chefs

Who says chefs don’t cook at home? Chez Panisse’s David Tanis debunks the popular myth, just in time for the holidays.

It’s 11 o’clock on the morning of his holiday dinner party, and David Tanis, chef of Chez Panisse, is already in the thick of it—potatoes are frying on the stove, a pot of braising liquid containing a prehistoric-looking octopus is sitting on the counter and a pan of prawns awaits the paella pan.

Where to start, continue and end.

WHITE TO START
Tanis likes to serve Spanish whites, such as Albariño or Txakolina—an unusual white from the Basque region of northern Spain that, he says “is just fun to drink”—with this menu. He recommends the 2006 Do Ferreiro Albariño ($25) or a Txakolina such as Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina ($20), both of which go well with seafood.