A meal can be thought of as a ritual and a work of art, with limits laid down, desires aroused and fulfilled, enticements, variety, patterning and plot. As in a work of art, not only the overall form, but also the details matter intensely.Margaret Visser, The Rituals of DinnerFor millennia, humankind has ritualized gatherings around the table, be it to celebrate the end of the harvest season, the harvest moon, seasonal equinox, secular and religious holidays, or the advent of a new year. From...
Written for Edible Santa Barbara – Summer 2025"There is nothing like eating outdoors. The taste of food is enhanced by the open air."— Elizabeth DavidAfter weeks of grey days when the fine, damp mist hung in the air, necessitating the wearing of an extra layer to ward off the chill, it was an absolute delight to wake up to clear blue skies dotted with the odd puff of a cloud, as the early morning light filtered in through my kitchen windows, heralding a warm, sun-kissed day, the sort of day...
The Germ of an IdeaFlour, Water, Salt and a Blooming Good Time!"The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight," said M.F.K. Fisher. That smell is intoxicating. My children can attest to my near obsession with it. "It's that smell!" I once cried triumphantly to my young children, rushing them up the narrow, Provencal cobbled street towards a little boulangerie. The tantalizing, yeasty aroma of fresh bread...
Edible article – Winter 2025The Pleasure of Gatherings: an ode to the love of communing with friends.Alice Waters once wrote This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive. This is the motto my family lives by. For as long as I can remember, we have gathered en masse around the table for every meal and every festive occasion. Birthday celebration: dinner party, seeing friends: dinner party, family reunion:...
The dynamism of any diverse community depends not only on the diversity itself but on promoting a sense of belonging among those who formerly would have been considered and felt themselves outsiders. —Sonia SotomayorBelonging … and a bag of lentils.I stood in the farmer's market early one morning, running my hand through a container of lentils, discussing their merits with Jacob Grant, owner of Roots Organic Farm. These weren't just any lentils; these were tiny, dark green French lentils...
Written for Edible Santa Barbara - Spring-Summer 2024'You don'thaveto cook fancy orcomplicatedmasterpieces - just goodfoodfrom fresh ingredients.' —Julia Child When I first read this quote by Julia Child, I immediately thought of my grandmother, Genevieve Fay, who essentially lived by this credo. She and Julia had a love affair with butter and crème fraiche, and like Julia, her cuisine was classic French, full ofboeuf bourguignon,blanquettes de veau, andhachis parmentier.Yet, although she...
Written for Edible Santa Barbara - Winter 2024 IssueLate 1980s, Los AngelesAfter finishing business school in London, I came to Tinsel Town to work in the property development business. If I wasn't working, I spent my hard-earned dollars on discovering restaurants, as my passion lay in the kitchen and fine cooking. Through sheer good luck and a family relationship, I turned up very early one morning in Michel Richard's spotless kitchen at his then flagship restaurant, Citrus, for a mini...
Written and photographed by Pascale Beale for Edible Santa Barbara‘The essence of a good salad is simplicity. Clean, bright flavors that, when brought together, bring out the best in one another’ —Chuck WilliamsIt’s funny how the snippet of a song, an aroma, or an object can elicit a distinct memory. That memory in turn triggers a series of images and suddenly, you’re plunged down the rabbit hole of reminiscences. Seeing my mum’s salad bowl in her kitchen recently did just that....
“The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” — Harriet Ann JacobsThis past winter, as root vegetables grew safely encased in their earthy robes, cozy and nourished by the soil that surrounded them, we too were bundled up in sweaters and coats, sloshing around in gumboots dealing with the endless rain. After months of potatoes, celery root, carrots, parsnips, soups, stews, apples, pears and all things rib-sticking, I long for...
A vibrant approach to seasonal cookingWhen I grew up in London we had a little greengrocer around the corner from our house, who in winter, sold mainly leeks, potatoes, cabbages and carrots, and some apples and pears. He would wrap each vegetable up in a small paper bag. My mother, brother and I would stand in the drizzle, it was always drizzling or raining, and as this was an open-air affair, the grocer and all the customers were bundled up in layers to try and keep out the pervasive damp that...
