Menu Ideas

The One Thanksgiving Dish This 19-Year-Old Chef Will Never, Ever Cook For Himself

Even though it's his favorite.

November 16, 2018
Photo by Bobbi Lin

Flynn McGarry—the "Justin Bieber of food," according to Vogue—has a lot more Thanksgiving-hosting experience than your typical 19-year-old.

McGarry threw his first dinner party when we was 11 and a half years old, and a short eight and a half years later, opened up his first permanent restaurant: Gem, in New York City. (If you're curious to learn more, you can see the recently released documentary Chef Flynn.)

"The first time I cooked Thanksgiving dinner, I was 10 years old," he says. "I wanted to sous-vide the turkey but I didn't have a proper vacuum sealer. I have this strong memory of cutting apart a turkey that was nearly my size and putting it all into Ziploc bags. It turned out okay, but my family did not like how moist it was. Everyone was used to a more traditionally cooked turkey, so they decided to put it all back into the oven."

According to our Automagic Menu Maker, he'll be using a more classic turkey technique this year. You can view McGarry's entire menu here, or check out the highlights below. But the chef says that there's one dish he won't be making himself:

"My favorite Thanksgiving dish has always been pumpkin pie, but it's also the one thing I will never make," says McGarry. "Growing up in LA, we always bought our pies from the same bakery. I'd eat two slices on Thanksgiving day and then three over the course of the next day."

What does the Menu Maker think you should whip up for Thanksgiving this year? Get your own results, right this way.

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Ella Quittner

Written by: Ella Quittner

Ella Quittner is a contributing writer and the Absolute Best Tests columnist at Food52. She covers food, travel, wellness, lifestyle, home, novelty snacks, and internet-famous sandwiches. You can follow her on Instagram @equittner, or Twitter at @ellaquittner. She also develops recipes for Food52, and has a soft spot for all pasta, anything spicy, and salty chocolate things.

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