8 Snacks and Guilty-Pleasure Foods Chefs Can’t Live Without - CNET

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. I asked chefs about the snacks, ingredients and guilty pleasure foods they can't stop buying. While the world’s top chefs have direct access to premium ingredients, complex recipes and state-of-the-art appliances, they, too, fall for guilty-pleasure foods, shortcut ingredients and other foods nobody tells us novices about. To get the inside scoop on the best online food buys, I asked eight chefs to share the snacks, condiments and cooking must-haves that bring them the most joy when not on the line and firing up other people’s orders. Here are their picks. There’s no denying the allure of a salty, crunchy potato chip, and umami-packed Torres black truffle variety is a staple for Executive Chef Michael Quigley of the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa. “I first noticed these at the grocery store several years ago and was instantly hooked,” Quigley said. “When my local store stopped carrying them,