Culinary Arts

The Sensory Narrative

I approach the culinary arts not merely as sustenance, but as an ephemeral medium of storytelling. My background as a chef, restaurant reviewer, and cookbook author informs a philosophy where texture and flavor profile are treated with the same rigorous attention to detail as a stanza of poetry or a shutter speed.

A dish is a composition; it requires balance, a focal point, and a narrative flow. Whether reviewing a fine dining establishment or developing a recipe for my cookbook, I aim to evoke memory and comfort through a deliberate layering of sensory inputs. Here, you will find my explorations in flavor, my published culinary writings, and the stories behind the plates.

My current creative discipline

CogniCuisine®

It is not just human. It is not just AI. It is CogniCuisine®.

CogniCuisine® expands cuisine into a collaborative creative discipline. Human judgment and artificial intelligence begin with food and carry it into recipes, art, music, writing, design, objects, and experiences.

Food remains the origin and connective tissue. I cook, taste, observe, challenge, and revise. Human judgment decides what survives and where the work travels next.

Explore CogniCuisine.com

The work starts with food and can become more

What could this ingredient do somewhere unexpected? Why did that texture fail? What happens when a finished dish becomes a painting, a song, a story, a pattern, or an object? Research and artificial intelligence open possibilities. Human experience, cooking, and judgment decide which ones deserve to survive.

The work includes original recipes, documented experiments, ingredient research, art, music, writing, design, and an honest record of revision. A failed dish is part of the process, and an AI answer is something to examine, test, and improve.

Read about the method

Watch

Bob Tastes

Ingredients I have never tasted before, and my first response to them. Bob Tastes begins with curiosity: smell it, taste it, describe it, then explore what it can do in food.

The series began with Australian wattleseed, followed by ajwain. The point is discovery, with the tasting itself in view.

Explore

Flavor Liberation

An ingredient has a history and a practical role: acidity, warmth, aroma, body, bitterness, texture. Flavor Liberation explores those roles across culinary borders, opening new possibilities for the cook.

The Africa Series extends that research into a developing reference work organized around countries, ingredients and shared flavor connections.

Explore Flavor Liberation

Read

Recipes, experiments and the thinking behind them

My writing follows the work through its successes, wrong turns and discoveries. These pieces offer three places to begin.

From the kitchen into art and music

Breakfast Jams brings twelve cooked dishes into a connected body of work: recipes, my original photographs, transformed settings, painted interpretations and songs rooted in my poetry.

Robert’s original photograph of the kuku sabzi dish behind Emerald Vigil
The food I cooked and photographed
The Emerald Vigil food photograph in its transformed setting
The transformed setting
The painted interpretation titled Emerald Vigil
The painted interpretation
Explore Emerald Vigil: recipe, images and music

DigniCuisine

A developing branch of CogniCuisine focused on flavorful, practical cooking with food-shelf ingredients and everyday pantry staples. The work centers on affordability, cultural care and meals worth looking forward to.

Explore DigniCuisine

A registered service mark

CogniCuisine’s federal trademark application was filed March 16, 2026, and approved by the USPTO examining attorney for publication on July 17, 2026. CogniCuisine was registered on the Principal Register on October 6, 2026, as U.S. Reg. No. 8,484,098.

View the USPTO registration record

This Is Delicious - Blog

Explore the complete recipe journal—50+ dishes with stories, techniques, and the development process behind each creation.

View Recipe Blog

This Is Delicious! What Is It?

An Eclectic Collection of International Comfort Foods

Drawing from my background as a restaurant reviewer and chef, this cookbook is a curated tour of global flavors designed for the home kitchen. It bridges the gap between the exotic and the familiar, proving that 'comfort food' is a language spoken in every culture.

Inside, you will find recipes that prioritize bold flavor profiles and tactile joy—inviting you to not just eat, but to experience the stories behind the dishes.

Purchase on Amazon

A Seasoned Friendship: Past Episodes

A Seasoned Friendship, the podcast I co-hosted with Lori Bregenzer, has ended. Our conversations about food, recipes and friendship remain available to listen to on Spotify.

Listen to past episodes on Spotify

Culinary Journalism & Reviews

My work as a food critic and columnist is rooted in the belief that dining is a theatrical experience. As a writer for Lavender Magazine, I chronicled the evolution of the local food scene, looking beyond the menu to critique atmosphere, service, and the integrity of the kitchen.

Below is a selection of my columns and reviews, ranging from hidden neighborhood gems to high-concept fine dining.

Selected Columns: Lavender Magazine (Mpls./St. Paul, MN)

  • Mexican Food Fast, Fresh and With a Conscience: Baja Tortilla Grill – October 10, 1997
  • W. A. Frost: From Start To Finish, A Perfect Dining Experience – June 6, 1997
  • Taxxi, Kieran's, Brit's: Forget Winter with these Summer Outdoor Dining Options – June 20, 1997
  • Mud Pie Offers Variety But Lacks Consistency – May 23, 1997
  • A Slice of Greece in South Minneapolis: Myconos – May 9, 1997
  • May Day Cafe Breaks from the Predictable – April 25, 1997
  • Sweet Outweighs Sour When Dining at Lotus Victoria – April 11, 1997
  • Home-Cooked Food & Attitude: Ruby's Cafe – March 28, 1997

Selected Columns: OutFront Colorado

  • Archived columns available upon request.

Breakfast Jams: from the kitchen

Explore twelve recipes, photographs and songs