Day 20
Today’s Takeaway: A foodie was born with one meal.
I’m a foodie to my core! 🍽️
There is nothing like the experience that comes with an amazing meal. It’s the one thing I spend my hard earned money on that never gives me buyers remorse. Well, never say never. I’ve definitely spent too much 💸on overrated food, but I can’t say I regret it.
However, I wasn’t this way growing up. Neither of my parents were foodies. My mom had a couple dishes she made well & my dad is a great short-order cook. Other than that it was a lot of restaurants & pizza nights. Not a bad thing, just not something that was a part of my childhood.
My sister was actually the one to hop on the foodie train first. She would watch all the cooking shows and attempt amazing culinary feats. Over time she became a phenomenal home chef. Since we spent our formative years attached at the hip, we usually got obsessed with similar things. ❤️
However, it didn’t turn into a full fledged obsession for me until I started working with the Douglas’s. Traveling with the likes of CZJ & Michael Douglas gave me the opportunity to try some of the best restaurants & cuisines in the world. But the summer of 2010 was when the true foodie in me was born.
Every summer we spent a month in Mallorca, Spain. For this property they spared no expense. They employed a full, year-round house staff, including a brilliant private chef. Every meal he made was exquisite, but there was one that stood apart from the rest. One meal that has lived rent-free in my head for the last 12 years...
A deconstructed veggie lasagna.
Now this sounds rather basic, right? Far from it! It was not just a meal, it was an experience. A piece of food art!
Delicate layers of eggplant, zucchini, tomato, onion & polenta stacked beautifully with a thin spread of ricotta cheese between each. Sitting atop this tower was what looked like a perfectly roasted “marshmallow” of cheese. A little pillow of perfection. (I still salivate thinking of it!) The chef came in, described the dish and then requested we pick up our forks. We were then instructed to gently tap the “marshmallow.” As we did it broke into a velvety cheese waterfall that cascaded down the sides of the perfectly constructed tower. 🤯😋
The beauty of it didn’t lie in the food though…(But omg! That cheese!) It was the experience of that meal. This dish blew all of our minds & sharing it together bonded us. It gave us something to talk about for years to come. Most importantly, it showed me what a powerful connector breaking bread can be.
From then on, in almost every event I’ve done in my personal & professional life, the experience has been designed with the food in mind.
Moral of the story, if you’re planning events in your own life, the food should never be an afterthought. It’s an opportunity to evoke deep emotion & connect the people you’re hosting. The memories of a fantastic meal, filled with intention & love, will stay with your guests long after the food is digested.
Bon Appétit 🍽️🥂♥️
