Tomorrow we get ready for Thanksgiving, and the day after we will pretty much plan the day around the preparation and consumption of food.
I love the city of New Orleans. I love the architecture, I love the culture, I love the history and I love the food. This is the only place I've been that felt familiar to me in so many ways..immediately familiar as does Paris.When people in New Orleans talk about going 'home', they are referring to Paris, France.It's the oddest thing... and yet it feels perfectly natural that they should do so. What New Orleans has though..in spades i s a sensibility towards hospitality that Paris does not. And hospitality is so much about food. The French enjoy the act of perfecting a compositon that is flavours and textures... but the attitude is that you HAVE to enjoy it.Much more autocratic than hospitable.
I am of Greek background where from hospitality and food go hand in hand- bred into your bones from birth.That is why New Orleans culture makes sense to me. I love the combination of French sensibility and southern hospitality; the attention to detail with every nuance that is French, and the wonderful, warm, welcoming spirit that thrives in Louisiana. Greeks and those from New Orleans don't compete in the kitchen to out do one another in an egocentric battle to see who's best... they compete to see who will satisfy their guests the most! AND I get that. I cook to please others. I cook for myself because the creative blend of textures and flavours in a dish are an immediate , and incredibly creative outlet... but I also cook because I know the pleasure it will bring to those that can share in what I've made. I create spaces, artifacts and compositions with words.... but the cooking affects the senses in a way that is far more sensuous. People often comment upon the visceral affect of my design upon them; but the cooking is about taste, smell and the company we share when having a meal. These are such different ways to enjoy ourselves than the tactile, and visual effects of spatial, plastic and literary creations.
Bon apetit le jour de Thanksgiving.
Mi casa es su casa.
Be well
Ke na pis efharisto ya tin kali zoe
I love the city of New Orleans. I love the architecture, I love the culture, I love the history and I love the food. This is the only place I've been that felt familiar to me in so many ways..immediately familiar as does Paris.When people in New Orleans talk about going 'home', they are referring to Paris, France.It's the oddest thing... and yet it feels perfectly natural that they should do so. What New Orleans has though..in spades i s a sensibility towards hospitality that Paris does not. And hospitality is so much about food. The French enjoy the act of perfecting a compositon that is flavours and textures... but the attitude is that you HAVE to enjoy it.Much more autocratic than hospitable.
I am of Greek background where from hospitality and food go hand in hand- bred into your bones from birth.That is why New Orleans culture makes sense to me. I love the combination of French sensibility and southern hospitality; the attention to detail with every nuance that is French, and the wonderful, warm, welcoming spirit that thrives in Louisiana. Greeks and those from New Orleans don't compete in the kitchen to out do one another in an egocentric battle to see who's best... they compete to see who will satisfy their guests the most! AND I get that. I cook to please others. I cook for myself because the creative blend of textures and flavours in a dish are an immediate , and incredibly creative outlet... but I also cook because I know the pleasure it will bring to those that can share in what I've made. I create spaces, artifacts and compositions with words.... but the cooking affects the senses in a way that is far more sensuous. People often comment upon the visceral affect of my design upon them; but the cooking is about taste, smell and the company we share when having a meal. These are such different ways to enjoy ourselves than the tactile, and visual effects of spatial, plastic and literary creations.
Bon apetit le jour de Thanksgiving.
Mi casa es su casa.
Be well
Ke na pis efharisto ya tin kali zoe