what’s to come?
2020. What a year filled with the lowest lows and highest highs.
When the pandemic hit in March, like many of us, I suddenly had way too much time on my hands. I was sitting at home, getting reacquainted with every square inch of my apartment, getting drunk on zoom with friends and family… and knew I had to figure out what else to do with myself. I realized that it was time to launch palette, a project that I had been mulling over for years.
The concept of palette, women and the arts of eating and cooking, with a single letter change, could be the title of my memoir: woman and the arts of eating and cooking. As a kid, I was surrounded by food, as both of my parents owned businesses in the food industry. I watched my mother work incredibly hard, as she catered parties and weddings. I was a spectator, and taster of the magic she created. She and her food were adored. I learned that there was something special about food. It brought people together, joyfully, with twinkles in their eyes, and smiles on their faces. Or maybe the adults were just drunk :)
As I grew older, I cultivated that joy in every way imaginable. I worked in restaurants, for food brands, explored every restaurant in Manhattan and Brooklyn that I could afford, poured over every type of food media, and hosted elaborate dinner parties for friends. In quarantine, palette became a chance to share and explore that joy with others, when doing so in-person was no longer an option. I was given the time and space that I needed to create - a privilege I do not take for granted. So, I began. I started with the women closest to me, interviewing them about their relationships with eating and cooking.
I knew that women in particular would have so much to share, but their stories turned out to be even more dynamic and interesting than I could have imagined. They were about loving and hating food, cooking, our bodies. How society constantly judges us and puts us into boxes that define how we should behave as caregivers and mothers. These topics can be taboo, or if they are discussed, the nuances of women’s experiences get lost under blanket terms like body positivity, and wellness.
I toyed with whether now was the right time to launch palette, given everything else happening in the world - the murders of innocent black women and men in America due to the systemic racial inequality of our country, a global pandemic, and the most prescient United States presidential election of our time. Yet, one woman who I interviewed assured me, “if we are well-fed, then viva la revolution”, and she’s right.
I’m so honored to be able to share these stories. Look out for a new one each week. These stories will make you cry, laugh, pause, and consider how women exist in the world today, and how they will choose to in the future.
