Has anyone ever told you to be careful what you wish for?
Well, back in August, I got back from my soul-enriching, heart-warming trip living with a Nonna in Sicily. I also came back with very little euro in my pocket and the overall feeling of….now what????
In the NYC cheffing world, August is a veryyyyyy slow month, as most clients are out of town. So unless you want to go cook for a billionaire in the Hamptons (ew), the other option is to stay put and get ready for a (hopefully) fruitful Fall. So, without gigs coming in, I took it upon myself to take the month of August to go back to dreaming (and guess what, dreaming is also *free*)
I just had this crazy ass year and this amazing experience in Sicily. I felt a deep sense of finally knowing myself …but what did I want to do with it?
I decided to put pen to paper. I took my friend Yelda’s Mine Map Course which helps you nurture your dreams and turn your thoughts into actions. I also started journaling every single morning right when I woke up as I find that’s when my mind is the purest.
And what kept coming up over and over again was that I wanted to really focus on calling in aligned cooking opportunities that both energized and inspired me.
This NYC cheffing industry is HARD, y’all. It’s physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding - which is why burnout rate is so high. Given that I love love love food and cooking so much, I’m really conscious of this fated reality if I don’t start to take care of myself now.
Also, let me tell you, the margins can SUCK. Food costs are on the rise and it takes so much in order to pull of an event in this city (whilst also making it look breezy and easeful to the client). So it’s very easy to get stuck in the hamster wheel of taking on as many gigs as possible, in order to get reasonably paid.
But, I was ready to do the scary thing, which is say NO sometimes - especially if I was coming from a place of only doing it for the money. (Now, this is after years of saying YES because I do beleive you need to put yourself out there and try a lot of things in order to learn about the industry, and more importantly, earn your reputation). I want to acknowledge that it is a privilege to be in the position that I could say no - a luxury that most do not have.
But also, I was betting on myself.
I thought, if I say no - what space does that make for other opportunities? Opportunities that really light me the fuck up ….and potentially pay even better anyway?
I took deep breath and waited for Fall portal to open.
And…. oh boy, did it open. Which is why you haven’t heard from me in a few weeks….
I did a few private events - including one where on prep day almost everything went wrong (v stressful and v entertaining!)
I was asked to host my first workshop in my hometown of Washington, D.C. on “The Art of Hospitality.”
I co-hosted a 125 person 5-course dinner party with back-to-back DJs with my new cooking collective, YESBABE.
I cheffed for the weekend for 15 amazing women in my friend Luna’s Flor de Loto Womxn’s Retreat in Upstate NY
Cheffed our largest private event with YESBABE at a world-renowned venue in NYC.
Taught a few grazing board workshops.
Hosted a Podcast geared to food and beverage entrepreneurs with my friends at Cureate (releasing soon!)
Did a really fun and Interview for Graza’s Glog ; )
I hope this doesn’t come acrosss as “braggy” but I am a very strong endorser of giving yourself snaps. We should all be appreciating ourselves more! And on that note - please drop me notes on what you’re giving yourself snaps for - I’d love to hear it!! It feels cool to see this all written down, having done all these things I really dreamed for. Knowing that they didn’t drop out of thin air - I worked hard for that shit.
But, I gotta say, it’s even COOLER to be on a off-week right now. Although, I’ve noticed that since I’m doing all of this work that I love to do, I’m actually not burnt out or exhausted. I’m energized and I can’t wait for more. And more is coming….stay tuned!!!
But all of this is still with a heavy heart, as we are also in a global crisis right now. I wake up with tension in my chest every day feeling death, turmoil and injustice but all with the wild juxtaposition that I’m not only safe in my apartment, but I *get* to wake up every day and even get to choose to follow my dreams or to rest. It’s a luxury and a privilege for sure.
So, yeah, over here at Sobremesa, there’s no recipe that will “make it better” or can even really speak to the feelings going on.
But I can share what I literally just baked as I wrote this newsletter: a turmeric lemon pound cake.
Baking, in all of its measurements and technicalities, makes me feel like I have a sense of control, so I usually turn to it when I’m feeling overwhelmed. Also, the process relaxes me - I think it’s nostalgia of growing up around my mom baking so much. And I don’t know, there’s something about sweet baked goods that just naturally seem to soothe us, right?
Lemon, turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon are such warm flavors, so I think that’s why I naturally gravitated towards making this cake. Like a cup of tea but like…..obviously more delicious (nothing against tea).
I’m gifting some of this cake to my neighbors because if there’s one thing I know - I can’t change the world, but I can at least change a few peoples day with something yummy to eat.
Maybe you can bake it and share that joy too.
Lemon turmeric ginger pound cake
makes 1 loaf pan size or 1 bundt pan size cake
Ingredients
3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 T. baking powder
1⁄2 t. baking soda
3⁄4 t. salt
1⁄4 t. Cinnamon
½ t. Turmeric powder
¼ t ginger powder
10 T. (1 stick + 2 T) unsalted butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1⁄2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups of greek yogurt
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
Now make it!
Set your oven 350. Butter your bundt pan, add a small handful of flour to dust the sides. You can rotate the pan around to get the flour equally distributed. Toss any excess flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk all of your dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon
With an electric mixer, cream the sugar, brown sugar, butter, and lemon zest until whipped and fluffy, about 3 mins.
Add the eggs one at a time, mix to blend, and scraping bowl down after each incorporation.
Add 1⁄2 of the dry mixture to the wet mixture, blend just to coat. You don’t want to over mix here.
Mix in the greek yogurt and the lemon juice..
Mix in remaining half of the dry ingredients.
Fold in 1 cup of wild blueberries, or 2 cups of regular blueberries (or other fruit).
Bake 50-60 minutes. You’ll know it’s finished when the edges are golden and when you stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean.
love you mucho,
tessa
p.s. for more sobremesa action, follow my adventures on tiktok and instagram!