Winner of Your Best Holiday Roast

Congratulations to TasteFood, whose Porcini and Rosemary Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Port Wine Sauce won last week's contest for Your Best Holiday Roast, earning her a spot in the Food52 Holiday iPad App!

Q&A with TasteFood

Describe an early food experience that has influenced the way you think about food and/or cooking. 
Studying cooking in Paris opened my eyes to the delights of butter, cream, meat, and rich cheese. Since then I've never looked back.

What's your least favorite food?
Fast food

What is the best thing you've made so far this year?
Homemade bacon -- thanks to Charcutepalooza. Which reminds me I need to make some more.

Describe your most spectacular kitchen disaster.
Letting eggs boil on the stove while I took a phone call in the bedroom of my apartment in a high-rise building in college. The call went on and on until the building's fire alarm went off. The water had boiled off in my pot causing it to smoke, triggering the alarm and the entire building's evacuation. This happened before I went to cooking school.

What is your idea of comfort food?
Salade Lyonnaise 

Apron or no apron?
No apron, and I should know better by now.

What's your favorite food-related scene in a movie?
Babette's Feast. The whole film is a food related scene.

If you could make a show-stopping dinner for one person, living or dead, who would it be?
I need to think about that. I am pretty happy doing it for my friends.

You prefer to cook: a. alone, b. with others, c. it depends on your mood
Alone. There, I said it.

When it comes to tidying up, you usually: a. clean as you cook, b. do all the dishes once you've finished cooking, c. leave the kitchen a shambles for your spouse/roommate/kids to clean.
I start with A and move on to B.

• 
• TasteFood's homemade bacon.