Gone are the days of raging house parties, fake IDs, long lines for drinks, and shoes sticking to the dance floor. I've arrived in the present moment ready for something new, and as you can ask anyone close to me, when I can't find what I want, I build it. 

As a chef and caterer, I tend to see the world through the lens of food, and am especially attuned to what happens when we gather together over food and drink. The conversation, the silence, the unconscious dance that we perform together while passing dishes and sharing in one another’s company.  

Having grown up in restaurants, I became accustomed to the organized (and sometimes not so organized) chaos that is the service industry. I watched chef after chef burnout after pouring everything they had physically and emotionally into a project. I did it myself for a while, when I was younger and hadn’t recognized yet that a different path was possible. As I’ve built my catering company Saltd, I’ve done so with intention. I followed the call to slow down. And that calling has, over time, crept into all corners of my life. I see it in the food I make, and the experiences I aim to create. It’s infused in the way I curate my home, build my relationships and tend to my body. And it feels wonderful. 

So when I started to imagine the upcoming year and how I wanted to kick it off, I kept coming back to the experience of slowing down, of creating true intimacy, of infusing celebration with intention setting. Resolutions are great, but intentions have a smoother edge to them.

They invite you to dream a bit, while asking you to be present. 

So here we are, reflecting on a doozy of a year, listening to what we’ve learned, and looking forward to what we’re building. And regardless of your feelings on the grandiose idea of New Year’s Eve, I find it important to mark periods of transition, to pay respect to the cyclical nature of all things. All that’s to say, I’ve been crafting an experiential evening that I’m very excited to share. 

Like a recipe, a good party has all the right ingredients, and maybe even more than the right ingredients, is the way you prepare and present them. So, will there be great bites and beverages? Hell yes! But it’s about so much more than that. It’s about the space we choose to gather in. The lighting, the incense burning, the candle light, the music. It’s about the company we keep and the conversations we have, because what makes a good meal great is the people we share it with. It’s adding a dash of dance floor and disco balls. And the cherry on the top…the service, never forget the service! Because really at the heart of it, good service is connection. It’s the umami of it all. And like all good recipes, we learn what we like and how we want to recreate it again in the future. So here’s to good parties, may we throw them and may we attend them, as we are. Let's be together.