Table Talk

To start us off, I’d like to introduce Zara Sirg, a recent Rutgers alum, pastry chef, menu & cookbook consultant, recipe developer, food writer, and imaginative innovator. With passion and unconventionality, Zara consistently brings intrigue to the table. She is no stranger to hard work; her far-reaching culinary experience as a line cook, business owner, and freelancer speaks for itself. Take a peek at some of her cake designs, restaurant gigs, platings, and fermentation experiments on her Instagram @frankfurtersauce (trust me, there’s a lot of eyecandy on there). Here’s a bit of tabletalk with Zara herself.

Q: Tell me about how you've grown up, anything notable in your childhood you’ve carried into adulthood? Any silly anecdotes to illustrate this?

At the risk of sounding like a cornball, cooking was the first language I ever knew. It was the first and probably only thing I’ve ever been really good at and it’s all I ever wanted to do. My mom is a fantastic cook and I spent a lot of my childhood watching her do what she does. She primarily cooked Indian and middle eastern food, so for the longest time I tried to cook everything else. Up until recently I didn’t know how to cook so many of the things I grew up eating.

Q: Do you have any unusual entities or objects that inspire you? Any general sources of inspiration?

My friend Chef Hannah Musante or @Salamigetthisstraight on Instagram. Every time I need inspiration I go to her page. She is one of the most talented people in this industry right now and I’ve been lucky enough to work with her. She’s a magician. She makes plates that look like they should be served under a glowing silver cloche. She’s also like the nicest person I’ve worked with. She’s so cool. Hannah I love you, you're so cool.

Otherwise, I pull a lot of inspiration from film and music. A lot of times if I’m doing a cake commission and someone doesn’t know what they want, I’ll ask them to give me their top 5 albums and top 5 movies and I’ll listen to/watch them while designing the cake. I try to pair all of my posts on Instagram with a song but if I’m in a creative deficit, I‘ll take a bunch of stimulants and listen to music very loud and sit with a note pad and draw out abstract shapes until it looks like it could be turned into something edible. Or I’ll clear out my kitchen and force myself to make something pretty and tasty with what I’ve got. I like going to farmers markets or cool grocery stores and finding things I’ve never heard of and using them in a dish too.

When someone shares a meal with you, it’s completely altruistic.

Q: Do you ever get overwhelmed in your creative avenues?

I think at my least financially stable, I’m at my most creatively stagnant. There’s a privilege that comes with being able to cook with cool and pretty and exciting ingredients. It’s hard to make something beautiful with ramen and eggs. Eggs are fucking expensive now too. And it takes time and time is money. If I’m not posting on @Frankfurter it’s either because I’m too busy working or because I’m saving my coin or some combination of the both of them. I think the food industry is saturated with some incredibly talented individuals who don’t make enough money to afford the tools to make beautiful plates of food that go mega viral. Back of house pay is so shit and the hours are so grueling it’s like, why would any of these talented people, people who possess the skillset, use their limited time off to cook even more?

Q: Is there something you want to talk about but can never quite work into a conversation?

I always want to talk about mold. I'm always trying to talk about mold. Edible mold like koji, it’s the closest you can get to alchemy in food. I'm also always trying to talk about Dr. Arielle Johnson, she’s a food scientist who’s written some of my favorite pieces on flavor chemistry and sensory perception. She’s my person Michael Jordan and when she followed my food page I cried for 2 hours straight

Q: Essential item?

Glasses. Can’t see without ‘em.

Q: Do you think your experience as a chef makes you behave or see things differently in your day to day?

Definitely, I think it’s made me worldlier. You deal with every type of person in a kitchen. A lot of assholes and a lot of incredibly interesting characters. It forces you to be patient and it forces you to develop a degree of intimacy that doesn’t exist outside of that space. Food is hell. You’re with these people for 8-12 intense hours, you’re seeing each other at your worst and most stripped down and vulnerable and then your shift is over and it stops mattering. But you also share a bond that’s so wholesome because it’s like, you have to make those hours fun. Who else are you gonna talk to about work you know?