by FINDS Executive Chef Jaakko Sorsa

Scandinavian fisherman used to cure their salmon by salting the fish and burying it in the sand on the beach, just above the tide line. But you don’t need to live near a beach to follow this recipe. As long as you have a good supply of sea salt, you’re in business.

By Jean Alberti

There are as many paella recipes as there are cooks in Spain, so don’t be afraid, if inspiration strikes, to improvise as you go along. The real trick is to cook a perfect soccarat—the crusty brown rice at the bottom of the pan. Be careful, don’t burn the rice, or you’ll be starting all over again.

by Chef Sébastien Lepinoy

Welcome to the big time. This is one of Chef Sébastien’s favorite dishes. The elegant taste combinations here have been very carefully considered. To avoid throwing things out of balance, be careful—be precise! If you’re successful, you’ll have a dish that looks too beautiful to eat, but tastes even better than it looks.

By David Wong

This is straight-ahead Portuguese comfort food that features the sort of no-gimmicks goodness that inspires so many Macanese dishes. Looks great, tastes great and it’s hard to go wrong when you cook it. Plus it’ll still taste great the next day.

By Umberto Bombana

If you haven’t booked a table at 8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA for this evening, don your chef’s hat and try this snapper recipe in the convenience of your own kitchen. The key to success is slicing the snapper paper thin, like Carpaccio. If you slice it thin enough, you’ll be able to speed-broil it and keep it moist.

By Jean Alberti

Baking pastry is the kind of cooking that feels most like doing magic. You take a short list of simple ingredients and transform them into a totally new, beautiful, delicious form. This isn’t Lord Stow’s recipe—try it when you feel like making your own magic at home. Don’t be afraid to experiment with variations if inspiration strikes while you’re cooking—remember that Lord Stow’s great tarts resulted from his creative combination of Portuguese and English elements.

By Jean Alberti

At Robuchon au Dôme, even the simplest items on the menu, like the mashed potatoes, receive serious care and attention. To get a perfectly smooth consistency for their mashed potatoes, the Robuchon chefs hand beat the potatoes for 45 minutes. Not with an electric mixer. Not with a beater, not with a potato masher—just a chef, a whisk and a pot of potatoes. Whenever I eat at Robuchon au Dôme, I always finish my mashed potatoes. Here is a recipe that will yield both great mashed potatoes and a great workout before your meal.

By Joe Chan

When you’ve got a great ingredient like manuka honey to work with, your chief task as chef is to stay humble. Keep things simple. Let your star ingredient take center stage. Bees that have drunk the nectar of manuka flowers produce this richly flavorful, butterscotch-colored honey. With just five ingredients, this simple recipe works as a great showcase for the rich delights of the honey. When you serve this delicious custard, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to share some of the credit with the honeybees, or to claim it all for yourself.

By Chef Weng

Ox tongue has a unique, delicious flavor and the texture of roast beef, only silkier. If you’re an amateur chef, be ready when you go to the market to shop: a raw ox tongue really does look like a tongue, which can be a little unnerving. The relatively inexpensive price of this cut of beef should help you recover. Every chef should have a couple of good offal recipes in his or her repertoire. This one utilizes three different cooking techniques to transform the tongue into something really special.

By Chef Sorn

Stir-Fried Lamb with Red Curry Paste and Wild Ginger