Cal Peternell

Experience

Cal Peternell was inspired to pursue a career in cooking while living in Italy with his wife. His professional culinary journey began in San Francisco, where he worked at BIX and Loretta Keller's Bizou. From there he cooked at Lydia Shire's BIBA and Chris Schlesinger's The Blue Room in Boston, before helming the kitchen at Chez Panisse. Cal shifted his attention to writing cookbooks, focused on teaching home cooks how to not only cook well but to take pleasure in the process. His first book gave readers a kitchen manual of essential building blocks to help them develop core skills and confidence. Cal's second and third books provided recipes for celebrations and get-togethers and introduced healthier, more economical, and sustainable ways of cooking. He carries the theme of sustainability into his latest book Burnt Toast and Other Disasters (2021) in which he offers practical advice and kitchen hacks to salvage food-gone-wrong and turn lackluster ingredients into delicious meals. In addition to writing cookbooks, Cal hosts the podcast Cooking by Ear where he invites listeners to cook along with him and kitchen guests such as Frances McDormand, Mira Nair, and Alexander Payne.