Where 9 Chefs Shop for Groceries Online

It’s easy to get lost on this Salt Lake City, Utah–based market’s website, which has seemingly endless tinned and canned goods, cheese, charcuterie, cocktail ingredients, and sweet treats. Alexa Norlin, pastry chef and owner ofNormal Ice Creamin SLC, always has a mixed basket of goods when she stops byCaputo’sin person, and her online recommendations are no different. First up, she suggestsSolstice Chocolate’s dark milk chocolate. She says it’s “the best chocolate I’ve had in my life,” and even though it’s almost 60 percent cacao, it’s “creamy in spite of its higher cacao percentage; a lot of chocolates can get crumbly.” In the savory category, she loves Caputo’sBarely Legal Raw Goat Tome cheese. It’s aged 60 days (the minimum aging required by law for raw-milk cheese) in Caputo’s own cheese caves and is “so creamy and milky — a completely different flavor profile than super-aged cheeses, like tasting a natural wine versus an old-world wine.” She also buys tins ofJose Gourmet smoked small sardinesin olive oil, eating them on saltines with a littleSalsa Espinalerhot sauce, which is “very vinegary and almost more acidic than it is spicy.” Lastly, something to sip: a bottle ofBar Daddy orgeat; she puts it in prosecco and gin-and-tonics, not just tiki cocktails. “The almond flavor really comes through, almost like a pure extract of almond milk mixed with simple syrup.”

For overnight shipping, you’ll pay $30. But for two to five business days, it’s free. If you’re SLC-based, you can also order Caputo’s onPostmates.

This Portland, Oregon–based wholesale butcher specializes in high-quality Northwest meats and specialty game and was primarily a restaurant provider before COVID-19. “With restaurants closing, there’s a pretty big food-chain system that has fallen apart in terms of farmers, ranchers, and fishers.Nicky USAsources honestly and locally to help small farms that are in crisis right now, which is also sustainable,” explains Gregory Gourdet, culinary director for Portland restaurantDeparture. He loves Nicky USA’s boar, a great “starter game,” he says, because it’s “pretty accessible, not expensive, and tastes like pork but a little meatier and darker in color.” He suggests boar collar cooked like pork shoulder, either grilled over high heat until medium or braised. He also likes the company’swhole ducks, which he breaks down into legs for confit and grilled breasts with char-siu-style sauce that is sticky and sweet for “flavors associated with summer with a Chinese twist.” Finally, he recommends Nicky USA’sshort ribs. He likes braising them, but instead of using red wine, he says to try coconut milk and a Haitian spice blend called Epis (onion, Scotch-bonnet peppers, black pepper, thyme), plus yucca and plantains. “Serve them with something light, like pickled onions and greens, for a dinner that is hearty and light at the same time,” Gourdet adds. “Use extra chiles, and acid like citrus or vinegar, to brighten it up so it doesn’t feel like a winter dish.” All of these meats can be purchased usingNicky USA’s online ordering form.

$40 minimum for FedEx deliveries, and they’ll ship anywhere in the U.S. “within the week, depending on your location.”

While you can’t take the experience of the tasting menu atAtomixhome with you, there are key ingredients from the fine-dining modern Korean restaurant in Nomad that you can add to your pantry. Junghyun Park, owner and executive chef of Atomix andAtoboy, as well as the founder of new online shopAtonae, callsGotham Grovehis “recommended source for more rare, high-quality Korean ingredients to upgrade staple pantry items,” includingaged soy sauces, vinegars, gochujang and other soybean pastes, oils, salts, seaweed, and more. “These artisan products are definitely in a different league from the more readily available counterparts in local markets or online,” he says. If he had to pick just one item, it’d be theperilla oil, which “has a distinctively aromatic, nutty fragrance and taste, similar to sesame oil, its sister oil.” He says it’s been used in Korea for hundreds of years, and he compares it to what olive oil is in Italian cooking. “It’s a great fat to add and balance out seasonal plates utilizing fresh ingredients, where vegetables and fresh, acidic flavors tend to come forward,” he adds. Park suggests buying smaller quantities and refrigerating perilla oil once opened, since it is more volatile than a lot of oils and spoils more quickly.

$5 shipping anywhere in the U.S. and free shipping over $99. Shipments will arrive in one to five business days.

Chef Colin Lynch cooks fresh pasta every day at his Boston restaurantBar Mezzana, but when he gets home, he turns to Gloucester, Massachusetts–based pasta shopPastaio Via Cortafor dinner. It specializes in extruded pasta shapes made withfreshly milled organic flour(which you can also buy). Lynch says the pasta has “an al dente texture all the way through that is more satisfying and toothsome than dried pasta, and just the right balance of being firm yet tender enough without being mushy.” Lynch, who is also the chef and partner atShore LeaveandBlack Lamb, loves all of the company’s shapes, but his two go-tos arecampanelle, which he suggests eating with a meat-based ragù so the sauce can hide inside the folds of the pasta, andfusilli, a classic done perfectly that he likes to pair with olive oil, toasted garlic, pasta water, chile flakes, frozen peas, grated Parmesan cheese off the heat until the sauce tightens up, and a sprinkling of fresh basil or mint. You can feel comfortable buying pasta in bulk from Pastaio Via Corta because “it freezes beautifully,” Lynch promises. “The moment it hits the water, it’s basically defrosted, then cooks on its own. If you do keep it in the fridge, it will last a week or two. Just check for mold like you would do with bread. But freezing is best.”

Shipping cost varies by location; Pastaio Via Corta uses USPS Retail Ground, which delivers within two to eight days.

Up until this summer,Girl & Dug Farm’s Sweet Jade Tomatoes were exclusive to Chef Mei Lin at her Los Angeles restaurant,Nightshade. Now, everyday consumers can try the fully ripe — and green in color — cherry tomatoes from the comfort of home. The San Diego farm is shippingproduce boxesthat include some of its best chef-loved and formerly restaurant-exclusive items nationwide, with à la carte produce ordering to come. Lin describes the Sweet Jades as “super-vegetal, very juicy, and all-around just a sweet tomato” and has used them in tomato water for a butternut-squash dish and a guaiwei vinaigrette. (“In Cantonese, the literal translation is ‘strange flavor,’ which refers to all the elements of flavors you’d find in the sauce: sweet, sour, salty, umami, and numbing.”) The boxes’ unique contents rotate every week like a CSA, but you’ll be sure to find Girl & Dug’s signature K-Cukes (Korean cucumbers). They’re “super-crunchy, with barely any water content, and hold up really well for pickles.” The K-Cukes and jelly melons, another type of cucumber, are her favorite cucumbers of all time, and she suggests using equal parts mirin and rice vinegar to pickle. Her other staples include rose chicories, which are ombre pink in color and have a “pleasant bitterness” that are great for salads or quick sautés, and chrysanthemum greens.

Shipping is free to 49 states and should arrive within a few days.

If you need to, well,spiceup your cooking routines, Katie Button, executive chef and co-owner ofCúrate Bar de TapasandButton & Co. Bagelsin Asheville, North Carolina, recommendsSpicewalla. “They make the most fragrant spices I have ever found. We use them in our restaurants, but they have also changed the way I cook at home,” she says. “I’ve recently become obsessed with theirModena Balsamic Rubfor home,” using it for everything from roast potatoes to popcorn. They offer a build-your-ownessentials ten-pack, “a great way to replace spices that have lost their oomph in your pantry and get to know the Spicewalla brand,” Button says, as well as aMiddle Eastern essentialscollection, which she uses on grilled fish. “Just rub a little on the fillets or make a marinade with a little of the ground coriander, olive oil, minced garlic, and lemon zest,” she says. And last but not least, “theirEverything Bagel Seasoningis great. I put that on avocado toast or scrambled eggs. It’s become a pantry staple, too.”

Orders over $15 are shipped for free; expected fulfillment time is seven to ten days.

Since you’re not going out to dinner at fancy restaurants, you can treat yourself to the occasional blowout expensive ingredients for home cooking.Day Joseph, executive chef ofApt 4Bin Atlanta, turns toRegalis Foodsfor “specialty produce such asmicrogreens,morel mushrooms, white and blacktruffles, edible flowers, and unique proteins likeuni,spot prawns,foie gras, andWagyu beef.” When cooking at home versus in her restaurant, she tries to upgrade some of her favorite classic Caribbean dishes with fancier ingredients. “Jamaican patties are usually a quick snack or street food like a hand pie that usually uses a lesser cut of meat, but the buttery and rich texture and flavor ofWagyu beeftake the dish up a notch to Michelin-starred status,” she says. “I make mine with jerk spice and curry powder baked inside a flaky turmeric and ginger crust served with a jerk barbecue sauce.” For more of a starter splurge, she really likes the Regalis brandtruffle oils, which are “an amazing gift, since it won’t spoil and can be kept in the pantry. I enjoy having it at home to add to just about anything.”

Shipping costs and times vary, but many products (like meat) are shipped via FedEx Priority Overnight.

Brandon Jew, chef and owner ofMister Jiu’sin San Francisco, loves the “pristine” shellfish from this Pacific Northwest seafood farm. One of his favorites are the plumpShigoku oysters, which he describes as “tumbled oysters with a deep cup that keeps them extremely juicy.” He services them raw “with mignonette made with my friend Chris Crawford’s vinegars,” he says. “Her company,Tart Vinegar, makes celery, rose, and kombu flavors that complement these oysters beautifully. They also work well in oyster omelets or pancakes.” Another hit from Taylor is the shockingly giant, brinygeoduck clam; Jew calls it “a wonder of the animal world and one of the most interesting seafoods on the West Coast.” He says to blanch, clean from its shell and sac, and then slice raw and thin for a crunchy texture. Finally, Jew steamsTotten Inlet musselswith Shaoxing wine and crispylap cheongsausage, then finishes with butter in the liquid once the mussels open up.

$30 for anywhere else in the US with next-day delivery, and free shipping on orders over $300 for perishables. Non-perishables ship for free.

Tinned fish has proven to be aquarantine essential, and Chicago-based Wixter Market offers a huge range of still-in-stock conservas from all around the world, says Jesus Delgado, the corporate chef atTanta. “The traditional Spanish way of eatingsea-urchinroe,clams— razor clams, if available — oroctopus in spicy oilwith a baguette is my favorite,” he adds. And while you’re at it, pick up something for your pooch, too. “My fiancé has a Pomeranian dog, Tito, and we love theHofseth Pet Health Extra Virgin Salmon Oil,” he explains. “We just add it to the top of Tito’s food, and it helps with his immune system, joints, energy, and a shinier coat.”

Free shipping on orders over $99, and $10 flat rate otherwise.