Steven Gao

Steven Gao Never Stop Learning
Institute of Culinary Education ‘24
Per Se ***
[email protected]
(7)

27/08/2026

meal prep for my friends :)

just recently went to my first volleyball tournament in over 2 years and naturally i had to cook for my friends! the tournament was 3 days long and i played 2/3 then decided to cook for everyone on the last day so they had food to eat for dinner and take home for their long drives. i went for something super simple so steak with chimichurri and sweet potato, salmon with scallion and cucumber salad, and chicken thigh with cherry tomatoes and pesto. it is always fun making random food for my friends, but it was also just so amazing being able to play some volleyball too after so long. i didn’t do the best in the tournament, but i tried hard and i am hoping to get back into it for the future :)

21/08/2026

new video coming soon!

put a lot of energy and time into this new video in the heart of one of the best new openings in the city (in my opinion). looking forward to what you all think :D

18/08/2026

how to break down a whole chicken :)

hey everyone, my grocery store had a deal on whole chicken (each was like $5) so i had to get a few and show you what i would do with them! just a disclaimer, i am not super proficient at breaking down poultry, but i definitely think this is a very intuitive and basic method and it is always worth doing it for practice and to save money! the chicken has joints that are connected with tissue similar to our own structures, which means that you should never be cutting through bone with your knife, just along/inbetween it (unless you are going for halves/quarters). hope you all enjoy this really simple tutorial, i think it is such a useful skill to have and as always if you have any questions feel free to comment below or message me directly :)

10/08/2026

i love my dad ❤️

cooking dinner for my favorite person with Le Creuset

had the chance to visit my dad this weekend so I decided I would cook him dinner! usually he stops me from cooking since I do it so much for work, so this time I decided I would make him some of his favorites like seafood, risotto, and mushrooms. When I was in high school my dad started to cook every single meal for me and my family, and so it always feels extra rewarding when I get the chance to cook for him, especially now that it is what I do for a living. my dad is really comfortable eating a lot of his favorites, but I always like to twist them a bit so he tries new flavors which is why I decided on something like squash risotto and marinated sungold tomatoes today.

A huge thank you to Le Creuset. I absolutely love cooking in their cookware and being able to do something like this to give back to my dad as well is truly so special. everytime I make food with their cookware it is so seamless and feels like a luxury experience. the pieces in Nectar are so gorgeous and perfectly match my dad’s sun room and I am so glad he can use them forever in his home from now on :)

31/07/2026

let’s learn how to filet a fish Institute of Culinary Education

if you want to learn from me in NY get a ticket here :)

www.eventbrite.com/e/1995020209150/?discount=STEVENCOOKS

fish butchery is such a common technique in the culinary world but much more daunting for home cooks despite it being relatively simple! this is one of the most fool proof and simple ways of filleting a fish that i used to butcher thousands of fish when I worked at my previous restaurant. learning how to filet your own fish can save you lots of money and having the fish trim and bones gives you so many possibilities for stocks, sauces, and so much more.

above all I am so excited to be able to teach a small class of you more in depth about fish butchery, brining vs curing and so much more that I have learned about over the years. the class is next Friday the 7th and I am looking forward to seeing you all there! as always feel free to comment below with any questions or message me directly :)

26/07/2026

I think that cooking for others is genuinely the best part of being a chef, so I decided to turn my apartment into a fine dining restaurant for a day!

Today I wanted to challenge myself to turn my tiny NYC apartment into a full fine dining experience for my friends. From creating a multi-course menu and shopping for local ingredients, to prepping, cooking, plating, and serving my friends a "fine dining dinner," all in the course of 12 hours. Follow me as I battle against the clock to serve something that I think is restaurant worthy.

I really hope you all enjoy this video, I had so much fun pushing myself to create it. These sorts of video concepts make me so grateful, because I am able to share what I have learned working in fine dining restaurants while learning and trying new things myself. There are so many details that I left out from creating the menu, to even explaining how I made everything in the kitchen, I can't wait until I find ways to show you all that sort of stuff in different concepts, it is extremely exciting to keep on discovering what I can share with you all!

19/07/2026

still a work in progress :)

hi everyone long time no see, back to posting regularly here! i have been filming some really fun youtube videos as well as working on short form and figuring out the best balance of both. been exhausting but i am super excited for what is next! i also wanted to thank you all so much for the support on my first long form video, you all showed up so much more than i could have imagined, hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and summer so far, see you all very soon! (hopefully a new long form video out by next saturday)

15/07/2026

how to make perfect chips! i remember my first time doing it this way and loving just how consistent they turn out. unlike just frying chips straight from sliced, they get evenly brown all the way around because the moisture from the brine ensures the entire chip is cooking relatively evenly (though this does vary). there is also a huge difference between when you season after vs before, and the consistency is key, especially when you are making and serving so many guests each night and want everything to taste the same. a super simple and easy tip that I think is really nice, as always if you have any questions feel free to comment below or message me directly.

07/07/2026

it feels a little surreal to share this video. not only was it an emotional day for me, but it feels almost weird to share something that i did every single day for almost 2 years, for the first time. constantly surrounded by a “sense of urgency” there is no time to take your phone out, take a break, or do any less than you are physically capable of. i wanted to show you all something that you might not see very often. a look inside an unfocused work day at a 3 michelin star restaurant. i hope you all enjoy.

05/07/2026

let’s learn how to make sesame oil!

I just had the chance to visit Olim Oil in New Jersey, and see the behind the scenes process of making fresh pressed sesame and perilla seed oil. it all starts with the seeds and here they are sourcing from a farm in Korea and visually the seeds are a touch smaller than from many other countries where sesame seeds are produced. the seeds are thoroughly washed 3-4 times in 5 minute cycles before a longer final cycle to ensure there is absolutely no debris leftover in the seeds. the “good seeds” also stay at the bottom of the water while lighter ones float and are skimmed away. after a bit of drying they are taken to the roaster, and it was really interesting learning about the benefits of roasting at low temperatures. one of the natural compounds sesamolin actually convert into sesamol when roasting, and keeping the perfect temperature allows them to maximize all of the best characteristics of their seeds. this is extremely important for the perilla seeds as well because they have more delicate compounds that are more susceptible to denaturing due to high heats. then they are passed through a conveyer, and i thought it was so interesting learning about how they needed to settle the volatile gases surrounding the seeds after roasting to ensure a more consistent final product. then they are finally moved to the presses and you can already smell the intense fragrance and tasting the oil you can really get a sense of how the quality of ingredients and technique used to make it makes a huge difference. here they also don’t strain it as extensively as commercial oils, because there are leftover nutrients in the oil after pressing that filtering removes. i really hope you all enjoyed learning about fresh pressed oils as much as I did. I think there really is so much to learn from people who take the time to ensure every step of the process is executed with intention and properly. you should definitely check out Olim Oil, they ship anywhere in the US and I would highly recommend you taste the difference, to me it is 100% worth it (olimusa.com).

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