Chopped’s Geoffrey Zakarian Hates Working With This Popular Ingredient

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images By Laine Doss/April 8, 2021 2:42 pm EST

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Geoffrey Zakarian is a celebrity chef and cookbook author best known for his dapper appearance and culinary skills. A judge on Food Network’s Chopped, Zakarian has mentored many up-and-coming chefs, and as the author of several cookbooks, he’s given guidance to countless home cooks.

Zakarian — who literally wrote the book on the essentials everyone needs in their kitchen, entitled My Perfect Pantry – enjoys working with many items, except one specific ingredient. The chef revealed to the Food Network that he hates working with white truffle oil. Zakarian also doesn’t like to eat a dish where white truffle oil is an ingredient. However, he is actually a fan of truffles, explaining on Twitter that he doesn’t like truffle oil because, “it is generally overused and not used properly… and I’d rather have the real thing.” Zakarian cringes when truffle oil is added to a Chopped mystery basket, according to another Food Network story in which judges on the show are asked to reveal their most hated ingredients. While Chopped host Ted Allen and co-judges Alex Guarnaschelli and Scott Conant listed their reviled ingredient with a detailed explanation as to why they didn’t like the item, Zakarian simply said, “white truffle oil” — once again doubling down on his opinion of the oil. 

Chopped’s Geoffrey Zakarian Hates Working With This Popular Ingredient

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

By Laine Doss/April 8, 2021 2:42 pm EST

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Geoffrey Zakarian is a celebrity chef and cookbook author best known for his dapper appearance and culinary skills. A judge on Food Network’s Chopped, Zakarian has mentored many up-and-coming chefs, and as the author of several cookbooks, he’s given guidance to countless home cooks.

Zakarian — who literally wrote the book on the essentials everyone needs in their kitchen, entitled My Perfect Pantry – enjoys working with many items, except one specific ingredient. The chef revealed to the Food Network that he hates working with white truffle oil. Zakarian also doesn’t like to eat a dish where white truffle oil is an ingredient. However, he is actually a fan of truffles, explaining on Twitter that he doesn’t like truffle oil because, “it is generally overused and not used properly… and I’d rather have the real thing.” Zakarian cringes when truffle oil is added to a Chopped mystery basket, according to another Food Network story in which judges on the show are asked to reveal their most hated ingredients. While Chopped host Ted Allen and co-judges Alex Guarnaschelli and Scott Conant listed their reviled ingredient with a detailed explanation as to why they didn’t like the item, Zakarian simply said, “white truffle oil” — once again doubling down on his opinion of the oil. 

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Zakarian — who literally wrote the book on the essentials everyone needs in their kitchen, entitled My Perfect Pantry – enjoys working with many items, except one specific ingredient. The chef revealed to the Food Network that he hates working with white truffle oil. Zakarian also doesn’t like to eat a dish where white truffle oil is an ingredient. However, he is actually a fan of truffles, explaining on Twitter that he doesn’t like truffle oil because, “it is generally overused and not used properly… and I’d rather have the real thing.”

Zakarian cringes when truffle oil is added to a Chopped mystery basket, according to another Food Network story in which judges on the show are asked to reveal their most hated ingredients. While Chopped host Ted Allen and co-judges Alex Guarnaschelli and Scott Conant listed their reviled ingredient with a detailed explanation as to why they didn’t like the item, Zakarian simply said, “white truffle oil” — once again doubling down on his opinion of the oil. 

Zakarian Loves Other Oils

Manny Hernandez/Getty Images

Zakarian also sells a host of products on his website. The chef offers everything from spices and cookies to crab cakes and toffee. The entrepreneurial chef also sells his own line of cookware on home shopping site, QVC. Zakarian, who admits his guilty pleasure is rose wine (via Food Network), also sells a curated selection of his favorite wines on QVC.