hos·pi·tal·i·ty -  n – a friendly welcome and kind or generous treatment offered to guests or strangers

hos·pi·ta·ble  -  adj

1.  friendly, welcoming, and generous to guests or strangers

2.  pleasant, agreeable, and providing what somebody needs to live comfortably

“Service is delivering on your promise. Hospitality is making people feel good while you’re delivering on that promise.”- Danny Meyer

How often do we get to experience hospitality?  Especially when it feels genuine, coming from a true desire to please?  Credit card and utility companies try to express it whenever the customer service person says how sorry they are that you’ve experienced a particular inconvenience.  Why do I always feel like saying, “uh huh, like you care!”  When I really, truly experience hospitable treatment, I feel very gratified and cared for.

I hope for it when I go to a special restaurant, or get to stay in a wonderful hotel.  I’ve experienced it with every Danny Meyer restaurant I’ve ever been to.  I’ve luxuriated in it when staying at my new favorite hotel in Paris, K+K Hotel Cayré. The concierges and staff are truly invested in their guests having a wonderful experience. I never feel like l’m bothering them with the millions of questions about restaurants and wonderful happenings around town while I’m there.  They are always happy to greet you and they recognize every guest by name as if we were wearing name-tags.  Its truly amazing!

I return to Los Angeles frequently to visit my dad, and we dine out regularly.  I experienced lovely hospitality the other night at a favorite Santa Monica (CA) restaurant, Jiraffe.  While my 97 year old father and I often indulge in our favorite classic cocktail when we dine together, a Manhattan, straight up, made with a variety of Bourbon Whiskies (he seems to favor Makers Mark , while I tend towards Jack Daniels , I have been experimenting with my Manhattans with American Rye Whiskey.  Our waiter was delightfully unpretentious for this upscale trendy French spot, so when I revealed my interest in a Rye Whiskey Manhattan, he was a bit perplexed as they only had a Canadian Rye, but was intrigued by my request.  He happily went back & forth, working with his equally intrigued bartender to find the right balance of their only Canadian whiskey, blended with the classic Sweet Vermouth (which many profess to only waft over the drink to add “fumes” rather than alter the whiskey) and a drop or 2 of bitters.  In the process of this, I learned the Canadian Rye is a actually a little smoother, and has more sweetness than the American Ryes, so the traditionally added proportion of Sweet Vermouth, made this rendition too sweet.  The bartender also was a trifle heavy handed on the bitters when we tried to tone the sweetness down with an extra drop of Angostura Bitters.  With all this back and forth, I was concerned that I was being a pain in the butt client, but their attitude and treatment of me and their challenge, had me feel that we were all learning something new together and they were delighted to explore this right along with me.  As it turned out, since the drink was just not coming together, I apologetically requested a traditional Manhattan made with bourbon whiskey in exchange.   Our waiter, Chris, was ever so gracious when he brought me the replacement, saying I inspired him to start researching rye whiskies, especially since he was getting more requests for it in the past year!  To his credit, and the restaurant’s, he never let me feel like I was being difficult or contrary.  I just knew what I wanted and since they were unfamiliar with rye whiskies, both our waiter and bartender were happy to oblige.  It was a fun experience to have not only with my family, but with the restaurant as well.  Cudos for hiring staff that actually take pride in, and enjoy, their work!

When I experience a restaurant, a hosted dinner or hotel concierge, I want to feel heard and taken care of so that when I’m ready to leave, it is almost disappointing that the evening (or event) has come to a close.  We were the last diners to leave, satisfied and content!

(BTW, what I like about Rye over the Bourbon is that it is actually a lighter feel in the mouth, less viscous, if you will.  The flavor is more delicate, though I’m sure the alcohol content is similar to the Bourbon.)

Homemade Cream Cheese Pie baked & photographed by Corinne Colen, ©2011

We recently had “Yoga for Foodies” instructor Dave Romanelli (yeahdave.com) at the Loft. As Dave walked through the yogis going through their postures, he started to discuss the question of “What is your relationship to food?” As I stood at the edge of the room, observing and listening, my mind began to race through my life with and about food. I hadn’t actually looked at my own relationship with food in such a long time that I was taken by surprise. For me, it was and is, an intimate question. (I was stunned by this seemingly innocuous powerful question.)

Dave spoke about his relationship to food…as an Italian Jew, he said, “…the Italian in me loves to eat, and the Jew in me is afraid someone’s gonna take it away from me…so, I eat like a pig.” Well, I’m not Italian, but I am Jewish. Being Jewish had me love to eat, and seemingly, to eat like a pig too, for a period of time. Not because someone was going to take it away, but because I had gone without with what (I later learned) I needed most. Without getting too psychoanalytical, I had forgotten that my once bad relationship to food developed when I sought much needed love and approval from my parents, when I had no clue how to give it to myself. Being reminded of this old wound, well, its still painful. It lasted at least seven years too long…..

Still standing at the room’s edge, I flashed to my years in Big Sur, California. This was where my I fulfilled one of my 3 life dreams: growing my own food, living with the land, and learning everything I could to be a good partner to run a household at 19 years old. Oh what a delicious time that was! I baked, canned tomatoes and fresh fruits, taught myself to cook with The Joy of Cooking, Adele Davis’ Cookbooks, The Tassahara Bread Book and Diana Kennedy’s first book, The Cuisines of Mexico, I bought all myself (they are still in our cookbook corner in the Loft). I experimented with recipes, learned to cook over wood flames and on a wood burning stove, discovered the delicacy of fresh abalone we caught ourselves which we used to catch linc (pacific rock) cod we caught over the rocks, and ate venison, wild rabbit, quail, and wild boar that our neighbors hunted. I still dwell in these fond memories of the foods that we produced with our own hands.

I was brought back to the awareness of the room and the yogis folding up their mats, readying themselves for the feast that was their reward for a great workout! My own journey with food has had many traversed many different paths….I was curious about what others’ journey may have been. As they sat to join in a communal, all organic dinner, beautifully prepared by Chef Peter Berley (chefpeterberley.com), I could only imagine the breadth of answers possible! I think, more than ever, my relationship with food is always, evolving. I know I enjoy taking care of my health and well being through healthful eating practices and lots of exercise. Every day is a challenge too. I’m not perfect; my relationship to food is still an emotional one as I still contend with loving too much the foods I easily overindulge in, if not being conscious: salty foods, sweets, great breads, chocolate (both the elegant bittersweets and the childhood favorites), and cheese. Oh, do I have a love affair with cheese….yet I am afflicted with a sensitivity to dairy protein!

So, tell me, what is your relationship to food?

Barbara Barry, Interior Designer said:

“ I want elegance every day and everyday elegance.”

A return of elegance as the new beautifully evocative Chrysler commercial suggests — that elegance has gone and that it can return again and again….with the purchase of their new car.  (Typical marketing propaganda!)

Scuplture by Tanya Ragir ©2011

This ad though, had me really ask the question: How do I define elegance?  We always describe The Culinary Loft as being “casually elegant”, yet I actually never articulated what elegance is. I feel like I understand it, but how do I share its meaning?  Do we know it when we see it?  A friend described it simply as our “emotional response to all the elements”.

The various natural elements I used in the Loft are the essence of what makes it comfortable and casual. The massive wood beams that I hand-picked from timber yards that frame our office, have water-smoothed rounded edges, with long splintered crevices, and knots that protrude where branches had once been attached. They also have marks at the top & bottom of the beams where chains were once used to corral other beams together, creating gentle curves of wear as they rubbed & pulled against the wood, in order to carry millions of timbers down the St. Lawrence river into NY.  My French handmade tiles reflect the vibrant colors of the various clays that make up all the houses & buildings in the quaint French town of Roussillon in Provence. I had fallen madly in love with this tiny hillside town that was built from the richly, mineral-colored clays, and these tiles to bring me back, everyday, to that love.  Beautiful, deep, swirly tones of wood bark from the exotic Braewood tree is used to cover our pantry hall cabinetry, and the sensuous feel of richly colored pure suede in a “Mondrian” style design is on one of our storeroom doors. I added touches of modern and antique furniture, like the small club chairs in yellow leather contrasting with one in a rich, moss green mohair. Opposite the chairs, is a cinnamon orange leather bench whose curvaceous legs were hand-carved in the 1700’s. Adorning the seating area are two oversized hand-sculpted planters in an acid green glaze, showcasing a scrolled rim and textured, protruding cherubic faces, from the 1800’s. All are artfully handled, and there is always something pleasing the eye. There is a refinement to the way these materials and furniture are used and arranged. The same things that make it comfortable also give the Loft an “elegant” feel.

While the elements of the space were being conceived, I understood that everything must work together, creating a welcoming harmony. I was acutely aware of the need to soften a lot of the hard edges of the almost 60 linear ft of natural maple, custom kitchen cabinetry. I designed our piano-curved dining table with a sunburst pattern of birch & maple woods.  The undulating curves meeting each end of the island’s “L-shape,” adding a much-needed visual break to the kitchen’s many hard lines. The room is complemented by the soft texture of round-backed sea-grass chairs, all bringing a balance, a harmony of textures and lines. When looking for a piece of furniture or teakettle, I didn’t always know what the right thing would be, but when I saw it, I knew instantly that that was what was needed for a specific corner, or for the kitchen or the office. I didn’t know I would know. It was almost intuitive.  An already “knowing.”

Simple pleasures are elegant. Like when I look at a particular curve of the female form in a specific (figurative) sculpture that strikes me as beautiful and sensual.  It is a long gentle curve covered in the softest of chamois, you ache to caress.  This very personal piece is by Tanya Ragir, my best friend of 45 years.  I am forever in awe of this artpiece of a familiar female posture.  (Women have all sat this way, many times.)  She has created a huge body of extraordinary female figurative work since that sculpture, yet this is the one that I think of always, when I think of elegance.  The same way the exquisite B/W photograph by Edward Weston of a simple bell pepper. Its organic curves barely hidden in shadow while its voluptuous shape is subtly revealed by the barest of natural light, giving it dimension and strength, has captured my heart above all others.

But what is “elegant?” Is it formal? Simple? Ornate? Multifaceted?  Elegance is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary as “restraint and grace of style.”  To me, elegance is a sensory experience like a wonderful wine that truly enhances the meal and makes it memorable. It is a state of mind and an experience that always brings a fond memory.  It is classic in its simplicity…

BTW: I actually think the Chrysler commercial is more about the return of “glamour” and “style” rather than elegance.  I am aware that beauty, elegance, & all things in the eye of the beholder is purely subjective! This is the elegance of style!

You all have heard the age-old question of, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” In terms of evolution, I’m guessing the chicken came first in some form of fabulous prehistoric bird!  But for me…there is no doubt at this moment…it is most definitely, the egg!  In culinary terms, the egg is something that binds your ingredients, coats our foods for frying & baking, and it feeds and nourishes us. The egg also symbolizes birth or new life.  So for me right now, the egg represents the birth of my new blog.

There are many things I’m really good at.  I have a strong “eye” that comes from my almost 30 years of being a photographer.  I believe that my sense of design (my “eye”) is reflected, not only in my photography, but in every aspect of the style and feel of The Culinary Loft; from the space itself to our beautiful press kit to our gorgeous website.  I’m also very good at entertaining and helping folks have a great time!  I know that being around the simple act of preparing food brings people together in a way like nothing else. It is primal and always magical.

While I do many things well, please understand that writing is not my forte. I will make mistakes. I’m sure you’ll see run-on sentences and ideas that may or may not have a clear point of view. Oh…the struggle of being a perfectionist!  This will be a challenging journey for me.  I hope to learn more about myself in the process.  The writing…well, hopefully, that develops as well.

What you can expect from future posts are discussions about food, entertaining, and traveling. You can also expect to see posts about some of my mistakes, stories of my passage to this time and place, growing older, and some of the amazing people I’ve been blessed to have met from whom I’ve learned. What I hope to share most of all is the “face” or personality of The Culinary Loft.

American Idol’s Simon Cowell recently said on Oprah’s Master Class, “…you have to really trust your instincts.” And that is exactly what I’m going to do.

Warm regards,

Corinne