HELLO WORLD!
Discover more from dine well
A blog: ten years in the making.
2023 marks the TEN YEAR anniversary of when I started cooking full-time, which is a terrifying thing to say out loud/write down. Almost since day 1, folks have been suggesting I start a food/recipe blog or asking why I don’t have one, and the answer was always the same: I. DON’T. HAVE. TIME. OR ENERGY. Imagine working your 9-5, which requires you to be on your feet pretty much constantly, meeting multiple hard deadlines every day, and being virtually covered in food- then finally going home and….. blogging about that 9-5. Lol yeah no.
Still, that didn’t stop me from having lots of thoughts and feelings about cooking, eating, food, what it means to feed people, and the culinary industry.
Thoughts and feelings that over the years I’ve been ranting about sharing with anyone who would listen er, friends and family. And I think public discourse about food and eating is as important today as it has ever been.
We are beginning to experience some tectonic cultural shifts, both within the culinary industry and in society at large.
In the culinary world, the Michelin guide is responding to pressure to shift its focus- it has begun acknowledging global cuisines and more financially accessible restaurants, no longer holding French haute cuisine as the gold standard of dining. As a result, women, people of color, and those with non-traditional paths into the industry are beginning to get long overdue accolades, press and respect. Conversations about fair wages and eradicating the normalized toxic and abusive working culture within restaurants have finally gained some traction, while the ultra-exclusive and ultra-unsustainable fine dining business model is being taken down a peg as the media begins to report on how places like Noma and Eleven Madison Park really function.
In broader society, increased understanding of our food system has led to a sea change-level revival of seasonal locavorism, not just in the name of health, but climate change as well. Farm workers and food service workers rights are gaining increased visibility. A light is shining on the billion dollar wellness and diet industries, as folks begin to examine their beliefs about what it really means to be healthy; terms like weight stigma and diet culture have come into parlance, and in media and advertising, we are beginning to see models and public figures who look a bit more like the rest of us.
It’s an exciting time to be in the food world, and there’s no time like the present- I want to be a part of these important dialogues.
“dine well” will provide pointed commentary on larger themes like the ones I just mentioned… but it will also serve up original recipes, personal stories from my life and career as a chef, and more light-hearted foodie fare.
Think of it as a window into my brain (a frightening thought, I know): often thinking deeply about the world around us and reflecting upon my life spent in close relationship with food… and often just thinking about what’s in season/ how to make a delicious dinner for my clients tonight, or the ingredient I’ve been stoked on, or the amazing restaurant I just discovered.
This will also serve as a repository and catalogue of sorts for recipes I have that I think are worth repeating. My cooking style is extremely creative, intuitive and experimental- I hardly ever make the same exact thing twice unless I’ve really dialed it in. But I want to share my ideas and recipes in a way that’s replicable and digestible for other cooks, and that’s where “dine well” comes in. If you make a recipe I wrote and have feedback, drop me a line! I want to hear from you.
New posts will drop twice a month. Or so.
I promise not to inundate your inbox. You can expect new writing every couple weeks, sometimes more, sometimes less. Want to hear about something in particular? Great!! Let me know :)
We all eat. We might as well revel in it.
I’ve come to view food as one of the greatest pleasures in life, providing not just physical fuel but also creativity, fun, joy, and connection to community and to each other. It can be an incredible tool to bridge cultural gaps, open us up to new corners of the world and new possibilities, and to realize we all have more in common than we may have thought. It’s one of my goals to cut through all the static and noisy messaging around food and help people truly enjoy eating again, as the deeply human art form and pleasure it really is. I have a lot to say, and I hope you’ll join me.
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
- Virginia Woolf