About Savory Experiments

jessica formicola at a counter with coffee

Welcome To My Kitchen

I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but that is because I am champagne.

Therapist turned chef. I’ve talked people through worse than a broken sauce. Real recipes, real photos.

– Chef Jessica Formicola

Welcome to Savory Experiments

You love a good restaurant meal. You don’t love spending three hours making one at home. That’s exactly why this site exists.

Savory Experiments is restaurant-worthy food for busy home cooks. Every recipe uses ingredients from your regular grocery store. And every one is tested until it works on a real Tuesday night.

Meet the chef

I’m Chef Jessica Formicola, a Le Cordon Bleu certified recipe developer. Before food, I spent more than 15 years as a psychotherapist. So trust me, your fear of ruining a prime rib does not scare me. Read my full story here.

What you’ll find here

  • Restaurant-worthy flavor. Without restaurant-level effort.
  • Regular grocery store ingredients. No shipping a pricey jar of something you’ll use once.
  • The why behind every step. When you know why something works, you can change it.
  • Plenty of swaps. A missing ingredient should never stop dinner.

My non-negotiables

I love a good shortcut. Jarred mayo? Go for it. But some corners stay uncut.

  • Fresh garlic. The jarred stuff tastes sour and flat. I will die on this hill.
  • Fresh citrus juice. Bottled juice just isn’t the same.
  • Freshly grated cheese for sauces. Pre-shredded cheese has coatings that keep it from melting smooth.
  • Real crab. Imitation crab is a different food. Let’s be honest about that.
  • Resting your meat. Five minutes of patience keeps it juicy.

Why you can trust these recipes

Every recipe is tested and retested in my kitchen. Every photo is food I actually cooked. I’m also the author of Beef It Up!, a judge on the Emmy-nominated show Plate It!, and a contributor to Parade and Better Homes & Gardens.

Real food, real testing, real butter. Lots of butter.

image of jessica formicola

Meet the Team

Nope, I can’t do it alone. Here are a few of the folks that keep me sane from day to day.

A woman smiling for the camera
Operations Manager

Tayler

Tayler is the blog manager for Savory Experiments. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and baking delectable desserts.

black and white image of woman looking up and holding bowl of food
Video Production & Copywriter

Jaclyn

Jaclyn fills two roles (really 3) as a producer, director and staff writer. her knowledge of food and the TV world is vast and well-traveled. She resides in California where she enjoys surfing and hanging with her four fur babies and long-time partner.

black and white image of woman holding coffee cup smiling at camera
Contibutor

Kathryn

Kathryn is a food blogger, recipe developer and photographer at Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog. She has contributed recipes for Savory Experiments for over 4 years. She loves cookies and cinnamon rolls.

Contact

We’d love to hear from you. You can leave your questions about specific recipes in the comments. If you have general cooking questions or questions about collaborating, please email Jessica at jessica@savoryexperiments.com.

You can also visit our Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok or X to connect!

4 halves of stuffed acorn squash on a baking sheet
overhead cheeseburger plate
sliced pepperoni stromboli