Mid-century glass art by Per Olof Strom.
A london flat filled with salvaged finds.
One of my all time favourite potters, Paula Greif.
Købn towels, a bathing ritual.
A scalloped, pleated skirt from the fabulous Rosie Assoulin.
Low tide at the North Sea, Germany, Herbert List, 1930.
I love the word smorgasbord. And a smorgasbord is my favourite way to eat. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. This is a beautiful one, with cheese, cherries, olives and prosciutto. There’s no easier way to feed large numbers than this, and no prettier, in my view. The minute we start to break bread again with our friends, this is what I’ll serve.
Skye McAlpine‘s Spaghetti al Limone made me think of my Mum. It’s one of her favourite pastas. I remember going to Harry’s Bar in Florence together in early 1997, and her ordering the Spaghetti al Limone. McAlpine’s recipe calls for cream and egg yolk, but I think it’s just as lovely when it’s dairy free. McAlpine calls it a “bowl of sunshine”, and it really is just that.
My husband and I have always loved eating, but neither of us were much for cooking. In our twenties, we lived on take-out Pad Thai, Peek Freans and the pasta recipes Jason picked up while living in Italy. The odd chicken thigh landed in our oven when we had children, (the oven was previously storage for shoes) and we both became a dab hand at eggy bread and smashed bananas. In the last few years, we could always count on a flavourless filet of salmon and a floret or two par-cooked broccoli if I was cooking. Occasionally, I’d knock it out of the park with, no, I can’t finish that sentence. Everything I made was dull as dishwater. The good food, the food that excited us, came from eating out; Giulietta’s polpe e fagioli, Bar Raval’s serrano and shishitos, Donna’s rice and shrimp, Sakai Bar’s Oshinko pickles. And then Covid came into our lives, and well, our lives got turned upside down, and Jason started to cook. And when I say cook, I mean bake bread. Stuff and grill whole fish. Make bone broth and Bolognese from scratch. Homemade Tahini, coming up. Jason has cooked a meal everyday (minus the odd take-out Sunday) since last March. A good meal. A balanced meal. A meal with colour and imagination. He follows recipes, some passed down by his grandmothers, and others that he’s found online. Feeding his family has been centering, purposeful. As Julia Child put it, “I think careful cooking is love, don’t you?”
Kings of British jellies, BOMPAS & PARR.
The extraordinary home of AXEL VERVOORDT.
AGNES VARDA dressed as an ivy bush.
Summer florals by CHRISTIAN WIJNANTS.
JESSIE FRENCH’s algae based bioplasic vessels.
CECIL TOUCHON’s abstract collages.
CHARLES-ANTOINE CHAPPUIS’ vases made from reclaimed linens and yarns. (They can be turned upside down and hold water at both ends!)
As a kid, I spent my Friday afternoons handpicking candy from glass jars at Wormley Wheelers in South Kensington. This local sweet shop –– home to all the penny sweets imaginable –– was the high point of my week. Fast forward 35-years, and this gorgeous cheese shop would be my grown up version of Wormley Wheelers. With as many cheese varieties as Wormley’s had sweets, Formaje in Madrid, is a turophile’s paradiso. The Tablas de Quesos are so beautiful I’d frame one. And the shop itself –– designed by Cobalto Studio –– is breathtaking. Owner, Clara Diez calls herself a “cheese activist”; improving industry standards, and maintaining a positive impact on the community, and the environment, at large, are central to the company’s ethos. Every Friday may be a stretch, but worth a visit one day.
RINNE ALLEN’s ethereal light drawings.
Watch textile artist, CLAUDY JONGSTRA’S beautiful process.
KIVA MOTNYK’S gorgeous framed patchworks.
SARAH ELLISON’S Banda collection looks like striped shortbread.
A gourmet beach barbecue on Margaret River.
And below, FENELLA ELMS’ exquisite ceramic sculpture.
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