My second guest of To Eat at Someone Else’s Table is my dear friend Maya Oren, owner of MOJALVO. Maya and I met a few years ago through some mutual friends in the DC food world, and she has since become one of my closest friends. Our love of good food, travel, healing crystals & the same exact music taste makes for a truly wonderful friendship. Learn more about Maya, her connection to food, and Trinidadian Macaroni Pie in her interview below! Interview with Maya Oren Tell us about yourself! “Hello! I am a visual director and artist, and owner of MOJALVO. I work mainly with the culinary a ..read more

One of my favorite things about food, and one of the reasons I decided to start writing about it, is its ability to transport you back to a singular event in your life. The taste of something new is almost as vivid in your memory as it was the first time you experienced it, and you carry that wonderfully exciting moment with you forever.  Growing up, one of my favorite snacks used to be pears slathered with seedy, tangy, raspberry jam. The first time my dad made it for me, for some strange reason I convinced myself that the jam was a special spread only bought for and eaten with pears. E ..read more

I think I re-wrote the body of this blog post about 15 times before I felt like I captured my full, most honest emotions. There’s no question that communities across the country have been rocked with fear, anger, sadness, distress, guilt, and hopelessness. This isn’t just made evident by last weekend’s events in Charlottesville, Virginia. It's also made evident by our president’s inability to show empathy or decipher right from wrong within a very clear display of targeted hatred. Instead, he has proven to be a momentous catalyst of increased and amplified racism, sexism, and religious discri ..read more

When Underground Goods approached me to do a vintage servingware collection collaboration, I was over the moon with excitement. A few months prior, I had been quietly following Amanda and Erin’s business venture around DC and have since been inspired by their creativity, business savvy, and of course, their beautiful vintage finds and delicious bakes. Underground Goods is a curated vintage + baked goods shop dreamed up by two DC based pals (Amanda & Erin). They believe shopping second hand is a fun, sustainable way to bring new life and personality to your space and they’re passionate ..read more

My last ever guest of To Eat at Someone Else’s Table is Emma Spraque, aka @cookandsnap. Emma and I have been Instagram friends for a few years now and what drew me to her feed were her delicious recipes and her colorful and thoughtful plating. Over the years, Emma and I have realized we have a lot in common beyond our love of cooking, like the fact that we both are from the Northshore of Massachusetts, and for that, both love a good lobster roll! Emma has shared with us her recipe for tamarind pork with a bright and juicy stone fruit salad. I’m telling you, this hit the spot the other day aft ..read more

My twelfth guest of To Eat at Someone Else’s Table is Suzanne Nuyen, also known as Bun Bo Bae! Like many food-friends of mine these days, I connected with Suzanne over Instagram and have admired her food and bakes for awhile now. Looking at her food, you can tell how much love and appreciation Suzanne pours into the process of cooking. Not to mention that her food photography is bright, beautiful and eye-catching! Suzanne shared with us one of her favorite Vietnamese dishes - Bún Bò Huế. If you couldn’t already tell, her blog name is a play on words of this dish, so you bet this spicy Vietnam ..read more

My eleventh guest of To Eat at Someone Else’s Table is Raisa Aziz! If you ever had the pleasure of meeting Raisa, I think you'd agree with me that she is one of the kindest, most genuine people in DC. I met Raisa a few years ago when we both began working at Pineapple Collaborative in its very early stages. She now is the head of brand marketing at Great Jones. Raisa shared with us a dish that reminds her of family celebration at home: Chicken Korma. She adapts Madhur Jaffrey's recipe for creamy chicken Korma with almonds, and I can confidently say it was one of the best smelling and deliciou ..read more

My tenth guest of To Eat at Someone Else’s Table is Tanya Sichynsky! I met Tanya about two years ago while we were both newly-ish navigating the DC food scene. At the time, I was still in my early phases of my blog and private chef business and she was running a newsletter where she shared a new recipe each edition (you’ll learn more about that in her interview). Now, Tanya is a senior staff editor for one of the most popular food publications - New York Times Cooking! Needless to say, Tanya is one to watch and I’m humbled to have had the chance to interview her and share her story and her gr ..read more

My nineth guest of To Eat at Someone Else’s Table is Maryam of Pakistan Eats! I met Maryam a few years back at a Pineapple Collaborative event in DC where she cooked the most beautiful Pakistani Dinner, graciously sharing with us food from her heritage. The night was so wonderful - the food was thoughtfully prepared and absolutely delicious, and the company was even better. This dinner was in the early stages of Maryam’s journey with Pakistan Eats, and it’s been such a joy watching her blog grow since then! Learn more about Maryam, her connection to food, and her Dahi Baingan (eggplant in sav ..read more

My eighth guest of To Eat at Someone Else’s Table is Kelly of Kelly.Kooks! Like many of the wonderful women featured in this interview series, I met Kelly on the good ole’ Instagram and have been completely obsessed with her food since first following her. Her food is gorgeous and colorful, and you can tell is prepared with true love for the craft - a passion she has been nurturing since the young age of 6 or 7. Kelly has graciously shared her recipe for Beef Suya Dumplings, a melange of flavors from two of her favorite cuisines - African and Asian cuisines. Learn more about Kelly, her connec ..read more