Food

A Look Inside the Smitten Kitchen

Food blogger Deb Perelman opens up her cabinets for Slate.

Deb Perelman, the writer behind the wildly popular food blog Smitten Kitchen, recently published her 1,000th recipe. She’s also written a cookbook that spent weeks on the New York Times best-seller list in 2012 and is still No. 1 on Amazon in the “gourmet cooking” category. Perelman’s success is easy to understand: She’s a stunning photographer, her writing is chatty and self-deprecating, and her taste is impeccable. (If Perelman recommends a recipe, you know it’s going to be good.) Perelman’s image is both relatable and aspirational—she is an everywoman who, by force of will, has transformed her small New York City kitchen into a stage for irresistible delicacies.

How exactly does she do it? Perelman invited Slate inside her kitchen to show us inside her pantry, refrigerator, cabinets, and storage shelves. If you’ve ever wished your culinary life were more like Perelman’s—and if you’ve read Smitten Kitchen, you probably have—start taking notes.