4 Levels of Chicken Parm: Amateur to Food Scientist | Epicurious

We challenged chefs of three different skill levels - amateur Emily, home cook Beth, and professional chef Chris Scott from the Institute of Culinary Education - to make us their best chicken parmesan recipe. Once each level of chef had presented and tasted their creations, we asked expert food scientist Rose to explain the choices each made along the way. Which chicken parm are you picking for Sunday dinner?

Follow The Institute of Culinary Education on Instagram at @iceculinary

Director: Debra Remstein
Director of Photography: Jeremy Harris
Editors: Manolo Moreno
Talent -
Level 1- Emily Duncan
Level 2- Beth Dimino
Level 3 - Chef Chris Scott

Food Scientist: Rosemary Trout
Producer: Tyre Nobles
Culinary Producer: Mallary Santucci
Associate Culinary Producer - Katrina
Culinary Assistant - Stevie Stewart
Director of Talent: Cynthia Simpson
Line Producer: Jennifer McGinity
Associate Producer: Sam Ghee
Production Manager: Janine Dispensa
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes

Cam Operator: Lucas Young
Audio: Austin Rumsey
Post Production Supervisor: Stephanie Cardone
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
Video Copy ad Recipe Editor: Vivian Jao



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[jonkuh]

Beth never cooks to impress anyone, she always cooks like her family is right off camera and that's why she is the best .

[diaryofablackspinster]

I love Beth’s approach to cooking. Cook in the way that makes sense to you, as long as it’s safe and tasty.

[acdameli]

Honestly, I see level 1 cooks learning a lot over time. Emily is always amusing but more importantly she (from what I’ve seen) is growing as a cook. It’s great to see the growth.

[ceral]

Chris sounds like he's a powerhouse in every kitchen he enters. He has such a dominating energy when it comes to cooking, it's amazing.

[gignock]

I would like to be the level zero chef. I’ll be making chicken parm today with dinonuggets, string cheese, and some jarred tomato sauce.

[hollish]

I really want Beth's food. She makes such nice sensible food!

[nollypolly]

Beth cooks EXACTLY like my mother (and grandmother/great grandmother lol). From not using flour, to saucing the pasta before serving, to using romano instead of parmesan.... I've never seen anyone else do it all the same way. Lol

[Steveofthejungle]

Emily’s chicken tenders do not deserve that much hate! Put some respect on the ketchup queen’s name!

Man, I want Beth as my grandmother. Her grandkids are so lucky 😭

[JinzouningenTX]

Emily, Beth and Chris, can this get any better? Only if Frank raised and butchered his own chickens.

[Princess_Aurora]

Beth’s looks and feels like an nice home cooked meal from your grandmother/mom, that has no short cuts and all the home style taste you like.

[ntielman]

"It always tastes like mama, I wish my family was here right now" - Beth is so wholesome 😭❤❤

[matariki]

Chris' voice is so smooth and warm, I want to listen to a food podcast of his at some point and for him to boss me around the kitchen, the roulade looks awesome.

[stephenhill]

Emily seems like she’s getting a little bit better and more knowledgeable since she started doing this. She’ll be a level 2 chef in a few years!

[_Toxicity]

You know what would be amazing? An episode that's just all the Epicurious classics sitting down and having a huge meal together: Saul, Frank, Emily, Beth, Onika, Steven, Pink Shirt Guy, Rose--all of them, just meeting and eating and chilling.

EDIT: By "all of them, " I did mean ALL of them, even those I didn't think of in the ten seconds I was typing this. Thank you to everyone for your additions below. We do all love our Epicurious peeps!

[matthewfields]

Man, I’m such a fan of Emily. I love seeing her cool because it gives me hope as a lvl 0.5 cook lol

[delavidaebella]

Beth: And what they (grandkids) want, is what I do. (11:06)
Me: How do I sign up to be her grandkid? 🥺

[shaman]

Emily is like the employee the boss doesn't want to promote, because he's doing such a fantastic job and it would be hard to find a new one to fill in.

[takakihashimoto]

Emily has been a level one chef for as long as I know and I started to watch this channel 2 years ago
She deserves level-up 😂

[ddsquires]

As a high school food science teacher I love this series! Please do more.