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We challenged chefs of three different skill levels – amateur Billy, home cook Joe, and professional chef Fatima Khawaja – to make us their preferred pesto. Once each level of chef had presented their creations, we asked expert food scientist Rose to explain the choices each made along the way. Which pesto looks better than the rest-o?

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49 Comments

  1. I want them to have a chef v chef series and their food gets judged by Rose. Same “dish” but just like the home chef verses pro.

  2. i’ve been starved, i have seen every single one of these videos so YESS i’m so excited. literally what i fall asleep to sometimes lol

  3. Level one chef, you are using the lemon squeezer wrong. Turn the lemon opposite of the shape of the squeezer. It turns the lemon half inside out, yielding more juice. It is also easier and juice won't squirt out all over the place.

  4. Level two chef, I totally agree with using nuts other than pine nuts in pesto. I use pistachios, because I love them.

  5. That level 1 dude will lose a fingertip soon. Level 2 needs to take that tenderloin off the breast, that puppy is dry as the sahara right now probably.

  6. How about that! I just recently made pesto for the family. My mother has never had homemade pesto or homemade pasta, so I served it as a basic sphagetti pesto served next to some beautiful sirloin with a gorgonzola sauce.

  7. In what world is pasta served with a slab of meat on top? First serve the pasta, clear the plates, and then bring out the protein course. Will the next video suggest placing a slice of tiramisu on top of the chicken so you can have three courses at once?

    Also, I got a chuckle at the idea that leftovers pine nuts hang around in the cupboard. I have the opposite problem. If I buy the pine nuts the day before I make pesto and don't hide them… I have to go buy them again. They don't survive my kid's ravenous appetite. And if my father is visiting, they won't even make it to the kitchen. Fortunately, Costco sells them in 1.5lb bags.

  8. This pesto sauce making is just so good and its really challenging i can fell that. Thanks a lot for sharing and keep up the good work you are doing. i am not a pro chef but can include myself as a home cook
    Thanks a lot and a lot of love from Planet ayurveda

  9. All other cooking videos they are combining the weirdest ways of food for basically only roughly the same meal. Only for Pesto, where there are dozends of variants, they are using the Genovese pesto. Where is the Wallnut Pesto? Where is Pesto Calabrese? You can make it out of Pistacio too, you know.

  10. You should not pound pesto, with so many great videos these days on Youtube it's so easy to see why pretty much any video you post is not really up to par.

  11. Whoo Fatima Khwaja is back! I still have the bun kebab recipe in the back of my mind to cook. Gonna try this too now.

  12. Oh, too bad about the level 1 guy… I wanted to learn how to make pesto in the air fryer.

  13. Just jumping in to say that flash blanching fresh spinach (30s in boiling > ice bath) for my pesto has been a game changer–light, delicious, works as vegan if you want (and I'm not even a big spinach person).

  14. Level 2 chef trying to act all cute like I don’t remember that cacio e pepe monstrosity he made last time he was on here

  15. I do not like this Level 2…they seem really arrogant and also actually ruined their pesto but got on the other persons case.

    I think the Level 1 was actually more like a Level 2, and I liked the Level 3 because her dish didn't seem unreachable or difficult like most Level 3s who take three days to make a dish. Honestly I'd probably eat Level 3's out of all of them [mostly because I don't like tomatoes].

  16. I dislike this level 2 guy more than any other participant in the history of the show ever 😐

  17. se vi vede un genovese vi manda affanculo a tutti e tre e vi maledice i morti fino alla dodicesima generazione

    ma dio cane

  18. I love it that levels have a real meaning this time : cooking efficiently for yourself ("why the f would you have pine nuts at home"), cooking something sexy for friends – or foes with weak kidneys, and the ultimate afternoon activity for mortar enthusiasts.

  19. I like pesto, but I tend to get grief when I make it because I don’t use any nuts. However, given my nut allergy, I use pumpkin seeds. I also use spinach in addition to the basil.

  20. I'd taste some of Billy's pesto, like maybe a half scoop at a church potluck. Joe's pesto would be something I'd brag to my friends about getting to try it. Fatema showed why she's a pro. I'd pay $20 for plate of that at a restaurant.

  21. the level 1 chef blended the basil first when it should be blended in last. That thing looks like a withered basil soup.

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