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Who would have guessed that Bush frontman and multi-platinum-selling recording artist Gavin Rossdale could throw down in the kitchen? As it turns out, while stringing together 26 chart-topping singles, landing film roles alongside Keanu Reeves and Emma Watson (Constantine and The Bling Ring, respectively), and training for tennis like a pro, Rossdale has also studied the nerdiest of food science books, befriended big-time chefs (such as Grant Achatz, of Alinea fame) and finessed connects with restaurant industry insidersâincluding an Italian foods importer who heâs met in downtown parking lots for deals. âWho needs smack? Iâve got a guy with truffles,â he says.
Along the way, the musician has hinted at his double identity as an epicurean. For example, he delivered an ardent critique of noodles for Kareem Rahmaâs TikTok series SubwayTakes last year: âAngel hair pasta is food for people who donât like food,â he declared. But with his new show on the Vizio WatchFree+ streaming service, Rossdale is fully outed as a foodie.
In Dinner with Gavin Rossdale, guests like Serena Williams, Selma Blair, and Sir Tom Jones are treated to three-course meals in the hostâs glossy Studio City pad. Rossdale makes the food himself, but he says that the show (and the key to home entertaining) isnât really about cuisine or even cookingâitâs about connection.
âI donât intend this to be a âfoodâ show. Serving someone a plate of food and staring in their face to make sure they like it? I just hate that s--t. Itâs completely bourgeois,â he says. âIâm much more interested in the person. The food is used to disarm, and [it] allows people to relax. The better the food, the better the conversation.â
Even with this everymanâs approach to entertaining, Rossdaleâs kitchen repertoire is full of hacks that make simple dishes look really posh. Better yet, heâs happy to share them. We recently grilled the rock star for his favorite cooking tools and tricks, right before he resumed cooking dinner for his family. On the menu: penne with cream-based vodka sauce, chicken and steak with his signature pesto, glazed carrots on a bed of leeks, and pasta carbonara with imported guanciale and pancetta (which he sourced from a connect in San Luis Obispo). See? This guy isnât messing around.
âEveryone is like: âThe defense chemicals in this spinach is going kill me! The kale is out to get me! Seed oils, we mustn't!â Meanwhile, the whole restaurant industry is based on [using] grapeseed oil and safflower oil,â Rossdale says. âHowever, this algae oil, which has no seed oil, is a great neutral oil with a really high smoke pointâand you can still add your butter at the end.â
âI think a garlic mincer is really, really helpful because it creates small piecesâyou don't want chunks of garlic in your food,â Rossdale says. Whatâs more, mincers release more allicin (the compound that gives garlic its kick) than chopping typically does. His must-make seasoning: âPress 10 or so cloves of garlic onto your board and swish a little salt over it. Youâll get an amazing garlic paste that is really good for flavoring,â he says. âPlus, if you chop some parsley into that, you have a French persillade that you can put on french fries, eggs, meat, fish, anything.â
âIt's not rocket science,â Rossdale says of cooking. âIt's just a series of different steps. The more you love and attend to each step, then the more the elements combine to make things so flavorful. Itâs all about cooking thoughtfully and presenting simply. For example, [youâve got to] warm the plates.â His plates of choice? âI generally prefer Japanese plates, usually from places like Toiro,â he says.
âYou know when you go to the caviar shop and itâs so expensive, [itâs like] theyâre just quietly having sex with you without you knowing it,â Rossdale says. âWell, Iâve got a caviar dealer, a Russian guy that I met through a chef friend. He brings a malossol and itâs the jam.â This sustainably-farmed, white-sturgeon malossol (a Russian word meaning âlittle saltâ) is minimally salted to preserve the roeâs buttery flavor.
âKids can do this, and I love doing it with mine: Cut parmesan into reasonable little chunks and put it in a mini blender. Add basil, just a couple of leaves at a time, because basil is incredibly potent (and way stronger herb than people give it credit for. Like, I wish all weed was as strong as basil, because itâs strong),â Rossdale says. âWhizz it, and you get an incredible green snow that looks great on a red pasta sauce with maybe a nice chili oil around it. It looks fancy, but all you've done is blend two things together.â
âMy kitchen trick is to keep my fat fingers off of the dish and be as nimble as possibleâlet the dish be what it is and do only what best supports that,â he says. âMy life changed when I was introduced to Farmer Jones. It's the greatest produce and edible flowers that I've ever come across. It revolutionized my cooking, because I can get even more out of the way of the produce and do even less,â he says.
âI get my truffles from an Italian importer downtown. Now, heâs legit but he used to run the truffles coming to town. So sometimes you go and meet him in the back of a car park. Youâd be there with the chef from Gucci Osteria, checking out these truffles and peeling off the dollar bills,â Rossdale says. âBecause if you get them in a retail store, youâre paying three, four times the price. Or if you order a dish of tagliolini with white truffle, youâre charged $250. Madness!â
âI have a crazy, scientific pairing food book that covers 10,000 flavor combinations and what they do. Itâs a huge, color codedâand super nerd alertâis about the science of smells, why compounds work, and what combinations work. Itâs staggering,â Rossdale says. âSometimes Iâll take an ingredient and read my book to find some weird stuff that goes with it.â
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