Great Ones is a celebration of humans we admire — and an exploration of why they cook, not just how. Tamron Hall and Lish Steiling’s friendship began behind the scenes at the Today show. Since then, they’ve become close friends cooking and supporting each other through it all. Their new cookbook, A Confident Cook, inspires kitchen confidence in beginners and seasoned cooks alike. We met up with Tamron and Lish in New York City to learn more about their friendship, how they’ve cooked through all of life’s moments, and how they hope to empower people in the kitchen. Plus, they share their Ratatouille Bread Pudding recipe from the book!
Tamron: We met at the Today show; Lish was a part of the culinary team, and I was a third-hour host. At the time, I was on a journey to beginning to learn to cook. I’d cooked here and there, but after the death of my father in 2008, I really wanted to understand his joy of giving a beautiful meal to his family. He was in the military, and that was his second love. I wanted to explore that, and through a chance encounter with Lish (my dressing room was next to the kitchen), I was able to do that.
The first time we cooked together was via text message.
Tamron: It literally started with me texting her, “What should I cook for dinner?”
Lish: I started cooking on my own at the age of 13, but before that I’d cook with my grandmother. She’d give me a ball of dough at the kitchen table — basically to keep me under control. That’s how I got interested in cooking. We’d watch Julia Child together and Yan Can Cook. But what really solidified it was Martha Stewart Living. I’d get up on Saturday mornings and watch that show, and eventually I asked my parents for a subscription to that magazine. From 13 on I was cooking full-on Thanksgiving meals for the family, doing the cheesecloth wine-and-butter turkey method that Martha’s known for. By the age of 15 I was in professional restaurants. I had a part-time job and worked my way up in one restaurant and then another — I realized it was something I really loved.
Lish: The first time we cooked together was via text message.
Tamron: It literally started with me texting her, “What should I cook for dinner?”
Lish: That’s how it started, and we’ve cooked together many, many times after that. We’ve celebrated holidays and birthdays together.
We’ve cooked through the joyous moments and challenging moments. We want to share in this book how all of those challenging moments can melt away when you’re having a good meal with friends and family.
Tamron: We celebrated New Year’s Eve together back when no one was traveling and the first round of vaccines had come out — they were some of the first people who came to our home. We’ve cooked through the joyous moments and challenging moments. We want to share in this book how all of those challenging moments can melt away when you’re having a good meal with friends and family.
Tamron: I feel fantastic when I cook. There is a roast chicken recipe in this cookbook—through Lish’s guidance I’ve learned to spatchcock! One time we had been in Charleston all weekend long, and when I got home I spatchcocked this chicken in less than a minute — I felt phenomenal. That’s why we talk through techniques in detail in the book because building confidence is also about learning the technique. There’s no more empowering a feeling than knowing what you put in your body. In so many ways, it determines the quality of your life.
By feeding someone a good meal you have the ability to change their day for the better, without even meeting them.
Lish: Cooking is a way of being present — it’s very grounding. When you’re cooking you’re in that moment. You can’t be distracted by a million other things. But what I love about cooking is that by feeding someone a good meal you have the ability to change their day for the better, without even meeting them. When you’re working in a restaurant you don’t see the guest — you don’t even know their name. But if they take a bite of something you made that can evoke nostalgia or bring them new flavors and excitement, childish enthusiasm comes out. Food is such a powerful thing, and that’s a big part of why I cook.
Tamron: We’d talked about writing the book maybe a year after meeting. It started as a joke, like, “We should do a book based just on our text messages and call it Cooking by Text.” Lish and I had set sail on our careers, and the book started to take on a life of its own. Pitching the idea, coming up with the concept, the photos and the layout — it was almost an eerie process because of how effortless it was. This was born from an authentic place, and it never left that place. To the very last page, this is truly us and how we think you can become a confident cook.
Lish: That’s what I keep telling people: This book is us. It’s written in our voices, and we lucked out, too, that through the editing, they didn’t make us fit in a box. They let our personalities come through. That’s what makes this book stand out. I do feel that people will walk away feeling more confident in the kitchen if they follow these steps.
You can release that worry of getting it wrong, and that builds confidence when you’re learning to cook. When we say “joyous” and “no pressure” we really mean it.
Tamron: We structured the book to highlight that there is no question that’s too embarrassing to ask when you’re learning to cook. You can release that worry of getting it wrong, and that builds confidence when you’re learning to cook. When we say “joyous” and “no pressure” we really mean it. Those routine moments in the kitchen should not be fraught with anxiety. Still, these recipes are also complex in flavor. They are in many cases, through Lish’s recipe testing, ingredients that you might not have paired together. But none of that means it’s hard.
Lish: A beginner could pick up this book and use it. We tried to make it accessible. Some of my friends who tested recipes and are good cooks hadn’t made a successful rolled omelet before, so to get that text from them like, “Oh my god, it worked!” — having those successes for an intermediate cook made us feel good. And it made them feel good.
Tamron: I hope this book reaches people who are curious about the kitchen, people who are trying not to order in. We don’t want you to feel that you have to order in or dine out. I’d also like to see the people who are the best cooks in their families pick up this book and try a new recipe.
It’s an all-in-one dish, but it could be a side dish. It works for brunch or for dinner. You could slice it and fry it up, and that would be delicious.
Lish: The idea for ratatouille bread pudding actually came from Tamron’s show. During the pandemic, they’d reached out to do a virtual cooking segment with her. They were looking for brunch items, and one of the first things I walked through with her over text was a roasted branzino but with all the flavors of ratatouille. For the segment I thought, Let’s marry the idea for this ratatouille from early in our friendship with a savory bread pudding that I used to make often in Wisconsin. It’s an all-in-one dish, but it could be a side dish. It works for brunch or for dinner. You could slice it and fry it up, and that would be delicious.
Tamron: I love using Hot Dish for this recipe — the design has a great weight to it.
Lish: We used Full Steam for prep for this recipe. Plus, as a New Yorker with limited space, I love them because they’re collapsible.
Tamron: Oh yes! Those are game changers. This ratatouille bread pudding is a perfect dish for the holidays. It’s a perfect spin on a traditional stuffing.
