Adam Perry Lang, Sauce Celebrity Chef

by Tif Sweeney, Walrus Contributor

Adam Perry Lang, the latest Sauce Celebrity Chef, graced the city of St. Louis with his barbecue genius through multiple events on Friday, June 15.  A handful of lucky fans were able to experience the chef and his cooking over lunch.  For those unable to attend, he also made a very personalized visit to Left Bank Books Downtown later that evening.

At Left Bank Books, Lang shared his personal experiences about running restaurants from Vegas to London to one up-and-coming in Los Angeles.  He talked about rubbing shoulders with famous friends such as Jimmy Kimmel and Jamie Oliver.  He also said that sibling rivalry is to blame for why he hates ketchup.  He divulged his current favorite restaurant, John’s Rib Shack located in Greenville, Mississippi.  And, he talked competition barbecue … the ultimate of taste tests where only one bite separates the winners from the losers!

Lang knows how to win these competitions.  He believes he wins because other chefs just get too fancy.  Lang takes it another way.  He takes the familiar and makes it fresh.  It is freshness on steroids which leaves the lasting impression needed to take the prize!

He has a passion for food.  It goes beyond sustenance.  Food shouldn’t just to feed us.  Food should restore us!  For this reason, Lang goes to the source (i.e., visiting slaughterhouses, picking mushrooms, etc.) approximately 85% of the time.  But that’s not the whole story because great cooking goes beyond the ingredients.  To cook well, you have to understand why the recipes work.   Lang wants people to understand the science behind a great dish.  When cooks know why something works, they have options, ways of adapting recipes to fit a multitude of circumstances.  After all, “cooking is a passport to the world.”  In Lang’s case, he lives by his own words every day!

For more information on Lang, his creations, his restaurants, and even an interactive recipe selector, visit Adam Perry Lang – The Official Site.  For more foodie coverage here at Walrus, check out exclusive coverage for Stone Soup Cottage Cookbook, Joy the Baker, and Blood, Bones, and Butter with Gabrielle Hamilton.