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Sharpen your culinary prowess through science

30 Years of Revolutionizing Home Cooking

We explore the science behind what makes a recipe tick. We ask questions, conduct experiments, and get answers—delicious answers that you won't find anywhere else.

Annie Petito making Roast Chicken and Bread Salad
Aged Beef
French Strawberry Cake
Iced Tea

Join Us in the Lab

Good science makes great food

We believe that a little science goes a long way to helping you understand what's going on in your food and in your kitchen. You'll learn why a technique works or how an ingredient creates an important effect.

Our Signature Process

We put every recipe through the same rigorous process, testing and retesting every variable and then taking what we've learned to create a dish that's the very best in its class.
1. The Five-Recipe Test

1. The Five-Recipe Test

First we seek out five existing recipes. We taste and assess them, noting qualities we like and any we don’t.

2. Our First Draft

2. Our First Draft

Next, we define goals for our version, and sketch out the most promising way to reach them.

3. Test, Taste, Repeat

3. Test, Taste, Repeat

Over at least six weeks, we test and retest every recipe variable, learning from our mistakes so we can pass on that information to you.

4. Final, Failproof Results

4. Final, Failproof Results

At last—a recipe that works perfectly in our kitchen and has been tested and approved by thousands of home testers.

Our favorite way to teach is showing

Our Innovative Content Is Everywhere You Are

Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Come join us and learn how to cook your best

Why You Should Trust Our Recipes

We’re the flagship brand behind America’s Test Kitchen's rigorous and scientific recipe development process. We make recipes that work—no hit or miss, no drama. Our recipes have been prodded, tweaked, and perfected until they're failproof in any kitchen.

Dan and Lan with Black Hole Cake
How to cook turkey for a crowd
Chili Spiced Chicken Thighs and Potatoes
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Meet the Team
Dan Souza headshot

Dan Souza

Dan is the editor in chief of Cook's Illustrated, a cast member of America's Test Kitchen, and host of the James Beard Award-nominated YouTube series What's Eating Dan?
Amanda Agee headshot

Amanda Agee

Amanda is editorial director of Cook’s Illustrated. She started her career in food journalism at Gourmet Magazine. She loves dinner for breakfast and dirty martinis.
Rebecca Hays headshot

Rebecca Hays

Becky is deputy editor of Cook's Illustrated and a cast member of America's Test Kitchen. She's a Natural Gourmet Institute grad who takes a mostly vegetarian approach to food.
Keith Dresser headshot

Keith Dresser

Keith is the executive food editor of Cook's Illustrated and a cast member of America's Test Kitchen. He cooked professionally in New England before joining ATK in 2002.
Elizabeth Bomze headshot

Elizabeth Bomze

Liz is managing editor of Cook's Illustrated. She's picky about lemons and syntax and consumes chewy noodles with abandon.
Andrea Geary headshot

Andrea Geary

Andrea is deputy food editor of Cook's Illustrated. She's a breakfast enthusiast and kitchen scale evangelist.
Lan Lam headshot

Lan Lam

Lan is a senior editor of Cook's Illustrated, a cast member of America's Test Kitchen, and host of the James Beard Award-nominated YouTube series Techniquely with Lan Lam.
Annie Petito headshot

Annie Petito

Annie is a senior editor of Cook's Illustrated. She's a culinary school grad and a lover of all things snack related.
Steve Dunn headshot

Steve Dunn

Steve is a senior editor of Cook's Illustrated. He's a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris where he lived for two years.
Alyssa Vaughn headshot

Alyssa Vaughn

Alyssa is senior content editor of Cook's Illustrated. She's a journalist with a penchant for semicolons and cookie dough.
Erica Turner headshot

Erica Turner

Erica is an associate editor of Cook's Illustrated. She attended culinary school in Gaziantep, Turkey.
Eric Haessler headshot

Eric Haessler

Eric is the lead photo test cook for Cook's Illustrated and an instructor for ATK's Online Cooking School.
Paul Adams headshot

Paul Adams

Paul was a cook, science reporter, bartender, and bike courier before he combined it all as ATK's senior science research editor.

Recipes that always, always work

- The New York Times