839: Olivia Tiedemann on the Perks of Private Cheffing and Making Crab Cakes for Martha Stewart

Olivia Tiedemann (0:08)

I remember my first couple of days on that job, just realizing that I could truly buy all these like $600 stakes and stuff. Look, I was still nervous thinking like, oh no, I'm going to spend too much. And they just never even knew how much I spent, never asked, never cared. That was really, really cool, having access to so many fun ingredients and just get to play with them.

Aliza Abarbanel (0:29)

This is TASTE, I'm your host, Aliza Abarbanel.

Olivia Tiedemann is a chef who began creating videos while working as a private chef in the Hamptons. Her signature deadpan delivery and no-nonsense techniques have won her millions of fans, and now she's sharing her highly-cravable recipes in a debut cookbook, Eat Like the Rich. Today on the show, Olivia stops by the studio to talk about why everyone is fascinated with private chefs, making crab cakes for Martha Stewart, and much more.

Matt Rodbard (1:01)

And at the top of the show, it's the return of Three Things, where Aliza and I talk about what is exciting us in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. Aliza, we are back with Three Things. How are you doing?

Aliza Abarbanel (1:15)

I'm doing well, Matt. How are you?

Matt Rodbard (1:17)

I'm great. I had a weekend away in Philadelphia.

Aliza Abarbanel (1:20)

You want to tell me about what you ate there?

Matt Rodbard (1:22)

I will. I know you've been to a couple of these places, because I remember when you were there, you mentioned a few, I believe, so we can go over that.

Aliza Abarbanel (1:29)

We can exchange notes. I love going to Philly.

Matt Rodbard (1:31)

It's such a great city, and we've been talking about it for years. We got to get down there and do a taste travels, and a few of these places I went to, I want to take us, our crew there, and meet some of the chefs and proprietors. I'll start with Middle Child Clubhouse.

Aliza Abarbanel (1:47)

I have been there, yes.

Matt Rodbard (1:48)

You have been there.

Aliza Abarbanel (1:49)

I went for breakfast.

Matt Rodbard (1:50)

So that's amazing, so I did not go there for breakfast. And breakfast, I've heard, is really the move, and it's almost like an all-day cafe. And a little background, this is from Chef Matt Kahn. It's in Fishtown, which I spent a bunch of time in.

And I love that neighborhood. There's always new places popping up all the time. And really, I went there for dinner, and I love the design of the place. It's really got that, the Princess Di photo, wearing a Phillies and Eagles jacket. That was really fun.

Aliza Abarbanel (2:26)

They have a lot going on in there.

Matt Rodbard (2:28)

There's a lot going on there. There's a lot going on.

It's just short of caricature. It's like, I really like it. Comfortable booths, there's a big bar, and it feels really, really designed. There's a private dining room in the back. And my friends said that maybe Beyoncé had a party there at one point. I'm not reporting this. This is only rumor.

But it looks like there was a have enough fun party this weekend back there. But really, it comes under the food. And when you're serving dinner latkes in the style of okonomiyaki, the famous Osaka pancake, I'm ordering a few of them. These were topped with kyuupi mayo and pickled ginger and scallions. And you could get it with roe if you wanted as well. I really love the romaine and chicory salad, which had a kombu dressing and garlic panko on top. I really enjoyed that. And another vegetable course I liked were these beets, which had a maple vinegar glaze with black pepper, really peppery and just perfectly done. And I ate a lot of vegetables because I knew what was coming, which was the burger. And they're known for their burger. And it's kind of a diner style cheeseburger.

But they have this cherry pepper mayo on it. And I think we ordered like three at the table, or the table was like what we were ordering that day. It was really fun just to be there and in the weekend vibe and see everyone having so much fun in Fishtown. And that is Middle Child Clubhouse.

Aliza Abarbanel (3:56)

I feel like now I have to go back for another meal of the day.

Matt Rodbard (3:59)

You've enjoyed your breakfast there.

Aliza Abarbanel (4:00)

I did. They have a very famous giant pancake that comes with either kind of orange, honey or maple syrup and really cute butter that's in the shape of a face, among other delicious things. But I think a big pancake is hard to go wrong with.