In their element
The Zoom Where It Happens
Dean Matthew Diller
By Paula Derrow | Illustration by Louie Chin
When New York City went into lockdown last spring and Dean Matthew Diller was forced to move his office from the 8th floor of the Lincoln Center campus to the home he shares in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with his wife, Kit, and youngest son, Peter, he needed to locate the perfect backdrop for doing video calls. “We have an open living room–kitchen–dining area, so I wanted a place where there wouldn’t be any activity,” says Diller. He opted for a living room bookshelf. “I figured it wouldn’t be too distracting,” he says, though he may not have been counting on students, colleagues, and other Zoom attendees scrutinizing exactly what was on those shelves. Just a cursory glance at his bookshelf reveals a few surprises: Rather than law books or even fiction, Diller’s well-worn cookbook collection earns pride of place along with family photos. Kit loves to bake, and Diller has a passion for cooking. “When life was normal, I didn’t have the time, so I’d make a nice meal on Sunday and that’s it,” he says. “But at the beginning of the pandemic, especially, I cooked a lot more than usual. ” The family’s Instant Pot, in particular, earned his devotion. “It’s basically a pressure cooker,” he explains. “Anything you braise, it makes really well, though risotto is also super easy.” Here, a few other things Dean Diller’s favorite video backdrop reveals about his tastes, in and out of the kitchen.
By the book: “I use these cookbooks a lot,” says Diller. “Often, I’ll look through several different books and several different recipes for the same dish, then come to terms with it myself, combining elements of the different recipes.” A few favorite authors: Mark Bittman for basics, Marcella Hazan for Italian, and Yotam Ottolenghi when he’s really up for a challenge. “Bittman’s cookbooks are always pretty straightforward,” says Diller. “He breaks things down into their essentials. But I also went through an Ottolenghi phase, which is maximally complicated. I enjoy those recipes, but they often take time and many ingredients.”
Well-thumbed: “I’ve used that super-ripped-up copy of The New Basics Cookbook, by the Silver Palate people, many times over the years,” says Diller. “But lately, we’ve been doing a lot of Melissa Clark—the food columnist for The New York Times. (He’s effusive about her salmon with anchovy-garlic butter.)
Marital milestone: “Three years ago, my sons threw my wife and me a surprise party for our 30th wedding anniversary—that’s the invitation in the chevron frame,” says Diller. Was he actually surprised? “Definitely,” he says. “Especially given the event was nowhere near our actual anniversary date.”
King of the jungle: “My wife, Kit, made this clay lion when she was a little girl,” says Diller. “The tail is broken off—you can see it on the shelf—but we still keep it up there.”
Family tradition: “Every summer, we rent the same house in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, right next to the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard,” says Diller. “We’ve been doing it for more than 30 years, and my wife’s parents did it before that. That’s Kit and me on Sippewisset beach, a very long time ago.”
Casting about: “That’s me with a fish I caught while fly-fishing. Fly-fishing requires a lot of attention. You have to figure out where the fish might be, what they might be eating, the right way to cast. I like nature, and fly-fishing requires you to concentrate on being out there.”
By the book: “I use these cookbooks a lot,” says Diller. “Often, I’ll look through several different books and several different recipes for the same dish, then come to terms with it myself, combining elements of the different recipes.” A few favorite authors: Mark Bittman for basics, Marcella Hazan for Italian, and Yotam Ottolenghi when he’s really up for a challenge. “Bittman’s cookbooks are always pretty straightforward,” says Diller. “He breaks things down into their essentials. But I also went through an Ottolenghi phase, which is maximally complicated. I enjoy those recipes, but they often take time and many ingredients.”
Well-thumbed: “I’ve used that super-ripped-up copy of The New Basics Cookbook, by the Silver Palate people, many times over the years,” says Diller. “But lately, we’ve been doing a lot of Melissa Clark—the food columnist for The New York Times. (He’s effusive about her salmon with anchovy-garlic butter.)
Marital milestone: “Three years ago, my sons threw my wife and me a surprise party for our 30th wedding anniversary—that’s the invitation in the chevron frame,” says Diller. Was he actually surprised? “Definitely,” he says. “Especially given the event was nowhere near our actual anniversary date.”
King of the jungle: “My wife, Kit, made this clay lion when she was a little girl,” says Diller. “The tail is broken off—you can see it on the shelf—but we still keep it up there.”
Family tradition: “Every summer, we rent the same house in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, right next to the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard,” says Diller. “We’ve been doing it for more than 30 years, and my wife’s parents did it before that. That’s Kit and me on Sippewisset beach, a very long time ago.”
Casting about: “That’s me with a fish I caught while fly-fishing. Fly-fishing requires a lot of attention. You have to figure out where the fish might be, what they might be eating, the right way to cast. I like nature, and fly-fishing requires you to concentrate on being out there.”
By the book: “I use these cookbooks a lot,” says Diller. “Often, I’ll look through several different books and several different recipes for the same dish, then come to terms with it myself, combining elements of the different recipes.” A few favorite authors: Mark Bittman for basics, Marcella Hazan for Italian, and Yotam Ottolenghi when he’s really up for a challenge. “Bittman’s cookbooks are always pretty straightforward,” says Diller. “He breaks things down into their essentials. But I also went through an Ottolenghi phase, which is maximally complicated. I enjoy those recipes, but they often take time and many ingredients.”
Well-thumbed: “I’ve used that super-ripped-up copy of The New Basics Cookbook, by the Silver Palate people, many times over the years,” says Diller. “But lately, we’ve been doing a lot of Melissa Clark—the food columnist for The New York Times. (He’s effusive about her salmon with anchovy-garlic butter.)
Marital milestone: “Three years ago, my sons threw my wife and me a surprise party for our 30th wedding anniversary—that’s the invitation in the chevron frame,” says Diller. Was he actually surprised? “Definitely,” he says. “Especially given the event was nowhere near our actual anniversary date.”
King of the jungle: “My wife, Kit, made this clay lion when she was a little girl,” says Diller. “The tail is broken off—you can see it on the shelf—but we still keep it up there.”
Family tradition: “Every summer, we rent the same house in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, right next to the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard,” says Diller. “We’ve been doing it for more than 30 years, and my wife’s parents did it before that. That’s Kit and me on Sippewisset beach, a very long time ago.”
Casting about: “That’s me with a fish I caught while fly-fishing. Fly-fishing requires a lot of attention. You have to figure out where the fish might be, what they might be eating, the right way to cast. I like nature, and fly-fishing requires you to concentrate on being out there.”