William Hardin | Head Chef | Recipe Creator | Coastal Cooking Advocate | Age 38

Portland, Maine-based culinary professional who believes that the best recipes come from understanding your ingredients, respecting the seasons, and never forgetting where your food comes from.

My Story

I grew up on the coast of Maine, where food wasn’t just sustenance—it was a way of life tied to the rhythms of the ocean. My father was a lobsterman, my mother ran a small seafood shack, and I spent my childhood learning that fresh, simple ingredients prepared well will always beat fancy techniques with mediocre products. I remember standing on the docks at dawn, watching boats come in with the day’s catch, understanding even then that cooking starts long before you turn on the stove.

After culinary school in Boston, I spent fifteen years working in restaurant kitchens—starting as a line cook and eventually becoming head chef at a fine dining establishment. I loved the intensity, the precision, and the artistry of plating. But somewhere along the way, I realized I was creating food that looked beautiful but had lost the soul of what drew me to cooking in the first place. I was chasing Michelin stars when what I really wanted was to help people cook the way my parents did—with confidence, simplicity, and deep respect for ingredients.

The Turning Point

Three years ago, I was prepping for another grueling Saturday night service—eighty-five covers booked, a menu full of elaborate dishes with seventeen components each. My sous chef asked me, “Chef, when’s the last time you actually enjoyed cooking?” I snapped at him, said something about professionalism, and went back to my mise en place. But the question haunted me through the entire service.

That night, after we closed, I drove to my parents’ house and walked into my mom’s kitchen. She was making her simple seafood stew—the same recipe she’d been making for forty years. Haddock, potatoes, cream, and a little thyme from her garden. It took her maybe thirty minutes, and when I tasted it, I almost cried. This was what food should be. Not eighteen tweezered garnishes, but honest, delicious cooking that made you feel something.

I gave my notice two weeks later and launched PedroRecipes.com—a platform dedicated to teaching people how to cook real food well. The kind of recipes you’ll actually make on a Tuesday night, that use ingredients you can find at any grocery store, and that don’t require special equipment or culinary school training.

What I Learned the Hard Way

Transitioning from restaurant chef to recipe developer was harder than I expected. I was so used to the language and shortcuts of professional kitchens that my first batch of recipes was completely inaccessible to home cooks. I’d write things like “cook until nappe consistency” or assume everyone knew what “sweating aromatics” meant. My test group came back confused and frustrated.

I had to completely retrain myself to write for people who cook once or twice a week, not six days a week for fifteen years. I learned to describe what things should look like, sound like, and smell like. I tested recipes using basic equipment—no immersion circulators, no professional-grade ranges. I had to swallow my pride and accept that a home cook’s version of my recipes might not look exactly like mine, and that’s not just okay—it’s the whole point.

My Approach Now

Every recipe I develop now goes through the same process: I make it in a standard home kitchen with supermarket ingredients. I time it realistically, accounting for prep work that professionals do on autopilot but home cooks need to think about. I include visual cues and sensory descriptions, not just temperatures and times. And I always ask myself: would my mom make this? Would she feel confident trying it?

I focus heavily on seasonal, local cooking—especially seafood and produce from the Northeast. Not because I’m trying to be trendy, but because I genuinely believe cooking with the seasons connects you to your food in a way that importing ingredients from around the world never will. That said, I’m not precious about it. If you need to use frozen fish or canned tomatoes, I’ll tell you how to make them work beautifully.

What I Believe

• Good cooking is about understanding, not memorizing. Once you know why you’re doing something, you can adapt any recipe.
• Simplicity is sophistication. The best dishes let great ingredients shine without drowning them in technique.
• Seasonal cooking isn’t a trend—it’s common sense. Food tastes better when it’s meant to grow where and when you’re eating it.
• Home cooking and restaurant cooking are different skills, both valuable. Stop trying to replicate restaurant experiences at home.
• A recipe should be a guide, not a straitjacket. Cook with your senses, trust your instincts, and make it yours.

How I Can Help You

At PedroRecipes.com, I share tested recipes that bridge my professional training with real-world home cooking. You’ll find everything from quick weeknight dinners to weekend projects that are impressive but actually doable. I’m particularly passionate about teaching people how to cook seafood properly—it’s so often overcooked or over-complicated when it’s actually one of the easiest proteins to work with.

I also offer video tutorials where I walk through techniques that are hard to explain in text—how to properly sear fish, when your pan is actually hot enough, and what “just cooked through” looks like. And for those who want more personalized guidance, I do virtual cooking sessions where we make a recipe together in real-time, troubleshooting as we go.

My goal is to give you the confidence and knowledge to cook without anxiety, to trust yourself in the kitchen, and to create meals that bring people together around your table.

A Little More About Me

Outside the kitchen, I’m usually near the water—fishing, kayaking, or just walking the rocky beaches near Portland. I’m a firm believer that if you’re going to cook seafood, you should understand where it comes from. I volunteer with a local sustainable fishing education program, teaching kids about marine ecosystems and responsible harvesting.

I’m married to a marine biologist (we met at a sustainable seafood conference, of all places), and we have two teenagers who are surprisingly good cooks, though they claim they learned everything from YouTube, not me. I collect vintage cast iron skillets and can talk for way too long about proper seasoning techniques.

Let’s Connect

I love hearing from home cooks—whether you’re trying one of my recipes, have questions about technique, or just want to share what you made for dinner. The community we’re building at PedroRecipes is about real cooking, honest feedback, and helping each other become more confident in the kitchen. Your questions and experiences make me a better teacher.

Get In Touch

Email: william@pedrorecipes.com

Instagram: instagram.com/william.hardin_