We Asked Five Chefs to Eliminate Everything Except Their Desert-Island Ingredients

Fridge feeling a little overseasoned? Take inspiration from their edits, and pare down your larder.

Ricky Moore

"Due to the great quality of North Carolina seafood, sometimes the simplest ingredients are all that’s needed to help this healthy protein shine. My pantry is stocked with lemons for ceviche and herbs like parsley, tarragon, dill, and chives to finish my chilled shrimp salad and bouillabaisse. I have seafood stock to create a deep, rich flavor for stews and condiments like capers, mayo, and Dijon for fish salads. A nice range of fats—especially olive oil—is key."

Kimberly Tilsen-Brave Heart

"I use chicken stock when steeping wild rice, an Indigenous grain, to add flavor in recipes like rice and chicken dumpling soup. In Lakota culture, we dry deer meat for soup, so I keep a jar of it throughout the cold months. I also dry Indigenous corn, which makes a great addition to any dish. I love using sunflower oil—derived from sunflowers and Indigenous plants!—for its high smoke point and great source of vitamin E."

Gaby Maeda

"In Hawaii, we ate rice with every meal, and the flavor and texture of Koshihikari rice is incredible. My pantry always has dried beans like Iacopi Farms’ prim manteca beans. Whether it’s soup or beans, I reach for kombu, which has umami and natural glutamic acids that enhance flavors. Red Boat Fish Sauce’s briny flavor with a little funk hooked me. I use it to flavor vegetables and marinate meat. Usukuchi shoyu has a lightly roasted caramel flavor with perfect salinity, and I add it to any recipe that calls for soy sauce."

Ana Ortiz

"I grew up eating rice and beans, so I always have a bag or two of Rancho Gordo beans. A pot of cooked beans in the refrigerator is the backbone of effortless, elegant, and nourishing meals. There are always tropical fruits—pineapples, guavas, passion fruits, and lemons—as they’re a source of inspiration. Yuzu kosho reminds me of Puerto Rico but packs a hotter punch. Fresh ginger is ever present for tea and baked goods like tiger-nut flour sticky toffee pudding. Bay leaves go into my braised beans and desserts with pineapple jam."

Dan Pelosi

"Raisins are controversial, and anchovies are divisive, but it’s a victory when I convert people to using them in recipes. I have approximately 23 bottles of Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard, and I’ll put it in everything. My go-to dinner is Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce with onion and butter on pasta, and the prime ingredient is tomato puree. People think I’m nuts when they see baby food in my pantry, but my mom was the queen of the ‘mom hack,’ and carrot baby food in carrot cake gives it next-level moistness and flavor."

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