JANUARY 2020 27
Cooking Up a Playlist Tunes to bake,
broil, roast, and sauté to
CHEFS’ RECS
GO WITH THE FLOW
“Usually something chill like Wooden Shjips,
The Black Angels, Nothing (a Philly-based
band), Radiohead, and This Will Destroy You
works for us. For something more upbeat, we
do Jeff the Brotherhood, Ty Segall, and Black
Rainbows.” —NICHOLAS ELMI (LAUREL, IN THE
VALLEY, ROYAL BOUCHERIE; PHILADELPHIA)EMBRACE THE THROWBACK
“At the restaurant, we usually listen to Nigerian
rock from the ’70s like William Onyeabor,
the Lijadu Sisters, The Hykkers, and The
Hygrades. When I cook at home, I’m usually
listening to Sturgill Simpson, Kurt Vile, Lake
Street Dive, Lukas Nelson, and Bahamas.”
—CAROLINE GLOVER (ANNETTE; AURORA, CO)PLAY THE HITS
“We aim to match the spirit of the room.
Some songs that have become staples over
the years include Frank Ocean’s ‘Nights’ and
‘This Must Be the Place’ by the Talking Heads.
—JASON VINCENT (CHEF’S SPECIAL COCKTAIL
BAR, GIANT; CHICAGO)PUMP-UP JAMS
“We love to listen to music that gets us going,
so we like J. Cole and Travis Scott. Purple
Disco Machine is also great because it has
a beat, and that sort of energy helps us
throughout service. When I’m home, I listen
to a lot of Tash Sultana.” —DANIELA SOTO-
INNES (COSME, NEW YORK CITY)TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
“We take turns choosing the tunes, but I like
something energizing, like LCD Soundsys-
tem, or calming, like Youth Lagoon. At home,
I listen to a lot of female vocalists. Brittany
Howard, Kacey Musgraves, Lizzo, and Lake
Street Dive are in my recent rotation.”
—JULIA SULLIVAN (HENRIETTA RED, NASHVILLE)PASTA PLAYLIST
“I play music when making pasta, and that
includes Kendrick Lamar, U2, Miles Davis,
Gregory Isaacs, Coldplay, De La Soul, and
Nas. Lately, though, I’ve been hooked on
podcasts.” —NINA COMPTON (COMPÈRE LAPIN,
BYWATER AMERICAN BISTRO; NEW ORLEANS)WHETHER YOU’RE pulling together a
quick weeknight dinner or have a full
snowy Sunday stew going, the right
soundtrack can set the tone in the
kitchen. We put 10 different speakers
to the test in the Food & Wine kitchen,
and ultimately fell in love with the
small but mighty Harman Kardon Go +
Play. It’s easy to connect via Bluetooth;
powerful enough to fill large spaces
with crisp, clear sound; has a handle
for easy transport; and is resilient even
when faced with splashes and splatters.
We asked some of our favorite chefs for
the artists and songs they listen to in
the kitchen. Follow along and get in the
zone right from home. —OSET BABURBUY IT Harman Kardon Go + Play
($450, harmankardon.com)TUNE IN: Listen to our
January Jams playlist
on Spotify at https://
spoti.fi/2kcp9oI.photograph by CAITLIN BENSEL