Issue № 11 SPRING 2013 $12.00 U.S.
EDITOR’S
Letter
ONE OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES of try-
Anh-Minh Le Editor in Chief
KELLY ISHIKAWA
ing to make food—calling it cooking would be wildly overstating my attempt—occurred when I was in grade school. An episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood that included a trip to a peanut butter factory prompted me to whip up my own peanut butter. We had peanuts, butter, and salt. What more did I need? My experiment did not go well. Remember, this was before the days when you could just Google a recipe. Apparently, I also needed to be able to operate a food processor—as well as incorporate some oil and maybe honey into the mix. And no butter was required, it turns out. This was just the first of my many failed efforts in the kitchen. But because I’m a rather unaccomplished cook, I appreciate this talent in other people a great deal. Fortunately, in the San Francisco Bay Area—where I was raised and continue to live—the restaurant scene is an embarrassment of riches. Hence, we chose to go local for this food- and drink-themed issue’s travel article on Oakland (“The Other City by the Bay,” page 52). We also teamed up with a local pastry chef—who is an Antholog y favorite—to create a special afternoon tea spread (“Steeped in New Tradition,” page 81). For many of the other stories in the pages that follow, we did venture farther. Across the country, we visit several chefs and foodindustry folks in their home environments and discover that it’s not only their kitchens that
offer inspiration. In eastern France, we take a look at a cooking school run by a mother and daughter (“French Class,” page 32). A photographer shares a visual tour of the Liguria region of Italy (“A Taste of the Good Life,” page 88); it may make you want to book a flight there as soon as possible. If you’re cooking inclined, you’ll be happy to find that this issue is packed with food and drink recipes—a total of 20, the most we’ve ever had in a single issue. I actually decided to try some of the recipes from our entertaining story (“A Memorable Meal,” page 111), which highlights the birthday party of a Los Angeles chef. And I was so pleased with the results, I’m starting to think that there may be some hope for me after all.
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Contents Spring 2013
FEATURES 20
DIVERSIONS
THE OTHER CITY BY THE BAY 52 In the Bay Area, Oakland’s many attractions—including cool shops and restaurants—beckon visitors near and far.
FRENCH CLASS 32 In Beaune, a cooking school founded by a mother and daughter highlights regional specialties.
HOMEWARD
LET THEM EAT CAKE
SIMPLY THE BEST 44 VINTAGE PALETTE 94 Photographers share the images and stories An art director packs his diminutive behind some of their favorite eats. New York apartment with plenty of style. A DASH OF WHIMSY 102 For a cooking show host/cookbook author, a childlike wonder is evident in her home and work. A MEMORABLE MEAL 111 A Los Angeles chef calls on her past to devise a birthday party menu filled with meaning.
HEATED COMPETITION
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For a dessert on the lighter side, try this apricot and pistachio shortcake with orange-scented sweet ricotta.
PERFECTLY BLENDED
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A love of secondhand shopping and charming collections come together in a young couple’s interior.
BEHIND THE BAR
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At New York’s Greenmarket, spring marks the return of the battle over ají dulce chile peppers.
A Chicago-based bartender and stylist shares bar basics and a trio of refreshing cocktails.
SALT OF THE EARTH 64 Mother Nature and sea water from Monterey Bay yields artisanal salt.
In San Francisco, a pastry chef reimagines the age-old ritual of afternoon tea.
A TASTE OF THE GOOD LIFE 88 Savor the sights of Italy’s Cinque Terre in this visual journey.
IN EVERY ISSUE
STEEPED IN NEW TRADITION
EDITOR’S LETTER CONTRIBUTORS
Cover Photograph by
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MAKING THE MAGAZINE
KELLY ISHIKAWA
SHOPKEEPERS’ PICKS
Cover Hand Lettering by
MARKET REPORT
MOLLY JACQUES
Cover Styling by ALEXIS BIRKMEYER TESS WILSON
SCREEN PLAY
BY THE BOOK
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123 125
PRIZED POSSESSION Michael Doyle 128
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CONVERSATION Tamar E. Adler 12
RESOURCES
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KELLY ISHIKAWA
THE FAMILY BUSINESS
Simplicity and comfort reign supreme in the decor and cuisine of these husbandand-wife restaurateurs.
Conversation Photographs by NICOLE FRANZEN Styling by KAREN SCHAUPETER
Tamar E. Adler grew up in Westchester, New York, in a household with, as she puts it, “two eras.” Before her father passed away, when she was 15, “there was an element of wildness and adventure to the house. We heated it by wood stove, cut our own wood, had a driveway blocked by whatever old truck he’d bought at an auction,” she explains. “After he died, it became my mother’s domain—unbelievably well-organized, clean, neat, and labeled to Linnaean standards, and entirely cooking focused, with her collection of hundreds of cookbooks and binders full of recipes lining a whole wall.” That second era proved especially influential in Tamar’s career (tamareadler .com). After college, she completed a year as a policy analyst and traveled to Southeast Asia, where she began writing about food for the Bangkok Post. Upon returning to New York, she worked at Harper’s Magazine. “I stayed there for years until I realized how badly I wanted to cook, took a summer job at Prune, then a personal chef job, and a research assistantship to [chef] Dan Barber,” she recalls. In 2005, she flew to Athens, Georgia, to help her best friend open Farm 255; within a few weeks, Tamar was named the restaurant’s head chef. Two years later, she landed in the kitchen at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse. But writing still tugged at her. “There was a book I needed to write, that had been growing in me, embryonic, for years,” she says. So Tamar moved back to New York and penned An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace, which was published in October 2011. Today, she continues to cook and write from a duplex in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.
Opposite: Writer and cook Tamar E. Adler lives in a
college friend’s Brooklyn duplex. “The decor is mostly chosen by him,” she says. “I moved from California to New York with everything I wanted to keep in the back of my pick-up truck.”
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EARLIEST FOOD MEMORIES: I remember
sitting on a high stool in the apartment we lived in when I was very little, beside my father, while he ate his breakfast of sardines on wheat toast and boiled eggs. Other than the smells and colors, my clearest memory is amazement at his love of me, which he demonstrated by giving me his mild egg whites while he ate what I thought at the time were utterly noxious yolks. My next two food memories are also of my father, which is ironic since he couldn’t cook anything other than toast, and never did. They are of his bringing me raw, fresh sugarcane and a pomegranate, both while my mother was giving me my evening bath. He would stop at some strange market whose location I never knew and buy exotic specialties he remembered from his youth and relish my wonderment at them. FAVORITE DISH: I think that boiled eggs, with
their yolks just barely cooked, served with garlic mayonnaise along with braised artichokes and boiled potatoes, is my favorite meal. We often had
garlic mayonnaise on the menu at Chez Panisse, and almost always had eggs and boiled potatoes. Cleaning my station very late after Friday and Saturday nights’ services, one of my favorite habits was to make a big bowl of garlic mayonnaise and dip cold boiled eggs and potatoes into it as I cleaned. It is, of course, a perfectly salubrious meal on its own. It is, though, a gratuitous one after a midnight dinner of pasta and braised meat and beer, and it thickened my waist considerably. GO-TO DISH: For sheer guest’s-pleasure-to-
cook’s-effort ratio, nothing beats milk-braised pork. It is incredibly delicious and perfectly rich and sweet and strange and takes no work to do. You season the pork shoulder very well, then cook a lot of whole garlic cloves, whole sage leaves, and lemon peel in butter. Add the pork and whole milk and cook it, covered, in a low oven for hours, adding more milk if it gets low. The milk curds caramelize and it all becomes incredibly ugly and delicious. Boiled eggs and potatoes are at the heart of Tamar’s favorite dish—which she often made late at night after service ended at Chez Panisse.
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“For sheer guest’spleasure-to-cook’seffort ratio, nothing beats milk-braised pork.”
MOTTO: Do it afraid. COLLECTIONS IN YOUR HOME: Spoons! I love This page: For the
them. I was given three in the last month, and I love each design of the master bathroom, Janie was with an affection that in and of itself gives me pleasure. inspired by a photo of Liberace taking
CURRENT OBSESSION: My boyfriend’s father’s pick- a bubble bath in a
led Brussels sprouts.
sunken tub.
ALWAYS IN THE FRIDGE: Crunchy organic peanut
butter, ideally by Yum Naturals, and pickled chilies. ALWAYS IN THE PANTRY: French sardines. FAVORITE KNIFE: Togiharu Molybdenum Gyutou. FAVORITE PAN: A very big Lodge cast iron. FAVORITE NEW INGREDIENT: I’m too boring! This
isn’t new, but I found fennel pollen from Tuscany left over from my move to New York, and it somehow still tastes wonderful and Tuscan and I’ve been using it in everything and soon it will be gone.
Left to right: The butcher’s
table—which is from a butcher shop in California’s Central Valley—“is the most useful part of the kitchen,” says Tamar. She has an ever-growing collection of spoons.
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A meal prepared during a lesson at The Cook’s Atelier ends with individual pear almond tarts that take advantage of the fresh produce from the local market.
French
CLASS 8
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AT THEIR COOKING SCHOOL IN BURGUNDY, A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER SHARE THEIR CULINARY PASSION AS WELL AS INGREDIENTS FROM SOME OF THE AREA’S BEST FOOD PRODUCERS
Text by ANNA WATSON CARL Recipes by THE COOK’S ATELIER Photographs by EMILY JOHNSTON ANDERSON
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THE KITCHEN—cozy by American standards, spacious by French—is in full swing. Eight apronclad guests crowd around a long white farm table, chopping vegetables and cleaning wild mushrooms, while a fragrant pumpkin soup simmers on the stovetop. Airy French windows are flung open, revealing boxes full of fresh herbs and the beautifully tiled rooftops of Beaune, a picturesque town in the heart of Burgundy, France. White walls are hung with shelves displaying flea market finds— antique white soup tureens, jars full of mismatched coffee spoons and bone-handled cheese knives—and a wellused collection of cookbooks, from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking to Suzanne Goin’s Sunday Suppers at Lucques. An array of worn copper pots dangles above the handcrafted Lacanche stove, and the scent of baking gougères—Burgundy’s famous cheese puffs—wafts through the room. Welcome to The Cook’s Atelier (thecooksatelier.com). Run by mother-daughter team Marjorie Taylor (“the cook”) and Kendall Smith Franchini (“the wine girl”), this isn’t your ordinary cooking school. It’s more like an invitation into their home to prepare and then enjoy an extraordinary five-course lunch, with ingredients sourced from the best local artisan producers. Burgundy, known for its Grand Cru vineyards, rich wine-soaked stews (like boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin), and funky Époisses cheese, is a food- and wine-lover’s dream.
“We know every person behind what we eat and drink,” explains Marjorie. “The egg guy, the chicken guy, the duck guy, the vegetable lady, the wine producers. It’s inspiring.” Today’s menu includes pumpkin soup with girolles (chanterelles) from Monsieur Esteves, seared duck breasts from
This page: The Cook’s Atelier operates out of the apartment of Marjorie Taylor, who started the school with her daughter, Kendall Smith Franchini.
Monsieur Laprée’s farm, a seasonal vegetable medley sourced from Madame Loichet, and individual pear almond tarts, with pears from the Beaune market. And it goes without saying that there will be cheese. Located in Marjorie’s tiny one-bedroom apartment in the center of Beaune (Kendall lives just outside town in a remodeled farmhouse with her husband Laurent and their young son Luc), The Cook’s Atelier is the fulfillment of their shared
No. 1
1 leek, white and light green part only, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 2 shallots, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed 6 cups vegetable stock, preferably homemade bouquet garni sautéed wild mushrooms (such as chanterelle and porcini), for garnish
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 2. Cut the squash in half from stem to root end. Scoop out and discard seeds. Drizzle the inside of each half with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and tuck a sprig of sage into each. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for about 40 minutes, or until completely tender and slightly caramelized. 3. Remove the squash from oven and set aside. When cool enough to handle, discard sage and scoop out the flesh.
You instantly feel the heart
and soul that has been poured into the place.
ROASTED POTIMARRON SOUP Serves 6 Note: A bouquet garni is a bundle of fresh herbs tied together with string. Try thyme, parsley, and bay leaf for this soup. 3 lbs of potimarron squash (or butternut squash) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper a few sage sprigs 4 tbsp unsalted butter
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4. Heat a Dutch oven over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 4 tbsp butter, and when it foams, add the leek, carrots, shallots, and onion. Season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-high, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic, reducing the heat as necessary to keep the garlic from coloring. Stir in the roasted squash, and then add the stock and the bouquet garni. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. 5. Remove the bouquet garni and transfer the soup to a blender, in batches, and puree until smooth and creamy. Strain the soup through a fine strainer into a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish each bowl with the sautéed mushrooms.
The materials and textures in the dining room, including the farm table’s zinc top and the chairs’ rush seats, further imbue the space with a country charm.
dream to create a place that celebrates locally produced food and wine, and that brings people from around the world together to cook and have a good time. “We didn’t have a set business plan,” says Marjorie with a chuckle, recalling the early days of their enterprise. “We didn’t know if anybody would come. We just wanted to be in France and to do what we love.” It took some time for the dream to materialize. Kendall, a Francophile from a young age, moved to France over a decade ago to study art history and landed a job at Christie’s auction house in Paris. Meanwhile, Marjorie worked in Phoenix, Arizona, as a pastry chef, and went on to open an award-winning restaurant and cooking school, Ruby Beet Gourmet. In 2006, after closing the venture, Marjorie had the chance to spend several months in France working for culinary legend Anne Willan at Chateau du Fey in Burgundy. It was this experience, and the chance to travel around the region, that sparked Marjorie’s love for Burgundian cuisine. By this time, Kendall had developed a passion for wine and decided to relocate from Paris to Beaune to study at the prestigious CFPPA viticulture school. She stayed on in Beaune to work for Kermit Lynch, an American wine importer, and began to build a network of relationships with small wine producers in Burgundy. “At some point the light bulb went off and I realized that 35
No. 2 PAN-SEARED FILET DE CANARD Serves 4 4 6-oz duck breast halves, skin lightly scored in a crosshatch pattern sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash the duck breasts and then pat dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of each breast with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
Opposite: The objects
in Marjorie’s apartment—beautiful copper pots and pans, antique porcelain pitchers and soup tureens—are representative of the wares that she and Kendall will stock in their online shop, The Larder.
Kendall was never coming back to the states,” recalls Marjorie. “I knew that someday, because of her love of France, that my future grandchildren would be French.” With this realization, Marjorie headed back to Arizona, sold everything she owned, and decamped to Beaune in the fall of 2008. Once she was settled in Beaune, plans for The Cook’s Atelier went into action. First they needed a space. With its beautiful wood floors and tall French windows, they immediately fell in love with the apartment that Marjorie would eventually call home. But it needed a lot of work. Originally a twobedroom, they converted the front bedroom— with its sweeping views of Beaune—into a teaching kitchen. Marjorie bought her dream
2. Pour olive oil into 2 large ovenproof frying pans over medium-low heat. (If you have only one large pan, cook the duck in 2 batches). Add the duck skin-side down. Move the duck breasts every few minutes to help them brown evenly. As the fat is rendered, carefully remove the excess. Be sure to move the pan away from the heat when you remove the fat, since if any fat hits the flame, it will cause a flare-up; tilt the pan, remove the fat with a large kitchen spoon, and transfer it to a metal bowl. Cook the duck until the skin is an even rich brown and very crisp, about 20 minutes. Flip the duck breast and sear for 30 seconds. 3. Place the pan in the oven and cook for about 5 minutes. The internal temperature should be 125°F for rosy, medium-rare. 4. Put the duck breasts skin-side down on a cooling rack and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve on warm plates.
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The Paramount Theatre dates back to 1931 and was designed by Timothy L. Pflueger. It underwent a massive restoration in the 1970s and is a National Historic Landmark.
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THE OTHER CITY BY THE BAY
WITH AMPLE SHOPPING, DINING, AND CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS, OAKLAND HAS STEPPED OUT OF THE SHADOW OF NEARBY SAN FRANCISCO AND MAKES A
Text by KATE PRUITT Photographs by JEN SISKA
STRONG CASE FOR ITSELF AS AN ALLURING DESTINATION 15
MARION & ROSE'S WORKSHOP
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ecently, I asked a few of my friends—longtime San Francisco residents—what they thought of Oakland. My query was met with a pause, followed by something along the lines of, “It’s alright, I guess,” or, “I went to this one place that was kinda cool.” Their tepid responses revealed a limited knowledge of Oakland, the city that I’ve called home for the past nine years. Despite its proximity to San Francisco—it’s just an 8.4-mile drive across the Bay Bridge to Oakland; and BART, the local transit system, makes it easy to travel between the two cities—it had been years since any of them had set foot in Oakland. Sure, San Francisco is a fantastic city, and I don’t blame locals or tourists for being drawn to its sights, which are plentiful. But what about the city across the bay? I know there’s a segment of the population that is wise to Oakland’s charms; we’ve seen a recent explosion in the number of artists and entrepreneurs choosing to set up shop here. Yet it still seems like only the denizens of Oakland know its treasures. So I decided it was high time to share them with a wider audience—including San Francisco-based photographer Jen Siska. On a recent Saturday morning, she made her way across the Bay Bridge to spend the day with me, and capture with her lens many of the things that I adore about Oakland: its sunny treelined streets and sprawling hills; its friendly, down-to-earth, diverse
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people; its innovative restaurants and shops. And from food trucks and beer gardens to artisanal jerkeys and jams, the culinary scene is especially thriving. (I love that the website for CommonWealth, a popular cafe/pub, is cmonoakland.com—as if rallying folks around the underdog city.) Jen and I meet up in Old Oakland—the name given to a few charming and cozy blocks that were once the city’s downtown and have recently become an alcove of sophisticated shopping and dining. “For years, I had my eye on these beautiful buildings, which had just been sitting empty,” says Kerri Lee Johnson of Marion & Rose’s Workshop, which she opened in late 2011. “This space was in such amazing condition when I moved in that I didn’t have to do much to it.” The interior is beautiful, thanks in no small part to Kerri’s keen
Marion & Rose’s is a must when giftshopping (for yourself or others). Previous page: The
mural on a wall at Duende is the handiwork of Sam Strand, one of several local artists and artisans who contributed to the restaurant’s interior design.
Clockwise from below: Umami
Mart evolved from a food blog to include a shop. Open since January, Duende is already an Uptown favorite.
UMAMI MART
DUENDE
curatorial sensibilities. She stocks locally handmade artwork, jewelry, housewares, and stationery; the shop occasionally hosts parties, tastings, and classes as well. Around the corner, Umami Mart is a brickand-mortar manifestation of the community food blog and online shop with the same name. The space, minimal and Zen-like, features eye-catching structures made of birch plywood that display barware, cooking tools, and kitchen accessories, mostly sourced from Japan. For co-owner Kayoko Akabori, the decision to launch in Oakland was very deliberate. “It’s not intimidating or competitive here, and everybody is really open to collaboration—especially in the food scene,” she says. “It’s nice to hook up with people and come up with creative things to do.” For instance, Umami Mart has teamed up with Grease Box, a gluten-free mobile kitchen in Oakland, and now sells chef Lizzy Boelter’s organic soul food lunch boxes every Wednesday. 55
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VINTAGE PALETTE AN ART DIRECTOR’S FLEA MARKET FINDS AND A FEW COATS OF PAINT MAKE FOR AN APARTMENT PACKED WITH PERSONALITY
Above and opposite:
In Stephen Johnson’s living room, doses of blue are a testament to his favorite color.
TAKE ONE LOOK AROUND STEPHEN JOHNSON’S New York City apartment and you immediately understand a lot about him. For starters, the freelance art director has an affinity for vintage and antique pieces. Tables are tinged with rust, lamps are slightly banged up, and adornments such as a display of nautical knots or a small, red elephant figurine hint at past lives. “Ideally, there would be nothing new,” Stephen says of his interior style. “I like character and age. I feel like it has instant personality if it’s been around longer.” He and his boyfriend, designer and shopkeeper John Derian, spend most Saturday mornings shopping flea markets. While Stephen was living in Hell’s Kitchen, he frequented the neighborhood’s weekend market. These days, as a denizen of the West Village, he and John are more likely to be seen browsing the goods at the Chelsea Flea Market.
Text by ANH-MINH LE Photographs by SETH SMOOT Styling by KENDRA SMOOT
This page and opposite:
The living room is a study in the time-worn. A rare new piece is the sofa from the John Derian store, which has been covered in a cloth that Stephen dyed.
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This page: Measured
doses of blue and red stand out in the apartment’s neutral color scheme.
The secondhand preference plays into another Stephen Johnson trait: “I’m the cheapest person in the world,” he says sheepishly. “I feel like everything is dictated by: Is it on sale or a really good deal?” Indeed, as he recalls the sources and prices for various objects—exclaiming “That old photographer’s lamp was just $23!” or “I got the table for $60 from an antiques place in Hudson.”—his enthusiasm is impossible to contain. And then there’s his favorite color—or “spirit color,” as he refers to it—which is blue. A teal shade of blue. Think Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue, if you’re looking to pinpoint it. It appears on the oak floors (masking their original orange tint), as well as in his choice of accessories—an oversize clock, throws, wooden boxes, and pillows. Green and gray are also part of Stephen’s preferred palette, along with hits of red.
“I LIKE CHARACTER AND AGE. I FEEL LIKE IT HAS INSTANT PERSONALITY IF IT’S BEEN AROUND LONGER.” All of these tendencies add up to a space that is industrial, masculine, and saturated in rich colors. Comfortable and relaxed are other adjectives that Stephen uses to describe his home of two years. Asked for the square footage of the apartment, he admits: “I’m bad at this kind of stuff! But it’s very small. Maybe 400 square feet.” Stephen first arrived in the city in 2005, after graduating with degrees in graphic design and English from Brigham Young University. “I had always wanted to live here,” he says, noting that he grew up in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Maine. After a few months in New York, he landed at 97
This page: In the kitchen,
Stephen transformed the green faux marble countertops and oak cabinets with paint. The art comes from varied sources: the landscape once hung in his grandfather’s dental pratice, while the other framed pieces are Martyn Thompson photos (one was simply torn out of a magazine).
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Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, where he started out as an assistant art director at Living magazine. In early 2012, he was named the art director for Everyday Food. (The company announced in November that it was shuttering the recipe-driven monthly.) “It was a dream job,” he says of his days at Martha Stewart. “Growing up, I obsessively saved every issue. I really like everything [covered in the magazine]: cooking, crafting, decorating.” The patterned floor in his bedroom is evidence of his craftiness—and patience: he created the stencil and painted the cubed motif himself. The galactic photograph above the bed, part of a series focused on an astronaut figurine, is also Stephen’s work (moonmandotcom.tumblr.com). In 2012, he showed a collection of the images at a gallery in Hudson.
A Memorable Meal A Los Angeles pastry chef fetes her birthday with a menu inspired by cherished food experiences
Text by ANH-MINH LE Recipes by NICOLE MOURNIAN Photographs by LAURE JOLIET Styling by JUSTINA BLAKENEY 23
the menu
DEVILED EGGS WITH PICKLED ASPARAGUS BITTERSWEET GREENS SALAD ROAST CHICKEN WITH MUSTARD HERB BUTTER POTATOES PEAS AND RICOTTA WITH GRILLED BREAD STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB PIE
Birthdays are often an occasion to reflect
on the past, present, and future. For Nicole Mournian’s celebration this year, that is especially evident in the menu she devised. The pastry chef invited friends, family, and neighbors to a garden party highlighted by foods that evoke fond memories. “The past two years have been really great in terms of my career development, seeing a trajectory for my life and the things I can accomplish,” explains Nicole, whose official title at Venice’s Gjelina Take Away is general manager, though she also lends a hand in the kitchen. “It made me nostalgic. So I thought, What are the moments that led up to this?” The roast chicken that she prepares for her guests harkens to her second year in college, when Nicole spent some time in Paris. “I was a vegetarian when I got there,” she recalls. “[Then] I met the roast chicken that changed my life. It was slow cooking on a wall of spit-roasting birds and dripping golden chicken fat into a trough at the bottom, where tournéed potatoes lay, rolling in flavor.
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Pastry chef Nicole Mournian credits her photography background for her emphasis on presentation, as well as taste, when developing a menu.
“The visuals are very important to me— how everything looks together.”
Emberly Modine, Casey O’Brien, and Hazel Sheeky (left to right) mingle in a corner of the backyard that has been transformed into a charming outdoor dining room. Opposite: Nicole cuts into her
strawberry-rhubarb pie—which features her award-winning crust— while Blaine looks on.