I love food.  I love preparing food for others.  I love gatherings, people getting together to eat and talk and enjoy themselves. What could be better?

Food sustains us on so many levels. Food is beautiful and engages all of our senses.  It can be art on a plate.  Good food should be everyone’s right and we who have it need to appreciate its miracles.  I am proud to be a part of the Slow Food movement and a member of Slow Food Santa Fe.

Some of you will know me as the owner/chef of Black Mesa Bed and Breakfast.  But before there was Black Mesa there was Outrageous Parties in Nashville, TN.  So much fun!  We looked at our events as plays.  Six weeks from beginning brainstorming to opening night.  Food!  Music!  Lights, camera, action!  We, my partner and I, planned events from 25 to 250.  I discovered I had a flair for the dramatic and a gift of organization:  when to do what in a dance of many details and many actors and egos.  Details and more details (imagine me with a clipboard in hand) to that final EVENT!  The Party!  Then, it all comes together and if you did it right – it looks like it was all so easy.

I didn’t smile enough then.  I was very serious about my party planning.  I smile a lot now.  I’ve had a lot more practice at putting together events, big and small.  Whether it’s breakfast at my dining room table or a surprise party for 40, I dance the steps much lighter on my feet these days.  So my philosophy now is:  make it look easy by planning, planning and more planning;  lists, lists and revised lists and then let it flow!  And smile, smile, smile!

I’ve also found that no matter how many lists I make, how many times I revise and refine my lists, there seems to be a universal law that I will have forgotten 2 things, that there will be 2 glitches.  Because of the lists, the glitches will be small and hopefully, only I will know what could have been!  And remember, without lists, there would be chaos.  (I’m smiling.)

What makes an event truly perfect is that guests have a wonderful time, enjoy themselves, feel relaxed, welcome,  and see a happy hostess or host.  So from planning events in Nashville to intimate dinners for 2 – 25, I’ve had a little practice and I love the art, the beauty, the sensuality of good food, wine and good company.