Executive Chef Ed Cotton’s Secret Love Affair

“I have a love affair with White Castle. I do. I don’t know what it is, but I used to live on the upper east side and right behind my apartment was a White Castle. So every so often, I’d get a whiff.

“My favorite thing to eat at White Castle is probably a couple of the burgers. I don’t get crazy anymore. They used to have those chicken rings, I don’t know exactly what it was, but it was chicken rings, flavored with … ranch? They had different flavors. Then I had to calm down on those.

“Then finally, I think my saving grace was moving out of that neighborhood.”

Ed Cotton is the Executive Chef at Sotto 13, and was the runner-up on Season 7 of Top Chef.

Interview by Laurie Ulster
Photo of Ed Cotton by Battman
Photo of White Castle meal by Ed Cotton