Food for some is simply sustenance--a boring chore that they must comply with several times a day to attend to the metabolic needs of the human body. For others it’s a passion--be that in the consumption of it or pleasure in its creation for the self or others. I feel deep sympathy for anyone who doesn’t feel the joy of good food to the very core of their soul. Food is beyond existence or sustenance, it is the primary way we show love, gratitude, concern and how we share with one another all across the globe. Food connects us and lends credence to our humanity.
I was taught from a very early age how to cook by the women that raised me--chiefly my maternal grandmother. My maternal grandparents were agriculturalist and grew roughly 90% of the vegetables and fruit we ate year after year. My paternal grandparents were pastoralists and had 'free range' livestock before it was trendy. The pairs of them would barter season to season and sell their wares at local farmer's markets. I was always there; ever present soaking up all the sights, sounds and smells involved in how what I consumed moved from seed to table or from birth to slaughter. I participated in every detail. These were people that were born during the 1920s who knew what it took to survive off the land. They ensured that I was aware of how what I ate came to be on my plate and looking back I see how this experience forever shaped my current relationship with food.
Food is love. Food is passion. Food is a tool of communication that is far more convincing as to my feelings for you than any words I can speak, sing or write. It is a pre-meditated edible love letter.
Our food began with the sowing of seeds at various times during late winter/early spring and into early summer months. My grandfather taught me how to enrich the earth naturally and
holistically using insects and fertilizer that Nature provided. As the son of a sharecropper slave, he tilled the land as shown by his father, educated his own nine children, and showed me as well. My grandmother educated me in how to choose the ripe from the not ready, how to shuck peas and pluck feathers, proper canning techniques, how to bake and how to make beautiful and wonderful culinary creations from the bounty of our backyard and side lot. I learned how to milk cows, find the secret hiding places of hen’s eggs and to ride horses from my paternal grandfather also. There was a great deal of time spent hunting in the canyon surrounding our house. Sandhill cranes, pheasant, quail, rabbits, fish, deer, elk and even things people today would turn their nose at—such as frog’s legs or soft shell turtle meat all graced my plate as a child and were often beautifully prepared. Although I am very much so a city girl with a taste for the exotic flavors of the international culinary world, my roots are that of African Americans who survived brutal chattel slavery in the U.S. and when I cook, I seek to create dishes that are colorful, aromatic and boldly flavorful.
My relationship with food is one that was grafted onto the very cells of my tiny being beginning in 1984 and have remained ever since. I love food and have learned how to utilize it to create mental, physical and spiritual beauty in my everyday life as an adult. Food is love. Food is passion. Food is a tool of communication that is far more convincing as to my feelings for you than any words I can speak, sing or write. It is a pre-meditated edible love letter. The molecules of life rearranged via human ingenuity, artistic flair, careful selection and chemistry. Cooking is where spontaneity, imagination and sensuality intersect as one takes up the tools and raw materials of the kitchen with their audience in mind and makes manifest what seemed at once impossible possible.
I love to entertain my suitors. I await the arrival of my dining table and should you wish to gift me something delightful, please check out my Wishtender List.
Whether it is an intimate dinner with family or a large gathering of friends, I am always the cook--I wouldn’t have it any other way! I am always a little sad inside whenever I hear of anyone in town on business who is left to navigate the restaurants alone. New York has a phenomenal food scene, but nothing beats a home-cooked meal where you later get to bed the chef! Food alone can be good, but food crafted by beautiful woman in an intimate private setting is a priceless experience. Have you been searching for a woman who offers a complete experience during your business travels? There is nothing more delightful to me than opening my kitchen and private location to you for an adventure sure to please the palate, satisfy your mind, and cure all of your cravings. Why don’t you join me for lesson in Gastronomy. You bring the libations and leave the special details to me.
Bon appetit!