Jamie Lauren

The chef enjoying a rare sit-down meal.

Courtesy of Jamie Lauren

Being a chef, people are constantly surprised by what I eat (or don't eat) over the course of my work week ... to be completely honest, the last thing Iwant to do when I am at work is eat. Being surrounded by food all the time generally makes me very uninterested in having a meal on a daily basis. Here's a list of everything I ate this week.

Monday: My day off. Probably the one day when I actually eat two meals. Usually on Mondays I try and get together with friends, since it's really

Madhur Jaffrey gave me the inspiration for my Indian burger

Courtesy of Jamie Lauren

Get out of the kitchen and read something, will ya?

As a chef, I think one of the most important things you can do is to continue learning. This can be accomplished in several ways, including doing a stage at another chef's restaurant, watching interesting food shows on TV (and by interesting, I mean Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmerman, not Rachel "EVOO" Ray), and by reading books. Lots and lots of books. I have a ton of food-related books, mostly piled in my office at work, because there's no place to put them in my little apartment. Behold a list of my favorites:

She may look friendly enough, but give her some dirty silverware or a clueless server and watch out!

Courtesy of Jamie Lauren

I obviously go out to eat a fair amount. If you have been following my blogs, you will know that I am not a big fan of cooking at home in my downtime and usually prefer to have someone else do it for me. This week I amuse you, the reader, with a list of my pet peeves about diningout. I'm not going to name names, because that would be rude, but here are some things that I consider to be simply unacceptable.

Jamie Lauren (right) and Aysha Cromeenes at the opening party for the new Dosa.

Courtesy of Jamie Lauren

As a chef, one of my favorite things to do is go out for dinner. I hate the thought of cooking at home—hate hate hate! I figure if I spend 60-plus hours a week in a restaurant, one of my luxuries when I am not at work is to have someone else cook my dinner. So, behold, my list of places I go on my night off.

The perks of fame: A behind-the-scenes trip to the zoo.

Courtesy of Jamie Lauren

How my life has changed since I started appearing on national television:

Until I got a spot on this season’s Top Chef, my job at Absinthe has always been behind the scenes. For the past year and a half, I’ve been going into work and prepping, cooking, expediting and hand-holding for about 10 to 12 hours a day (on average) before heading home.

Porchetta makes me smile.

Courtesy of Jamie Lauren

I am a huge hot dog fan, as many of you may or may not be aware. I grew up on them in New York and have spent a good portion of my life being ridiculously obsessed, so much so that I have even been tempted to tattoo a hot dog some place on my body. I have struggled with the absence of a delicious hot dog in San Francisco for the past seven years and I always look forward to repeated trips back home so that I can indulge … and there I was. Sitting in New York City, snowed in. Missed my flight back to San Francisco and got pretty much screwed.

It's true. It's so true.

Jamie Lauren

One of the things I've noticed over the past seven years that I have been in San Francisco is the clear differences between foodie culture here versus New York City—my hometown. Since I’m just finishing up a visit (snowed-in as we speak), I thought I’d weigh the benefits of two cities dear to my heart.

My life at Absinthe: Head down and giving up Friday nights for (pretty much) ever.

My life consists of working. All. Of. The. Time. When I am not working I attempt to maintain some sort of normal life—like see the dentist, clean the bathroom or get the dishes out of the sink and into the cupboard. Since graduating from the CIA Hyde Park I have not:

Courtesy of Jamie Lauren

Introducing the first of our guest food blogger series. For six weeks, Tuesdays are your chance to get inside the mind of everyone from a Top Chef contestant (yes, like Jamie) to a food stylist to a dishwasher to a farmer. Get to know how they live, breathe and, most importantly, eat San Francisco.