Dale Talde reflects on how All Up in My Grill is a celebration of his craft, interview

From his successful restaurants to his Tastemade series All Up in My Grill, Dale Talde is a culinary voice that people respect. Now on its fourth season, All Up in My Grill invites viewers to take a deep dive into the flavor that a grill offers. Blending engaging content with culinary insight, Talde invites everyone to join him on this celebration of his craft.

Home cooks often watch professional chefs in awe. The chef's ability to create flavor combinations, execute cooking techniques, and just make preparing a meal look easy comes from years of experience and repetition. Just like the magician who can stun an audience with that slight of hand, transforming ingredients into a memorable meal requires dedication and practice.

Viewers of Tastemade’s All Up in My Grill appreciate that Talde makes his dishes look easy. Woven into those stories and engaging visuals are foundational cooking techniques and knowledge that come from years in the kitchen.

During a recent interview with Chef Dale Talde for All Up in My Grill, the chef explained why it is vital to weave those professional chef tips into each episode. He said, “cooking is my craft. I speak in terms and give those hints because it is what I do, I cannot stray away from that. At the end of the day, it is not much different than a carpenter or a tailor. There is a craftsmanship that is artistic and beautiful, but at the heart of it you need to know technique. I talk about cooking in professional way because that is how I think. People can relate to it.”

While some viewers might hear certain terms for the first time and others might be familiar with the “fire’s breath from a wok,” each episode is more than just a how-to or a cook by numbers. It invites the viewer to understand how the grill, and that cooking method, imparts flavors across all types of cuisines.

In some ways, Talde’s personal experience watching cooking shows influenced his approach to All Up in My Grill. As he shared, “My love for coking started when I watched traditional cooking shows with my mother. I’m talking about great chefs like Emeril Lagasse and Martin Yan. With those first shows, I was amazed.”

“I think what Tastemade does best is embrace those types of cooking shows that give you inspiration. It is not just pure entertainment. You are learning how to do something.”

Throughout Season 4, Talde adds more ideas and concepts to that knowledge base. While he has explained how grilling is the other cooking method which imparts flavor, it is more than just proper searing techniques or managing the heat on the grill.

Talde believes that these episodes stand on their own yet can still have a unifying thread. He explained, “I look at each episode as a menu item. They stand alone and are great. But, when you piece them together or you pair a couple of dishes together, they end up making a perfect bite. I love the randomness of things. You do not have to count on the next episode to build on the previous one. Each one is inspirational on its own."

Whether it is breaking the traditional rules of “yakitori” or seeing new ways to transform that classic burger, All Up in My Grill opens the table to a robust food conversation. As Talde admitted, “my goal, as a chef, is to make delicious food.” How that mission is accomplished can take various paths.

While All Up in My Grill is stacked full with cooking, flavor, and food knowledge, Talde never loses sight of the fun that can be had around the grill. Since the outdoor cooking space is usually the gathering space, he encourages everyone to make the meal into an event.

From a well-curated playlist to a great beverage pairing, grilling is the time where everyone is involved. Some people might not want to pick up the tongs, but standing around the action makes for a more enjoyable experience. Grilling is communal, interactive. In some ways, those moments might be the “secret seasoning” which makes the meal taste even better.

For anyone who is looking to take their next grilled meal up a notch, watch a few episodes of All Up in My Grill on Tastemade. Dale Talde has started that fire, now it’s up to you to keep that flame burning.

All Up in My Grill airs on Tastemade's streaming platform or whereever the network can be streamed. New episodes air every Wednesday.