When the COVID hit, I found myself with an abundance of free time and only my next meal to break up the never-ending monotony of quarantine. I quickly got into a cooking rut and found myself flipping through my stacks of cookbooks, but never actually making anything new, so I challenged myself (and roped in a few friends) to find a new theme every week to inspire one of my meals.

The Once a Week Chef is the full year, book form of my summer quarantine project. Everybody gets falls into a routine in the kitchen from time to time, making the same old dishes that don’t draw boos from the crowd, but don’t have them on their feet cheering anymore either. Participating in this cooking adventure will spice up that routine (sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively) for at least one meal a week.

Each week, you’ll find a new theme to plan your meal around. Just find a recipe that sounds good to you in a cookbook, online, or from your imagination, cook your new dish, and then write down your recipe and your thoughts about it in the book. Once a week, you’ll be a true chef!