Reilly Meehan Shares What Private Chefs Really Cook

Plus, what really makes you a great cook.

While in culinary school, Reilly Meehan found his way into the international cooking competition circuit. He won top awards, and soon moved into restaurant kitchens—but you’ve more likely seen him pop up on social media, especially during the summer when his private cheffing clients host dinner after dinner for guests in the Hamptons.

Reilly’s new book, A Little Bit Extra, feels more like a peek into that Hamptons kitchen than advice for basic meals you throw together on a Monday night. It’s meant to inspire home cooks who are looking to add a bit of fun to the plate, especially when friends are coming over.

Reilly’s lamb meatballs are flavored with a syrup made by cooking down a cup of wine; he smears radishes with a whipped spread that mixes butter, brie, honey, and salt. In other words, he goes for the wow.

In this week’s podcast conversation, Reilly shares a few of the most important things he’s learned from his years in the kitchen. One of the most important skills he’s gained? Time management.

When you’re putting together a big dinner, he says, you need to create a timeline working backwards: “I know the salad needs to get dressed last second,” he says. “So that’s going to be the last thing I need to do. I know my cake needs to get in the oven first thing, because that’s going to take the longest; it’s got to cool.”

Despite all that preparation, he says, any kitchen pro is familiar with cooking catastrophes. “You could be in the middle of a service for a hundred people, and something’s going to go wrong. And how you pivot, and how you figure out how to make that work” is what makes you better at the job. You learn to anticipate what could go wrong, and you learn to adjust when something else does.

I asked Reilly about any particularly memorable mishaps.

I’m always curious about what’s actually on the menu in the kind of homes where a private chef is employed. On TikTok, you mostly see “everything I cooked” for birthday dinners for 12 or elaborate lunches for visiting international guests.

But Reilly’s with the same clients year-round, and he says he came to realize that they hired him first and foremost because he makes their lives easier. “My job is a lot about convenience, as opposed to trying to impress my clients all the time. Like, yes, I can make the Michelin star-quality five course meal if you want, but nobody eats like that on a day to day basis. So I’m there to offer like a convenient, you know, nutritious meal for my clients more often than not.”

Wanna eat like them? Scroll down for Reilly’s recipe for quinoa and toasted pistachios with honey-seared halloumi.

Win a copy of A Little Bit Extra

Here’s how to enter this week’s giveaway. Be sure to complete both steps!

STEP 1:

• Hit “follow” on The Dinner Plan podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

STEP 2: You have two options! Pick one of the below.

• The simplest way to enter this week’s book giveaway is to sign up as a paid subscriber to this newsletter by end of day Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Paid subscribers also get access to this handy spring dinner ideas resource and the full list of every cookbook recommended on The Dinner Plan so far.

• Free subscribers can enter the giveaway by sending in a “what’s in my fridge right now” voice memo for us to play on the podcast. We’ll come up with a dinner idea just for you based on what you have around. Follow the full instructions here by Wed, April 1, 2026.

Winner will be alerted by Substack DM and email. 18+, U.S. addresses only. Giveaway not sponsored or administered by Substack. Ends April 1, 2026. This send includes affiliate links; commissions from your purchases really help to keep this newsletter going.

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Reilly mentioned:

• Silken tofu pasta video

• Alexa Soto’s Vegan Espagueti Verde

• Taelor Rankin Brisket Pancetta Meatballs video (also on Substack here)

• Terrance Coleman’s Honey Cornbread Ice Cream video

• Ice cream attachment

• Invert sugar ice cream stabilizer

• Georgina Hayden’s Nistissima (Bookshop / Kitchen Arts & Letters)

• Bricia Lopez’s Oaxaca (Bookshop / Omnivore)

• Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg’s The Flavor Bible (Bookshop)

• Chad Robertson’s Tartine Bread (Bookshop)

From the ad break:

• Rouxbe Online Culinary School: Get 30% off your first course with code DINNERPLAN30

• Find Brami protein pasta at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, or EnjoyBrami.com

• Find Stone & Skillet English Muffins in the bakery section at Publix

• Made In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.

• Tastemade Cooking: Use code DINNERPLAN for 40% off an annual membership at Tastemade.com/dinnerplan

Maggie mentioned:

• Feta-marinated carrot salad from Ella Quittner’s Obsessed With the Best

• Here’s the Detroit-style pizza pan I use.

• The Dinner Plan’s Cookbook Hall of Fame

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A NOTE FROM TODAY’S SPONSOR

The folks at Stone & Skillet started griddling English muffins in a cast iron skillet in a tiny Boston apartment in 2013, and honestly, they never stopped doing them that way.

Find Stone & Skillet’s pillowy English muffins in Original, Wheat, or fun flavors like Roasted Herb & Garlic or Orange Cranberry on Instacart and at stores nationwide.

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Photo: Erin Scott

Toasty Pistachio Quinoa (with Honeyed Halloumi)

Reprinted with permission from A Little Bit Extra by Reilly Meehan © 2026. Published by Union Square & Co., an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group.

Serves 4 to 6

This dish is my favorite way to enjoy quinoa, which so often suffers a boring fate. The quinoa can easily be made in a rice cooker if you prefer, but make sure to keep it warm as this salad is best enjoyed when the residual heat from the quinoa gently wilts the arugula and keeps the sweet and salty Halloumi from getting cold. VEG, GF

2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 cup uncooked white quinoa, rinsed
1 tablespoon ground coriander
Kosher salt
2 large handfuls of baby arugula (about 3 cups)
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced into rounds
3 or 4 small radishes, thinly sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 (4-ounce) blocks Halloumi cheese, cut into 4 slices per block and patted dry
½ cup coarsely chopped raw pistachios
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. In a medium pot with a lid, combine the stock, quinoa, coriander, and a hefty pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is cooked through and the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat but keep the pot covered so the quinoa stays warm.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the arugula, mint, cucumbers, and radishes. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. In a medium nonstick saute pan or well-seasoned cast-iron pan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter has just begun to turn brown, add the Halloumi and cook, undisturbed, until it’s a nice golden brown color on the bottom,2 to 3 minutes. Flip the Halloumi over, then sprinkle the pistachios all around the pan. Cook the Halloumi and pistachios until the cheese is browned well on the second side and the pistachios are toasted and aromatic, 2 to 3 minutes more. Drizzle the honey all over the pan and stir well to coat the nuts and cheese. Cook for a minute or two to evenly coat everything with the honey, then remove from the heat and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and the red pepper flakes.

4. Fluff the warm quinoa with a fork, then dump it into the bowl with the arugula mixture. Mix until combined, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

5. Arrange the quinoa on a serving platter or individual plates, then top with the halloumi. Spoon over the honey and pistachio mixture from the pan. Serve while the quinoa and halloumi are still warm.