Top Chefs Are Purposely Burning Your Food

As the “no waste” food movement gains steam, top chefs keep finding practices that go back centuries. Long before bouillabaisse began showing up on Michelin-starred menus, it was a hearty French stew made using the odds and ends of fish; likewise, the ancient inventors of coq au vin found a way to soften up old roosters by cooking them in wine.

Now another modest culinary tradition is getting a makeover. Grano arso, translated literally as “burnt grain,” has become prized for the earthy, toasty flavor it gives pastas and breads. “It’s a nuttiness that envelops you,” says Kevin Adey, who uses it to make a smoky orecchiette at his restaurant Faro in Brooklyn.