Hello and welcome back to another episode of “Apologies for the late newsletter”. I am sure that I am the only one who is keeping track of each day I am late for my self-imposed deadlines, but an apology is due nonetheless. Since the 15th of May, when I send out my last epistle, I have been to 99* restaurants, 1 wedding and 1 funeral. Not quite the title of the next Richard Curtis film, but that pretty much sums up my time spent. I have read one and a half books, which is pitiful and certainly means that my ambitious goal for the year will not be reached. I have however, stacked up quite an impressive number of hours on YouTube. Consuming #content as we call it these days. I used to find YouTube a mystifying platform and couldn’t quite understand the appeal of watching mid-form videos about other people’s quotidian lives, but recently I have found myself turning to this format for moments of light relief. Engaging wanderlust, watching people visit places that I desire to visit, adding restaurants and swimming spots onto my ever growing Google Maps Saved page, there is an amicable comfort about delicately following the life of someone you don’t know through their curated video clips.
My YouTube history would bore most people to death, I’m sure, but showcases the majority of my interests and curiosities: Inside (minor celebrity name)’s chic New York Penthouse; 24 hours with (another minor celebrity); Asking People on a Paris Street How Much They Earn; What I Eat in a Day; What Books I’m Taking on Holiday; Jane Birkin Interviews in French; How To Make Marmite at Home. The comfort gained from each of these is endless, most notably listening to the beloved Jane Birkin speaking French, as her accent is terrible and comforts me when I panic about my own French level. (RIP of course, Jane you are still an icon above all icons.) The morbid curiosity of wanting to know what people are doing or what they are carrying in their bag taps into the very nosey corner of my personality, it fascinates me to know how people spend their time when they are alone. My desired superpower, without a doubt would be invisibility so that I could be a perpetual fly on the wall.
The appeal of YouTube is multi-pronged, a mix of escapism, envy, and ennui. I could watch back to back videos of someone’s daily routine living in a van on the Gold Coast of Australia, knowing that however “cool” and “free” their life looks, I will never live in the same way. Similarly, I look with pointed envy at those who have managed to curate a small following on Instagram from posting nice pictures of food and subsequently being sent nice parcels of free things; knowing also that my capacity for posting online is low and I don’t have the envie to invest too much time nor energy into it.
Looking back on my YouTube history for this newsletter, the majority of the video titles start with the word Inside. Whether I’m looking inside a handbag, a house, a kitchen, or the Barbie Dreamhouse, An adolescent desire to be on the inside? A Dan Humphrey-ian impulse to infiltrate a group of people? Either way, the internet is a magical place for legally spying on other people’s live. Some spying feels more satisfying than others, and this weekend a particularly satisfying** moment of Internet-ting happened.
Thomas Straker, of butter fame, has recently opened a restaurant, good for Thomas, but has also exclusively hired white men in his kitchen, shame on Thomas. This insight was brought to light by Mr Butter himself when he posted an Instagram of his “Chef Team Assembled” and the comments let him have it. His reply to these comments was definitely not approved by his media team, garnering even more responses from the wider chef community. As a female chef, this is truthfully not totally surprising to see, neither the photo itself, nor the response. Of course, female chefs, POC chefs, do exist, but certainly the kitchen is still a “white boys club”. The keyboard anger is not surprising either and sadly, this example, I doubt, will amount to anything. The barriers that block POC and female chefs from entering kitchens are numerous; from salary to aggression, gendered confidence to walking home late at night after a long shift keys in hand. My kitchen in Paris, until very recently was fully female (we are very happy to have you Achille), and it was a regular comment from customers, friends, strangers, how refreshing it is to see a kitchen full of girls (!) Thanks to Barbie for empowering us to do this. I have a lot more to say on this topic but will save it for another time.
* 104 at the moment of sending
**satisfying or just sad, I can’t quite tell
The end of the letter Y means that there is only one letter left of the alphabet and for now, only one more newsletter to write. So, please do look back and read the archives whilst waiting for a new project to be announced (once decided upon). Z coming soon.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe xoxo
Extra long shopping list for you
To read:
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Red Sauce, Brown Sauce - Felicity Cloake
A funeral for fish and chips - Tom Lamont
The Best Bit - Clare DeBoer
Straker Roast - sluttycheff
Casa Lawa profile - M Magazine
Sarah Ben Romdane profile - Selma Cougar (edited by me)
To watch:
The Bear Season 2 - if you do nothing else do this
Heartstopper Season 1 in prep for Season 2
Inside a Designer’s..series by The Modern House
Xanthe Gladstone’s very wholesome countryside videos
NOT Barbie
To listen:
Adorable French translation of a great Italian song - C’est Fou Comme Je T’aime
A scary but fascinating alcohol exploration - listen in parts as is very long
To buy:
Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen - worth the hype
Dusen Dusen beach towel - I so covet this striped version
Weekend bag collection in funky colours
New plants - wow how uplifting it is to have new plants on my windowsill
New plates - ditto! Everything tastes better on beautiful crockery
New pants - ditto again ! Nothing nicer than brand new knickers, especially if they’re sustainable
To visit:
I have finally worked out how to share my google map pins, so if anyone wants access into my chaotic saved places, send me a message and I will be happy to share!
I spy my shoe in the plates pic from the marché
Glad your plants have survived the week! X