Brightest Young Things

all photos: Kimberly Cadena

May is FOOD MONTH on BYT (after SEX, focusing only on life’s necessities with our themes) and as such you can expect a visual overload of food posts. One of the regular columns we plan to have is: WHAT’S IN YOUR FRIDGE; where we explore the window to everyone’s soul: the contents of their fridge/freezer.
We will be intruding onto the kitchens local people of note, readers, food critics and chefs, pr people and beyond. Today: Josh Short bravely lets us into his kitchen.

Before we begin, things you should know: If there is one thing Josh Short knows, he knows dessert. He is te executive pastry Chef at Alexandria's BUZZ BAKERY (which has him leaving for work from his Columbia Heights condo at 4:30 every morning) and also collaborates with the chefs of the Neighborhood Restaurant Group restaurants ( which include Rustico, Tallula, EatBar, Vermilion and Evening Star Café), to create and implement their dessert menus. He also has a handy supply of bacon band-aids, in case you get hit by a bus on your way to his house. Which can definitely come in handy.

So, what is in Josh Short's (very nice, stanless steel, not adorned) fridge?

FIRST THINGS FIRST-THE SIDE DOOR.

• Plugra Butter, Cream cheese, Capers, Anchovy Paste, HorseRadish (3 different kinds), Mustard, Flax Oil, Fish Sauce, Red Bull, POM Juice, Dijon,  Milk, Pellegrino, Hot Sauce, Wasabi, Soy Sauce,  Maple Syrup, Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing (Josh is from Nebraska which is where this "not existing in DC" salad dressing is from too), Homemade Baileys (just you wait till the freezer) AND A LOT OF PICKLED ITEMS (some of which Josh and his partner Mark make themselves): regular pickles, pickled ramps, homemade kim-chi, more pickles ("I guess pickled item are my food necessity. Never really thought of it before")

Please note: every item in the fridge has a label pointing outward. We all do what we need to do.

INSIDE THE FRIDGE ITSELF (TOP TO BOTTOM):

• Duck Fat (which they use for potatoes), Chive Oil, Pork Belly, MORE PICKLES (Josh own Thomas Keller's "Ad Hoc" pickling book and is obviously on a kick), Chutneys, Greek Yoghurt, Strawberry Jam, eggs, Mayo, Heineken, Wine + Champagne (Josh and Mark entertain a lot and the whole house is at the ready for drinks and food with friends at any time), Fresh Berries, Hummus, Pesto, Mozarella cheese and assorted veggies in the crisper

AND IN THE FREEZER: (I mention to Josh, who was very interested in who the other fridge invading victims will be that we're planning on stopping by a vegan bloggers house and he smiles and says: "Well, that should be different since my freezer is like the freezer of death, then")

• Black Garlic, Butter, Homemade ORANGECELLO, Homemade LIMONCELLO ("These will kick you in the ass"), Bacteria for Cheeses (Josh makes his own), Black Sesame Seeds, Homemade Crackers, Vodka (Absolut and Ketel One), Mr Bumps, Slovenian Sausage (from Ohio), Pork Belly, Turkey, Polyface farm chicken (Josh's favorite), Beef, Turkey, Cheese crackers, More meat and nothing pickled.

And that is what is in Josh Short's fridge: all we all need to do now is find a way to get ourselves invited to one of Josh's dinner parties.

Previously on “What’s In Your Fridge?”:

• Josh Sisk, photographer, author of “Under the Strobe Light”
• Todd Kliman, food & wine editor of "Washingtonian"

Is there a fridge you’d like to see in here? Let us know in comments or at info@brightestyoungthings.com

Previously in What's In Your Fridge?:

• 8/4: Barton Seaver's Fridge
• 5/16: Mike Isabella's Fridge
• 12/28: What's In Your Fridge 2010: A Selection
• 12/27: Matthew Lesko: To the Fridge and Beyond
• 8/6: Whats In Your Fridge?: King Buzzo of the Melvins
• 7/7: Eating with Caution: Tittsworth's Fridge
• 6/3: What's In Your Fridge? Warren Brown of CakeLove
• 6/2: What's In Your Fridge? Washington Post Food Editor Joe Yonan
• 6/1: What's In Your Fridge? Nycci Nellis of TheListAreYouOnIt.com
• 5/28: Whats In Your Fridge? Amanda McClements of Metrocurean