Cooking Issues with Dave Arnold Paul Carmichael & Dennis Ngo
Mar 12, 2026
Dennis Ngo, chef-owner of Di An Di and pho specialist, shares pho fundamentals and stock technique. Paul Carmichael, chef behind Kabawa with broad restaurant experience, talks menu development and laminated baked-patty methods. They compare sandwich breads, mayo choices, sourcing quirks, and R&D limits in short, lively conversations.
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Protect Your Produce Supplier Connections
- Keep soursop and other specialty tropical fruit sourcing to trusted suppliers; supermarket versions are usually inferior.
- Paul refuses to reveal his supplier publicly to avoid blowing their spot and supply drying up.
Clarifying Tropical Fruit Often Dulls Flavor
- Clarifying tropical fruits like soursop or lychee often reduces their distinctive fresh character and can make them taste muted or sweaty.
- Dave notes passion fruit is an exception that clarifies well, but many hot-weather fruits lose 'soul'.
Buy Mayo For Scale Not Make It
- For high-volume sandwich operations, buy commercial mayonnaise rather than make small-batch mayo in-house.
- Paul, Dennis, and John agree regional commercial mayos (Hellman's/Best/Duke's by region) suit scale and consistency needs.
