Daro Castello · Private chef
Culinary-school tricks made simple: cuts, sauces, techniques and easy recipes with that detail that makes you look like a chef. 📍 Buenos Aires
The classic Halloween recipes explained with chef technique: pumpkin pie, soup served in a pumpkin, roasted seeds, candy apples, puff pastry mummies, witch fingers and meringue ghosts.
Read the full noteThe twice-cooked dough from Pastry class 8: why it puffs, the right egg consistency and bakes that never fail.
Read the full noteThe mother cream of pastry: the school recipe, how not to split it and the four creams that come from it.
Read the full noteFrom the Peru class of Latin American Cooking: potato purée with ají amarillo and lime, a chicken filling and layers that hold together.
Read the full noteTwo arepas from the Venezuela and Colombia class: the precooked cornmeal dough, a creamy chicken and avocado filling, and the one fried twice with an egg inside.
Read the full noteBlack beans with pork, bacon and sausages cooked until rich, toasted cassava farofa with onion, and the white rice that goes with them.
Read the full noteFrom the fish class of Cooking 2: the fillet that steams in its own parcel, and oven-roasted fish with France's classic butter sauce.
Read the full noteWhat Argentina's Food Code says about packaged food labels, explained so you can use it at the supermarket.
Read the full noteThe four laws of nutrition and the ten messages of the official guidelines, with concrete amounts: water, vegetables, salt, dairy, meat, oil and alcohol.
Read the full noteFrom vegan to flexitarian, what each one eats, and how to cover iron, calcium, vitamin B12, omega-3 and protein without meat, from the Nutrition course.
Read the full noteFrom the first Peru class: beef seared over high heat, onion and tomato wedges, soy and ají amarillo, twice-fried potatoes and fluffy rice on the side.
Read the full noteThe tiramisu from Pastry class 5, built in a ring: ladyfingers made at home, coffee syrup with liqueur and a mousse made on a pâte à bombe.
Read the full notePâte à bombe, crème anglaise, sabayon or Italian meringue: which to choose for each flavor, how much gelatin it needs and the recipe for chocolate mousse in a glass.
Read the full noteThe Cooking 2 recipe from culinary school: two hours of slow braising, a sauce made in the same pot and a gremolata that cuts through the richness.
Read the full noteThe three meringues from class 3 of Pastry: what sets them apart, what each one is for and the temperature points that never fail.
Read the full noteDough made with lard and brine, hand-cut beef, potato, egg and scallions, the 16-to-19-fold repulgue and a tomato and locoto llajua on the side.
Read the full noteFrom the Tasting and pairing class: how the bubbles are made, what changes between the two methods, what each sweetness label means and how to taste a sparkling wine.
Read the full noteWhy many cheeses go better with white than red, how to set up a board and which grape to pick for each chocolate, from the Tasting and pairing workbook.
Read the full noteFlavor families, serving temperature, the 9 steps of a tasting, the off-flavors that give away a badly made beer and the three keys to pairing it.
Read the full noteThe Cooking 1 recipe from culinary school, with its quantities, and the rule that decides whether gnocchi turn out light or heavy: how much flour per kilo of potato.
Read the full noteRisotto isn't rice with cream: the creaminess comes from the grain's own starch. The Cooking 1 recipe, with stock kept hot and the butter beaten in off the heat.
Read the full noteThe focaccia from our Bakery class: a 60% hydration dough, ready for the oven in ninety minutes, and the oiled-rosemary trick so it doesn't burn.
Read the full noteThe exam question was how many single folds an Argentine butter medialuna takes. The answer is three. The recipe from our pastry-dough class, with chilling and proofing times.
Read the full noteBefore buying an oven, define the menu. The measurements, proportions and hygiene principles that make a kitchen work without crossings or wasted steps.
Read the full noteName, menu, dishes, uniforms and lighting should follow one guiding idea. What a business concept includes and why it pays to focus it on one type of guest.
Read the full noteStrengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, with the school's guiding questions to fill it in and the golden rule: a SWOT that doesn't end in actions is useless.
Read the full noteThe place you hold in the guest's mind. The three types of positioning, the three most common mistakes and the five routes of experiential marketing.
Read the full noteRecipe card, trim loss, yield and menu price: the step-by-step used in every professional kitchen, with a worked example.
Read the full noteFixed costs, variable costs and contribution margin, explained simply. With an example to find out how many guests a day your place needs to start earning.
Read the full noteIngredients plus labor: the two biggest costs in any kitchen, together in one indicator. What values are healthy and how to lower it without lowering quality.
Read the full noteReheating isn't the same as regenerating. Temperatures, times and the right method for each dish, so what you cooked yesterday (or had delivered) is served as if it just left the kitchen.
Read the full noteThe base for tarts, cookies and alfajor shells. What sets them apart, the two techniques to make them and the culinary-school recipes, plus the mistakes that make a dough tough or cracked.
Read the full noteCrisp outside, tender and packed with cheese inside. The recipe I learned at culinary school and the three secrets so they rise and don't turn out dry.
Read the full noteSushi isn't raw fish: it's well-made rice. Rice, vinegar, safe fish, cutting, nori and the bamboo mat explained by a chef, so you can nail it at home.
Read the full noteWasabi in the soy sauce? Chopsticks or hands? Does ginger go on top? What most people do, what's done in Japan and what really matters.
Read the full notePastry doesn't forgive improvisation, but it isn't magic either. Weighing, temperatures, what each ingredient does and the big families of doughs and creams behind any recipe.
Read the full noteClean, separate, cook and chill. The temperature danger zone, cross-contamination and everyday mistakes that make a delicious meal disagree with you.
Read the full noteWhere each one comes from, when to add it, which go in first and which go in last, and how to store them so they keep their aroma.
Read the full noteThe two base doughs for fresh pasta, their ratios, how to knead, roll and cut them into tagliolini, pappardelle and farfalle.
Read the full noteThe signs of freshness, the difference between round and flat fish, lean and oily, and which cooking method suits each one.
Read the full noteFlour, water, salt and yeast. What each one does, the recipe for Argentine pan francés and the steps that separate a dense loaf from one with a crisp crust and airy crumb.
Read the full noteThe one-bite rule, how much to plan for each type of gathering, how to balance cold and hot, and what to have ready before the doorbell rings.
Read the full noteWhich fish to use, how to squeeze the lime, why the onion is rinsed and what tiger's milk is. With sweet potato and cancha corn, as in Lima.
Read the full noteBrunoise, confit, velouté, à la minute, papillote. Professional cooking speaks French: here's what each term means.
Read the full noteWhere each piece of cutlery goes, how many glasses to set, what to do with the napkin and the small service gestures that transform a dinner at home.
Read the full noteSight, nose and palate: how tasting works, what temperature each wine is served at and the pairing rules sommeliers use, straight to the point.
Read the full noteSpinach that makes you strong, fruit for dessert that makes you fat, honey healthier than sugar. What nutrition says about the usual myths.
Read the full noteStars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs. How restaurants classify their dishes and what they do with each one (and what's useful to know as a diner).
Read the full noteHow to tell if an egg is fresh, which egg suits each dish, the exact boiling times and why the yolk sometimes turns green.
Read the full noteThe method professional kitchens use to touch a steak and know whether it's rare, medium-rare or well done, without opening it or losing its juices.
Read the full noteYou rented a house on the coast, in the hills or a country home with friends. What the options are, how it's organized and what to sort out before you travel.
Read the full noteWhat the price includes, what changes it, and reference prices for a 3 or 7-course dinner at home.
Read the full noteBoth take care of the food, but they are not the same. Differences in experience, guest count and budget.
Read the full noteOne or two cooking sessions at your home and the week sorted. What it includes, how many hours it takes and what it costs.
Read the full noteBrunoise, julienne, mirepoix… it isn't culinary-school fussiness: the size of the cut decides how long it takes, how much flavor it releases and how the plate looks.
Read the full noteMaster five sauces and you hold the key to hundreds of variations. That's how French cuisine organized them, and it's still how culinary schools teach them.
Read the full noteThree decisions separate an ordinary steak from a restaurant one: how you sear it, when you take it off and how long you let it rest.
Read the full noteWe eat with our eyes first. With five simple rules, a home-cooked dish looks restaurant-ready.
Read the full noteThat mirror-like shine of restaurant sauces isn't magic: it's reduction, patience and cold butter at the end.
Read the full noteThe simplest side is also the one that most reveals technique. Five keys to a smooth, silky, flavorful mash.
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