Man With Woman: An Evolving Pantry

“What were you eating before Naomi?”

It’s a question that comes up quite often. Each time the implication is that I was eating air before she moved in. It’s not that I wasn’t cooking or couldn’t cook – it’s just that when I did cook it wasn’t always all that great. Certainly not when compared to someone who everyone believes should have a family-owned restaurant.

One of my favorite movies is The Lobster, in which single people are confined to a hotel where they have 45 days to find their perfect match or else they’ll be turned into an animal of their choice. (It’s a great movie if you haven’t seen it.) One of my favorite scenes is when the hotel managers stress the importance of union between man and woman by roleplaying stereotypical gender roles. In that playful spirit, I decided to explore how Gordon Ramsey Naomi has impacted my cooking (which has drastically improved!).

Naomi has taught me the value of ingredients, which, apparently, make all the difference. In hopes that it’s eye-opening –

here’s an exhaustive list of everything I’m pretty sure was in my pantry before she arrived: 

• Olive Oil
• Grapeseed Oil
• Paprika
• Sea Salt
• Pink Himalayan Salt
• Black Peppercorn
• Hot Sauce
• Chili Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Cayenne Pepper
• Brown Rice
• Crushed Red Pepper

And here’s a shortlist of everything in today’s inventory (including the above):

You get the idea. Our pantry is so full we turned another cabinet into an overflow. Whatever I was eating before, it wasn’t bussin’ like it is now and I’m grateful. We’ll be adding recipes to the Kitchen soon. In the meantime, if you’re looking for inspiration to make your dishes more creative (and flavorful!), then please do your taste buds a favor and explore some of these ingredients.

Let us know what your favorite ingredients are in the comments!