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Articles by John Legge

John Legge is a pastry chef in Seattle, Washington and has been baking professionally for over ten years. You can see more of his recipes and follow the progress of the business that he is starting on his blog.

Featured Article

Editor’s Note: In his book Food Rules, Michael Pollan declares, “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.” The idea is that by cooking at home, you’ll avoid all the unpronounceable chemicals found in store-bought junk. And even though you might gorge on it, you can only eat as much as you made — and it takes hands-on effort, not just a trip to the supermarket, to procure more. In that spirit, we offer DIY Junk Food, the recipe column for those who want to get their hands dirty in the kitchen before enjoying some sublime junk.

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Photo: John Legge

I love Almond Joys. There’s nothing like hydrolyzed milk proteins, soy lecithin, caramel coloring, sodium metabisulfite, and sulfur dioxide to get my mouth watering. (Those last two additives keep Almond Joys extra-fresh for an extra-, extra-long long time.)

Of course, I don’t want to actually eat those mystery ingredients that candy bars are so full of, but that doesn’t mean I want to skip the perfect Almond Joy combination of coconut, chocolate, and almonds. Lucky for me, I’m a pastry chef. I knew I could... Read more