Jess Damuck, Martha Stewart’s personal salad chef for more than a decade, has become our muse for light, yet hearty and nourishing summer meals. About a year ago, she released her book Salad Freak, playfully titled from the nickname her friends have come to call her.
This has become the one cookbook I crave for inspiration and recipes that celebrate eating from the farmers market. Her book is sectioned by season with vibrant photos of mouthwatering dishes that are accessible to even a cooking novice. Thus far, we’ve prepared her:
Roasted salmon with pistachios and pea tendrils - and I’m still thinking about the delicious, mustardy bite paired with the crunch of pistachio
Charred corn, tomatoes, halloumi, and chili crisp - my goodness gracious the summer fruits and veggies with the salty, cheesey halloumi was so insanely good
Esquites (Mexican corn salad) - a perfect pairing with any grilled protein
Tortellini antipasto pasta salad - a yummy way to indulge in cold pasta on a hot day. Also a highly effective way to finish up the remaining charcuterie from last night’s dinner party
Jess’ formula for a delicious salad is to choose a star, add a crunch, and finish with olive oil. Here are some tips I’ve learned from her:
She isn’t just a salad freak, but also a salad spinner freak - her favorite brand is OXO. She even uses the basket to store the clean lettuces in her fridge
She loves to make acidic dressings more complex by adding two types of acid. Her favorite combination is white balsamic vinegar and lemon
Drizzling Graza olive oil as a finisher is one of her signatures
More About Jess Damuck
Jess strikes me as someone who has mastered the art of perfect execution when it comes to cooking, yet manages to be completely chill in the process.
Her childhood is peppered with amusing facts. She grew up on Shelter Island where her entire K-12 school was 250 people total. She was in a metal band in high school (in her emo phase as she says with a laugh), yet one of her known talents is her Cher impression. She initially went to school for pre-med, but pivoted and graduated from the French Culinary Institute. And for someone with such impressive training, she still champions mayonnaise - according to her, the best way to make a dressing creamy and dairy free - and Hidden Valley Ranch.
While she was in school, she applied to an internship at Martha Stewart Living because Martha had served as inspiration throughout her youth and Jess believes she had almost all 50 of her cookbooks. She worked her way up the ranks to become a food editor and then a culinary producer. As a producer, she started working on Martha’s TV shows while also doing a bit of collaboration with Snoop Dogg (who, it turns out, happens to love Cobb salads). Jess even incorporates Martha’s and Snoop’s favorite salads into her book. Oh, and did I mention that Martha Stewart wrote the forward?!
Outside of her association with Martha Stewart and her cookbook, Jess has become more recognized on the culinary scene in Los Angeles through the COVID dinner parties she and friend Benny Blanco started in his backyard. Though Benny is best known for writing mega hits for pop stars (Dynamite - Tao Cruz, California Gurls, Teenage Dream - Katy Perry, Love Yourself - Justin Bieber…just to name a few), he happens to be a massive foodie, even hosting a YouTube channel with famed chef Matty Matheson - who earned his acting debut on The Bear.
Jess has managed to convince the most anti-vegetable people that salads are something to obsess about. You can learn more about her on the This is TASTE podcast.
Happy obsessing.
x jz
Images | 1 | Anthropologie | 2 | @b.g.mckay, styled by me | 3 | Jess Damuck | 4 | NYTimes | 5 | @b.g.mckay, styled by me
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