GRILLED CHEESE: POPULAR RECIPES AND CHEFS

When researching the popular recipes of grilled cheese, the one recipe that kept popping up was the grilled cheese from the 2014 movie Chef. Described as the “sexiest” grilled cheese that viewers have ever seen, the grilled cheese made by Jon Favreau, contains white bread, olive oil, and thinly sliced cheese (Ngo, 2022). In the same show the other most popular grilled cheese recipe I researched was the grilled cheese made by chef Roy Choi. Choi combines four different types of cheese: white cheddar, yellow cheddar, Gruyere, and Parmesan cheese on top of beautiful sourdough bread. Audiences were captivated by the mix of cheeses that were used, and thus this grilled cheese became extremely popular (Ngo, 2022). Antoni Porowski from Netflix’s Queer Eye, has made a grilled cheese full of flavor and creativity. His recipe consists of: brioche bread, mayo, Gruyere cheese, buttered leeks, and prosciutto (Miyashiro, 2018). Antoni’s recipe is interesting as it brings up the topic of whether or not chefs should include extra protein in their grilled cheese sandwiches. People often argue that a grilled cheese should essentially be just cheese and bread, and that the sandwich should be based on the flavor of the cheese. However, when we think of the history of grilled cheese being utilized as a sandwich that was intended for Americans to get through their workday–then why wouldn't we add extra protein? Grilled cheese should not be limited to strictly cheese because this recipe begs for extra creativity. All these celebrity chefs have held onto the basic recipe of grilled cheese, but they put their own creative twist on it. Without these creative recipes the original grilled cheese recipe would stay that same. As home chefs, we should strive for creativity that fits our palate and defines comfort for us–besides the grilled cheese is that classic comfort food.