yeah, it felt like I felt like I had just this kind of fire burning inside of me when I first went full time. And it gave me tons of energy just to like work super hard and, you know, produce a bunch of recipes. And yeah, I was like, I couldn't stop working. Like even when I was like in bed before going to bed, I was editing a video and like I've had to set boundaries because that's not good for my mental health. But yeah, it was it was a really exciting but also like kind of stressful time because I felt like, oh, I'm finally like, are you going to do it or are you going to let it slip through your fingers and then you're going to have to go back to tech?

23:30Maxine Sharf:So it was like, well, luckily it didn't slip through your fingers.

23:33Aliza Averbach:It didn't. What was the first video that like really hit?

23:36Maxine Sharf:Early on, actually, some of my Asian family recipes like really started to do well. Like the jjigae even or my grandpa's Korean vegetable pancakes went like multi-million. And I remember feeling really happy about that because in the past I had felt like some of the more ethnic recipes weren't as popular. And I was like, oh, I get it. People just like, you know, they can't relate to it. It's too ethnic. but then lately over the past few years I feel like there's actually been much more interest in that which is really exciting because those are the recipes that feel most like home to me well

24:09Aliza Averbach:your grandpa has uh kind of a a starring role in some of the book yeah I have questions yeah about him but like but but back to just the the idea of the cookbook you write how you were inspired by cookbooks. And I feel like we're not hearing as much of that. Folks in the studio, maybe they're creators and don't know cookbooks, but you clearly love the cookbook. What are some of the books that inspired you?

24:36Maxine Sharf:I feel like there's actually one that really stands out in my mind. And you've had her on the show. It's Samin Nasrat with Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. And maybe you can even see with some of the illustrations in my book, like I, that book, that book, like everybody should read that book. I feel like that book will make you a better cook if you read it. And I think it was really eye-opening for me to break down cooking into those four elements. And then I just felt like the book was so unique and I loved the way that the illustrations made it feel really dynamic. And so that's one book that's like a huge inspiration.

25:13Maxine Sharf:And that one like sticks out in my mind as like one that means the most to me.

25:18Aliza Averbach:You really, I mean, learn so much from reading Right? It's amazing. Eight years later after publication, it's so worth picking up.

25:24Maxine Sharf:It's so worth it. It's incredible.

25:26Aliza Averbach:Tell me about the organization of your book. I think it's really unique because it's by the day of the week. And I think to articulate what a Monday recipe is versus a Thursday, I think it's hard and you did it well. You really did it well. Why did you land on that organization?

25:41Maxine Sharf:Yeah, I feel like the natural rhythm of the week just determines what I'm typically in the mood to cook and eat. where on a Monday at the beginning of the week, like I usually want something super quick and easy. I don't want to do a ton of chopping. Like I know from working in the corporate world that getting dinner on the table on a Monday isn't usually a top priority. I've usually been like out eating all weekend too. So I usually I'm like, let's just have something healthy and easy. So that's where like the Monday comes from. And there's intentions for each day of the week that kind of match the rhythm of the week as I see it.

26:16Maxine Sharf:But it's not supposed to be a meal plan. So if you've had a really crazy Thursday and you don't have that much time to cook, choose from the Monday chapter. It's really not meant to like you're only supposed to make a Monday chapter on a Monday. Like it's meant to help you pick the perfect recipe to match your mood. And that's when cooking is so much more enjoyable is when you're actually just cooking something that feels right versus like following a meal plan.

26:42Aliza Averbach:Like Tuesdays are one pot?

26:43Maxine Sharf:Yeah, Tuesdays, everything comes together in one pot. So it's very minimal cleanup. And then usually by the time Wednesday rolls around, it's like, you know, you're like, it's not Thursday yet. You're like getting excited for the weekend. But like, I'm kind of getting bored of the simple food. So it's like, that's when, you know, Thursday's like, okay, let's have some fun with the meal, like tacos, sandwiches, wraps, like colorful bowls. And then Thursday, I'm usually like ready to indulge a little bit more. So that's where you'll see more of the like restaurant style date night dishes. and fun stuff like that.

27:15Maxine Sharf:And then Friday is like, okay, let's have some friends over. And that's where you'll see the small plates and dishes that are great for sharing. And then, yeah, Saturday is like the more immersive cooking projects. Projects, yeah. Yeah. And then Sunday is brunch.

27:30Aliza Averbach:Totally. You landed the plane there.

27:32Maxine Sharf:Thank you.

27:33Aliza Averbach:Because when I'm like reading through it, I'm like, what is Sunday going to be? Is it going to be like more one pots? But you're like, no, it's for brunch.

27:40Maxine Sharf:Like brunch. Come on.

27:41Aliza Averbach:Like all day brunch, maybe have a bottle of Prosecco on the table. Exactly.

27:45Maxine Sharf:Like my mom's pancakes had to be in there.

27:47Aliza Averbach:Yeah, I love that. It's really smart the way you organize it. And then like the way the recipes unfold, you know, you're inspired by your family's background. You're inspired by your location. And I just like there's so many great Korean recipes in here.

28:04Maxine Sharf:Yay. It's back to your grandfather, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. A hundred percent. Yeah.

28:07Aliza Averbach:It's, you know, I think you write, despite his love for the Costco hot dog McDonald's, egg McMuffin, and the Taco Bell and Chirito, he never forgot about his favorite Korean dishes. My kind of guy. Right. Tell me a little bit about him.

28:22Maxine Sharf:I know. He was just such an amazing guy. Unfortunately, he's no longer with us. But he actually had a really keen sense of taste. He was actually my my mom always called it a fleet, a super taster. He developed the taste of medicine at Abbott Labs and he was also like a really amazing cook. So I feel like he had like, yeah. And whenever, you know, we were all cooking something or whenever my mom and her sisters were cooking, he would come over and taste it. And it would always be like we're watching him because he had like the palate. it. And if he really liked something, he would say, just like downtown, which was where all of the really good like Asian food was where when my mom was growing up.

29:06Maxine Sharf:Where was that? In Chicago, Illinois. Yeah, near Chicago. So yeah, he was he was just like a really wonderful man and had a had a big interest in cooking and food. And yeah, some of my most cherished family recipes come from

29:21Aliza Averbach:him wait so your grandfather developed the flavor of medicine yeah so like it can't be too good it has to be like yeah like did you ever like this is amazing i know isn't that funny you know i never

29:34Maxine Sharf:asked but i think he was trying to make it taste good yeah you're trying to make it like taste good enough it's like this is like the best grape fake flavor i've ever had yeah yeah like bubble gum

29:43Aliza Averbach:exactly yeah i guess like yeah i had to taste like as good as possible but it was with that like Like, yeah, chemically fake flavor. Oh, my gosh.

29:51Maxine Sharf:But, you know, he had the palate. Yeah.

29:53Aliza Averbach:He had the palate. So there's a silken tofu recipe that I just love the simplicity of it. Tell me a little bit about it.

30:00Maxine Sharf:Yeah, I feel like tofu is like a misunderstood ingredient. And I almost feel like silken tofu is a completely different thing than like a firm tofu. Yeah, yeah. And it tastes very like custardy and almost reminds me of like flan in a way, silken tofu. So I even feel like people who don't like firm tofu would like silken. And the idea behind this dish is it's so easy. All you do is microwave the tofu and then make a really simple sauce. So it's like, you know, you're about to order DoorDash because you're like, oh, I can't cook. And then you're like, no, but this one's so easy. I can do that. I can put a block of tofu in the microwave.

30:36Maxine Sharf:And it comes together and is this like really delicious dish with that super punchy kind of Asian sauce with the warm tofu. You can serve it with rice. And, yeah, it's just a really great simple dish.

30:50Aliza Averbach:Yeah, I think having that big brick of silken tofu in the microwave, it's like more filling than you think.

30:56Maxine Sharf:100%.

30:56Aliza Averbach:Yeah. Yeah. And what's the sauce?

30:59Maxine Sharf:The sauce is like soy sauce, sesame oil. There's some rice vinegar. Almost always in an Asian sauce, I put a little bit of sugar because I think the sweetness balances the acidity.

31:09Aliza Averbach:Yeah, yeah.

31:09Maxine Sharf:And then there's also some gochujang, which is a Korean red pepper paste.

31:14Aliza Averbach:Very, very cool. So Tuesdays in that like one pot, one pan chapter, you have kind of this flow chart for the stir fry.

31:23Maxine Sharf:Yeah.

31:23Aliza Averbach:Which I thought was really smart. I like the way it's laid out. It's like a nice, very, very soft acid heat in some way.

31:29Maxine Sharf:Right. I know.

31:29Aliza Averbach:Very cool. Love. Shout out to me. How can you get out of that stir fry rut? Because I think we all want to cook with proteins and vegetables and do it quickly. It's like clearly great for the macros. And how do you think about it?

31:43Maxine Sharf:Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I usually just like choose whatever I'm feeling most inspired by. That's how I cook in general and even come up with my recipes. It's just like following the inspiration. So with the stir fry guide, I feel like there's so many different ways that you can make a stir fry. I really wanted to have, it's almost like a Chipotle menu where it's like, choose one from here, choose two from here. And then I come up and then like what my aunt taught me actually with a stir fry is it makes it much easier if you actually can if you make the sauce ahead of time versus like measuring out the soy sauce and putting, you know, one tablespoon of oyster sauce in the wok.

32:20Maxine Sharf:Like instead measure out the sauce. So I give a base sauce recipe and then optional mix ins. And my goal is that that'll help people just like kind of choose choose whatever stir fry that sounds best to them because that's what will probably taste best and be the most fulfilling. and fun.

32:36Aliza Averbach:What's your favorite protein for stir fries?

32:38Maxine Sharf:I would say my go-to is probably chicken or shrimp. I don't know a shrimp too. I like both of those. Both are good.

32:45Aliza Averbach:Yeah and it's a good way really to get dinner on the table in like 20 minutes. For sure. I like that pre-eat. So easy.

32:52Maxine Sharf:And tons of veggies. It's healthy right?

32:54Aliza Averbach:It's healthy and making that sauce ahead of time is really smart. The corn on blue gets its like close up which I... I know. I love that you picked that one up. Oh, I did. I was like, Cordon Bleu, like, bring that back.

33:09Maxine Sharf:Yeah, let's bring it back. I mean, the Cordon Bleu deserves a moment again. It's funny because the Cordon Bleu's in, it's spotlighted in the Thursday chapter, which is like kind of date night style, more like restaurant style meals. But in my friend Sinai, who you know, too, was telling me that in France, it's actually kind of like a grocery store meal where they'll have a bunch of them and you can just bring them home and heat them up. But I feel like the way, like to me, it feels elevated and you kind of pound out the chicken breasts until they're a little bit thinner. And that also helps tenderize them.

33:43Maxine Sharf:You season them and then roll them up with ham and Swiss cheese and like kind of jelly roll it. And then you kind of bread that and bake it and the cheese like oozes out a little bit and kind of crisps up against the pan. And then I serve it with the Dijon bechamel, which I'm a big bechamel person because that's something that my mom taught me when I was younger. and I remember when I was first learning to cook, I was like, oh, this seems hard to make because you have to cook the flour, then you're slowly adding the milk. But then when she taught me step-by-step, I was like, oh, this is actually so easy.

34:14Maxine Sharf:So there's even a QR code in the book too about like how to make a base sheet. Oh, cool, I like that. Just so people, if it seems intimidating, you can see that it's easy.

34:21Aliza Averbach:Well, you laid out just making a corn and blue in that rolled style. It's not that hard.

34:26Maxine Sharf:Oh yeah, no, it's not at all. No, it's easy. Yeah, 100%.

34:30Aliza Averbach:You're baking it too, which is cool and you make the sauce and then you're there. Easy. Yeah, like I haven't made one, like I don't think ever.

34:38Maxine Sharf:Yeah.

34:38Aliza Averbach:You're inspiring me.

34:39Maxine Sharf:Yeah, no, I mean, I feel like with a lot of recipes, like when you break them down, or maybe just the way that I do it too, I try to keep everything as simple as possible while still being really delicious because I care so much about how the food actually turns out too. But yeah, it's super approachable and easy.

34:56Aliza Averbach:What was like collabing with Sinai? Tell us about that.

34:58Maxine Sharf:Yeah, Sinai's amazing. So, Sinai is our mutual friend and I worked with her on the writing. So, she helped bring the storytelling of the book to life. So, like, we spent many hours together just, like, of her listening to my family's stories and then, you know, us working together to shape the narrative. So, it was really nice, yeah, to be able to work with such an incredible writer to bring. She's a novelist. Yeah, she's a novelist. Oh, my gosh, I just read her novel, The Margo Affair. Shout out, Sinai. Yeah, shout out. But yeah, she's an incredible writer. So it was amazing to work with her to bring the stories to life.

35:34Maxine Sharf:And I feel like she did such a beautiful job.

35:36Aliza Averbach:I like how you credited it as storytelling by on the cover. Yeah, right. It's fun.

35:39Maxine Sharf:Yeah. No, she was such an incredible person to work with on the book and is like just so reliable to if with everything she does, which I feel like when working with someone is like the best quality.

35:49Aliza Averbach:Yeah, it's really worth a read. The writing is really, really solid. So in the Saturday section, you write about your grandma's wontons. Tell us a little bit about this recipe and why it landed in Saturday.

36:02Maxine Sharf:Yeah. So for me, like the Saturday recipes are things that are more of like an immersive, fun cooking project. So you can imagine, you know, either doing it by yourself or having some friends over or like, you know, maybe it's a snow day or a holiday, like when you're kind of at home all day and it's like a fun activity. So the wontons, this is a really special recipe. It comes from my grandma. her dad was actually the ambassador of China to Portugal. So she grew up in the Chinese embassy in Portugal and they had a really amazing chef that kind of was there with them. And he'd host a lot of parties with like diplomats and stuff.

36:41Maxine Sharf:And this was one of the things that they would make. So, um, yeah, I feel like as, as far back as I can remember, I've been folding wontons and it was actually the first thing that I made for my husband when I was trying to reel him in before he was, when we were just friends, I'm like, let's all do like a cooking night and, you know, trying to show off.

36:59Aliza Averbach:Engagement wontons? Yeah, exactly. Oh my gosh. Exactly. Nobody would have said that. We'll keep that in. You brought up the reeling in. Oh, no, no, no. It was.

37:09Maxine Sharf:That's true, actually. That gives me my viral hook for the next, because everybody, this is like the marry me chicken that I got, you know, the people on social.

37:16Aliza Averbach:Dude, marry me wontons.

37:17Maxine Sharf:Yeah, the marry me wontons. All right. It's happening.

37:20Aliza Averbach:Is this how like the ideas come, like for the videos? I was like just like riffing a little bit.

37:24Maxine Sharf:It's always like a daydream. It's always like this is just what I think about where my mind goes. And then I'm like, oh, and then I could have this element. And then I talk to my mom a lot, too. Oh, cool. We talk on the phone like multiple times per day. If you looked at my phone log, you'd probably think I have mommy issues because it's like mom, mom, mom, mom, Doug, mom, mom.

37:44Aliza Averbach:It's nice.

37:45Maxine Sharf:Yeah. But no, no, no. It's good. So she like will talk, will riff. And I'm like, oh, I'm thinking of doing something like this. And she's like, oh, how about what if you added this and blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, no, mom. But no, she has good ideas.

37:56Aliza Averbach:How have you evolved your productions? Like, do you have the same camera setup as when you started or have you like evolved the vocabulary, the visual identity, all that?

38:04Maxine Sharf:Yeah, good question. It's pretty similar to where it was when I first got laid off before I got laid off from my job and I was just doing it part time. I didn't even have tripods, but now I have tripods and I just use two iPhones. and yeah.

38:21Aliza Averbach:Two iPhones. Yeah. A little bit of editing software. Or do you edit with an app?

38:24Maxine Sharf:I just edit with the InShot app on my phone. Everybody's like, that's the app you use? Because I think it's not like super professional, but it's easiest for me to use.

38:32Aliza Averbach:I love it. I mean, I ask these technical questions because I think we have listeners who are on their own journey doing their own style of video content and you're inspiring for them. I think you have a lot of fans.

38:43Maxine Sharf:Oh, yay.

38:43Aliza Averbach:Yeah, it's cool.

38:44Maxine Sharf:I hope so. I always tell people just like, start putting stuff out there. It's never going to be perfect at first and you just have to start and then you'll get better.

38:53Aliza Averbach:Where do you want to be in five years?

38:54Maxine Sharf:Oh, my gosh. It's such a good question. I feel like I've been so focused and excited about the book coming out that like I've hardly looked towards the future. But I think, you know, I have a vision board in my room and at the center of it, it just says inspire you to cook. So I just I feel like I'm really passionate about the education piece. I used to also always say like my dream big goal would be to have my own cooking show. So maybe like doing more to camera work. versus like the shorts. Yeah. Where are you at with that? So I did do, oh my gosh, YouTube's hard. If anybody knows how to do YouTube.

39:27Maxine Sharf:Yeah, YouTube's hard.

39:28Aliza Averbach:You're talking about like middle form, long form YouTube?

39:30Maxine Sharf:Well, I am talking about like long form. Yeah, where it's like, but I'm like, are people watching the videos anymore where you're just making a, apparently like people, you know, TV agents have told me that they call it like stand and stir where like you're just making a recipe talking to camera and apparently those aren't doing as well anymore. And like it needs to be more gamified, like more entertaining or gamified. So I was doing this like blind taste test segment with my husband where I would make like an In-N-Out burger and then buy one and then he'd put a blindfold on and decide which was best.

40:04Maxine Sharf:So I was doing some stuff like that. None of it got like a ton of traction, but I do want to get back on YouTube maybe once I have a little bit more time after the book comes out.

40:13Aliza Averbach:Thanks for being honest about that because it really is challenging to break through on YouTube.

40:16Maxine Sharf:It's hard, but people do it. I mean, yeah. People do it.

40:19Aliza Averbach:Yeah, they're in the feeds. Yeah. But it's hard, though. The short form is a little different. So it's like a cooking show.

40:26Maxine Sharf:Okay, I like that. Yeah, like that direction. I feel like continuing to focus on the education piece.

40:31Aliza Averbach:Very, very cool. This episode is brought to you by Masterclass. You know how on the show we're always talking to people who've spent decades obsessing over one thing, whether it's modern Korean food, new expressions of the Jewish deli, or the perfect Vampiro taco in South LA. That depth of knowledge is the thing I find endlessly fascinating. And honestly, it's a big part of why I'm into masterclass. There are classes taught by some of the best chefs, writers, and thinkers in the world. People who've put in the work. And the lessons are short enough that I can actually fit them in. Thought leaders like Michael Lewis, Amy Poehler, and chefs Gordon Ramsay and Roy Choi all teach their own masterclasses.

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42:32Aliza Averbach:On this is Ace, we ask guests about the discerning taste. So to close this interview, here's a little rapid fire, fast and furious taste check. Are you ready? I'm ready.

42:39Maxine Sharf:Here we go.

42:40Aliza Averbach:The best fruit.

42:41Maxine Sharf:Watermelon, for sure.

42:43Aliza Averbach:Yeah. What makes it good? What makes a good watermelon?

42:45Maxine Sharf:Like when it's like crunchy and then the juices like explode when you bite into it and it's like sweet, but not too sweet and refreshing and quenching. Yeah, like a summer watermelon. But you got to get it perfectly ripe.

42:58Aliza Averbach:It's very fleeting season. Yeah. Short season. The worst vegetable.

43:02Maxine Sharf:I feel like I have to go parsnip just because I like, what do you even do with it? Like, I don't think I've ever written a recipe with a parsnip.

43:09Aliza Averbach:Well, it's funny. We had a guest talk about parsnips once in answering this question, and it went on reels. And it kind of—there's a lot of parsnip defenders. They're parsnip people?

43:18Maxine Sharf:Okay, tell me about it, because, like, I just—I need to know. What am I doing with them? Yeah.

43:24Aliza Averbach:He felt the wrath of the parsnip defenders. Okay, yeah. I don't know what to do. I think you have to add, like, bacon, frankly. Okay. Like, you have to cook it slow, add bacon, maybe, like, go in a different direction, and it added some kind of acidic element to it as well.

43:38Maxine Sharf:Yeah. Are you roasting in the oven or are we talking sauteing?

43:40Aliza Averbach:I think like you have to do a – I like a lot of butter and like slow cooking butter. Okay. That would be my take. Roasting might – roasting could be good. But they might like shrivel. Like a carrot sort of, right? Exactly. It gets really – it shrivels up and the texture can be really challenging and get that chewiness to it. Right. Because we don't want any root vegetables.

43:59Maxine Sharf:Yeah. Okay. Well, this is – now I'm actually feeling inspired.

44:02Aliza Averbach:Or workshopping.

44:04Maxine Sharf:Parsnips with bacon. and butter.

44:05Aliza Averbach:When we drop this episode, you have to do a parsnips reel.

44:07Maxine Sharf:Yeah, no, I should.

44:09Aliza Averbach:If you could put a concert with, that'd be fun.

44:10Maxine Sharf:Yeah.

44:11Aliza Averbach:What is your typical breakfast?

44:13Maxine Sharf:So I actually usually fast until lunch. So I usually have like a matcha, I get a matcha latte with half whole milk, half water or a cappuccino. But then some days I don't fast and then my husband and I will get like a croissant. That's like my favorite. Nice. The day that I'm not fasting. Instead of fasting. We're like, croissant? Or not the day. I feel like we do that like two or three times a week.

44:34Aliza Averbach:So do you do like the intermittent fasting kind of vibe?

44:38Maxine Sharf:Kind of, but I'm never like tracking the hours. I'm just like, oh, I eat so much the rest of the day. I might as well wait to start eating.

44:44Aliza Averbach:To start the engine going. Makes sense. The best dessert?

44:48Maxine Sharf:I mean, I usually just have a square of dark chocolate. I like the Ghirardelli 72%. Yeah, I feel like I'm a chocolate dessert girl or like a chocolate tart.

44:59Aliza Averbach:Nice.

44:59Maxine Sharf:Yeah.

45:00Aliza Averbach:Your favorite city to visit outside America?

45:03Maxine Sharf:I feel like I'm gonna have to go with Japan with Tokyo Japan I was there twice last year such an incredible food scene such a respectful culture yeah yeah wow amazing twice in a year nice I know that was lucky I went once with my husband and then once with my mom oh very fun yeah all right last one your favorite sandwich oh I think I'm gonna have to go with a hombone beret did I sorry French people if I didn't pronounce that right but like the French baguette sandwich in Paris. Yeah.

45:31Aliza Averbach:Yeah. Yeah. I like that choice. Maxine, this has been so much fun. Thank you so much for joining This is Taste.

45:36Maxine Sharf:It was so fun. Thank you, Matt. I had an awesome time. I appreciate you having me on.

45:45Aliza Averbach:This is Taste is hosted and produced by Eliza Barbanal and me, Matt Rodbar. The show is edited by lead producer Clayton Gumbert and supervised by Pat Stango, director of media production and at Penguin Random House. Thanks to Shalia Harris and the production team at Penguin Random House. Theme music by Steve Rydell. Episode portraits by Louise Zergon Pomeroy. Logo design by Ellie Skirzat and Ian Dingham. Visit Taste Online at tastecooking.com and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated on all cool things in the world of taste. Thought Sweetgreen was just salads? Think again. There's a new way to do sweet green.

46:30Aliza Averbach:Wrapped and ready. These handheld wraps pack bold flavor and 40 plus grams of protein into something hearty, satisfying, and built for life on the go. From craveable sauces to satisfying textures, they're designed to keep you going without slowing you down. So put that fork down. Try the new wraps today in app or at order.sweetgreen.com. Available at participating locations only.