Talking Shop is our series where we talk to interesting people about their most interesting buys.
If you follow chef, cookbook author and What’s Gaby Cooking founder Gaby Dalkin on social media, you learn very quickly that she’s honest, decisive and meticulous. Yes, about food, cooking, hosting, building an online community and running her businesses, but also about literally everything else.
Dalkin only recommends the best of the best across all categories and is in the know about everything — DM her a question and she answers personally (which I can attest to), or comment on her Monday night Instagram Live sessions and she welcomes you into the conversation immediately.
Dalkin’s one million followers not only always want to know what Gaby’s cooking, but also what she’s watching, wearing, doing while traveling, and, of course, shopping. And she shared it all with me below.
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“I just started a skin care routine — I’m almost 40, and I figured it was time,” says Dalkin. “In the morning, I’m a ‘splash cold water on your face, put on tinted SPF and get out the door’ kind of girl.” Her tinted sunscreen of choice is from EltaMD, which many dermatologists we’ve spoken to also recommend — it even made our list of the 100 best face sunscreens. The sunscreen gives you SPF 40 protection and is made with hydrating hyaluronic acid.
“I feel very strongly about sun protection,” says Dalkin. “It’s all I care about as I get closer to 40: tinted SPF, sunglasses and a hat are my lifeline.” Her go-to sunglasses are whatever her kids won’t break — sometimes that’s a pair from the gas station. Her favorite hat, however, is the Chord Cap.
“It’s a creator-founded company, and they make amazing hats,” says Dalkin. The cap, which comes in more than two dozen colors and patterns, is designed with 100 percent cotton fabric and gold-plated metal hardware.
“I follow Mrs. Derm on Instagram and her husband is a dermatologist. She just had a facelift, and for the first time in my life, I subscribed to her Instagram to get access to paid stuff because I wanted to watch her facelift process, which was fascinating,” says Dalkin. “Her husband has a product called the Coleman Compound that I started using at night to counteract melasma, sun damage and all that stuff. I put that on with moisturizer and face oil every night before I go to bed. I want my face to be wet with all the things on it, and I want a new pillowcase every six months because of it.”
The Coleman Compound is an arbutin-based brightening cream that’s also made with ingredients like glycolic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E and green tea.
Dalkin has two major travel rules: She plans what restaurants she’s hitting way in advance, and she never, ever checks a suitcase. “When we go somewhere, I might not know what monuments I’m seeing or what museums I’m going to, but I know what I’m eating,” she says. “And even if I’m gone for three weeks, I only pack a carry-on and a backpack or a large tote. I do laundry while I’m there, I pack in specific colors and I only bring two pairs of shoes.”
Dalkin’s current favorite carry-on suitcase is this one from Anter. It has a hard outer shell, a built-in TSA-approved combination lock and internal organization features like a mesh divider, pockets and a compression strap. The carry-on also expands by 5 centimeters if you need a little extra room for souvenirs on the way home.
Dalkin’s favorite workout is strength training, which she does at Rise Movement. Whenever she posts clips from her sweat sessions, she’s wearing Nike Metcons, her favorite pair of training shoes.
“I like to lift heavy weights, so I need a shoe with a really flat bottom to ground myself,” says Dalkin. The Metcons have exactly that. They’re also moderately cushioned to absorb impact when Dalkin is jumping or doing short bursts of running, and there’s grooves in the outsole that help them bend with her feet as she’s moving.
What’s Gaby Cooking originally started as a website where Dalkin shared recipes, cooking tips and hosting guides, and in recent years, the brand has grown exponentially. In addition to Dalkin’s five cookbooks, she opened Gaby’s, a restaurant located within the Neighborly food hall in Brentwood and Westlake Village, California. She and her husband, Thomas Dalkin (a.k.a. @whatsthomaseating), also debuted their pantry staples brand, Dalkin & Co., in 2023.
“I had a spices line that was carried at Williams Sonoma 100 years ago, and I wanted full creative control, so we brought that in-house,” says Dalkin. “We have seasonings and salts right now, and we’ll probably expand into other shelf-stable pantry products in the future.”
One of Dalkin & Co.’s bestsellers is Gaby’s Everyday, a blend of herbs, garlic and paprika. She recommends using it on sheet pan dinners with ingredients like chicken and potatoes, mixing it into burger patties and scrambled eggs, and sprinkling it on garlic bread.
“I’ve been a Stasher fan forever — like longer than I’ve worked with them. It’s one of my dream partnerships because I’m all about eliminating plastic and single-use plastic, so when they came to me, I was like, ‘Yes, I already have everything,”’ says Dalkin. “I’m obsessed with the Stasher Bowls because they stand up. When I come home from the farmer’s market, I put berries and veggies and all the things in them and put them in the freezer or fridge, so when it’s time to grab something and cook, it’s already semi prepped for me.”
Stasher sells its bowls in three sizes: 1-cup, 2-cup and 4-cup. You get one of each in this pack, and they all have a Pinch-Loc seal, pulse they’re safe to put in the dishwasher, microwave and oven up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the brand.
Dalkin’s is also obsessed with Stasher’s new Stretch Lids. “I think those are a genius invention,” she says. “The fact that you can cover up casseroles and cookie dough and all these things, and put them in the fridge without using plastic wrap or foil is incredible and so needed.”
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I’m a reporter at NBC Select who writes our Talking Shop series, interviewing people like Paris Hilton, Maureen Kelly, Hannah Berner and Chase Crawford. To write this article, I interviewed What’s Gaby Cooking founder Gaby Dalkin about her favorite products and recent projects.
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