Linger #1: A mid-winter gathering in Sydney
And an announcement about an upcoming event in New York City
I invite you to Linger, To Vegetables, With Love’s pop-up newsletter-within-a-newsletter that is dedicated to salads, friendship and the humanity of eating together.
Hello. Well this is something new.
Linger is a personal project based upon sharing salads with friends. On the surface, it is just a simple act of sharing food, but on a deeper level, it is about rediscovering the tenderness of human connection around the table.
I will be sharing much more about his project over the coming months, but in the meantime, I invite you to linger in this corner of my newsletter, where I’ll be sharing highlights of lunches and also announcements about Linger events that you can be a part of.
As always, thank you for being here.
Linger #1: A mid-winter gathering in Sydney
All photos by Teresa Tan.
On a grey July Saturday, we gathered at my friend Matt’s Sydney home for lunch.
I met Matt over a decade ago, in Surry Hills where he worked and where I lived. We met over the exchange of a salad box and soon, we developed a real friendship. Perhaps I never told Matt this, but I often planned my weekly Arthur Street Kitchen menus with him in mind, knowing that he loved broccoli and Asian-style flavours. Like I do for my children, I wanted him to be well fed with the dishes that he liked best.
When I launched the self-published edition of Community in 2013, Matt and his employers Incu (many of their HQ staff were regulars) threw me a neighborhood launch party in their office. We once held a ‘garage sale’ at the front of my house which mainly saw the two of us trading items with one another (for the record, Matt has way better clothes than I do).
At the heart of our friendship has always been community and generosity. When I mentioned the idea of gathering some friends for lunch while in Sydney, Matt generously offered his home. He also organized stunning ceramics from Alex and Trahanas, their sunny mediterranean-inspired plates and platters bringing colour and easy style to our table. It felt even more special that the founders of Alex and Trahanas, Alexandra Heard and Heleena Trahanas joined us at the table, along my friends Ben and Scott, and Matt’s pals Marie and Sarah. As we dined on salad, the clouds lifted and the sun came out. It was a perfect afternoon.
I’ve been away a long time and I don’t always feel at home in Sydney anymore. But that day, sitting around that table, sharing salads with new and old friends, I found belonging within the safety of friendship. It was a full circle moment.
Big thanks to Alex and Trahanas for providing the plates and serving ware for this lunch, and to Matt Lennon, of course, for opening his home with us.
Huge thanks to Teresa Tan for capturing these images and for creating the video. Also thanks to Colin Ho for sharing original music for the video.
COME LINGER WITH ME IN NEW YORK!
On Saturday 26th October, I will be holding my first LINGER community gathering in New York. This will be an intimate lunch in Manhattan, with room for just 12 people around my table. Guests will be chosen from those who submit an expression of interest via the form below. Note, this is open to PAID SUBSCRIBERS only.