Food Revival

I had the opportunity to FINALLY watch the movie, "Julie & Julia" over the holidays. I watched it with two of my biggest Food Revival supporters: My husband and my Mama. Ironically, I'm halfway through "My Life in France," so I figured it was perfect timing to go ahead and watch the movie everyone has either loved or hated. Honestly, I wasn't blown away by any means, but I did find myself entertained, hungry, itching to cook, and I even found some small similarities with my life.  If you aren't familiar with my personal story, let me recap quickly: Got interested in sustainable food, found Ina Garten, developed a website dedicated to food/recipes/local, got laid off from epicurean magazine, found solace and freedom in said website, cooked, ate, gained 15 lbs, lived in excess, cooked some more, ate some more, volunteered a lot, and here I am.

So as you can imagine, I could identify with many things in the movie (aside from the woe is me Julie part of things, the Julia in France part, and well... the entire movie so never mind what I just said). But, I did walk away from the movie with two very important realizations: A renewed appreciation for the woman who I find incredibly inspirational (not to mention how much her recipes have taught me): Ina Garten. I guess, in many ways, she is my Julia. Moreso, I felt a renewed appreciation and gratitude for the role Food Revival played in my life over the last year or so – acting as my refuge, a spot for creativity, and a place to land at the end of a very uncertain day or week.

Okay so I watched this movie and all I could think about was Ina. Not in a stalker kind of way, but in a truly gratitude kind of way. I mean, sure... there's the whole Food Network backlash going on right now and rightfully so, but back in the day (you know, before all of the personalities became marketing machines, producers, and brands of their own), the cooking shows served a great purpose in my life. Number one: I found a chef I could truly identify with (minus the whole Hamptons thing). Ina Garten was a welcoming face on my TV screen. Her show was totally approachable and every recipe I tried was absolutely delicious. And so it began: I made one, two, four, and now 20+ recipes of hers and I have never, ever been disappointed. Seriously.

I made many of her dishes for my now husband (worked like a charm). And now that I can layer flavors and have learned the basics and a few hints along the way, I'm whipping up some rather successful recipes of my own. All of our holidays are marked with at least one Ina dish.  Many of my amazing dinner dates, "Get Well" covered dishes, and Anniversary/Birthday celebrations? Yep, that would be Ina.  So in a sense, I totally get the premise of the movie, "Julie & Julia" – how someone can become such an important figure in your life (especially when you are talking food). I also think it is a good reminder to take a second and think about the folks who helped shape your culinary knowledge, inspired you, or created the kind of dishes that made you want to know more.

At the end of the day, I think you have to believe in yourself and take a chance – no matter how hard the recipe might be. Mostly, I think you should honor the folks and the dishes that have made an impact in your life. I've transformed my supper table by all of the things I've learned, successful dishes, and the culinary mishaps I've made.

Thanks, Ina.