It’s 6 pm on a July evening, and the sun is still high enough in the sky so that everyone’s skin is warm to the touch, and the crickets’ pre-performance siesta allows for a wonderful silence. Sprawling lavender fields glow with the same goldeny hue as the adjacent cream-colored farmhouse; those seated at the left end of the table enjoy an olfactory nirvana so intense they can’t help but woe the fate of their neighbors at the right end, whose distance from the purple fields might deprive them of such ecstasy. Little do they know, though, that just past the farmhouse, obstructed from their view –but not from the view of the right-enders– is a blue-blue pond which must have been placed there to match the blue of the blue-blue farmhouse shutters, or vice versa. This is no East of Eden, baby—this is Eden.
Chef, artist at large, and founder of Fancy Feast Supper Club, Leah Guadagnoli has taken the hundred people quickest to the ticket purchase link – which drops on her website a month in advance –, placed a flower crown on their heads, and promised them a night of ambrosian hors d’oeuvres and divine elixirs. Beautiful printed menus introduce the night’s offerings: Fennel Pollen Braided Brioche with floral compound butter; Cucumber Vichyssoise with bolted herbs, green peppercorn, and fruity olive oil; Endive Boats with chili spiced beet caviar, hazelnut, goat cheese, and scallion; Squash Blossom Carrot Sformato with pea mint mascarpone, borage flowers, poppy seed gouda shortbread; Lilac Posset with local honey custard and candied spruce tips. And a Hillside Gimlet of Faccia Brutto Centerbe, ramp gin, maple, lime juice, and celery bitters to coax it all down.
Just three hours north of New York City, and a run-in with the May Queen –Frances Pugh in Ari Aster’s Midsomer– feels completely within the realm of possibility. Standing a few feet back from the table, the conductrice smiles to herself, looking out into a sea of giddy people. From the way her guests’ irises have been glazed over so as to match a just-made Krispy Kreme doughnut, Guadagnoli knows she’s done it again. Everybody in attendance imagines they have found themselves in a particularly special place perfectly timed with an ephemeral moment which may well never repeat itself, and is, undoubtedly, the first of its kind. For Guadagnoli, this is just another Saturday evening. But that doesn’t make it any less cathartic; In an abandoned church, on a sprawling cattle farm, in a Brooklyn warehouse, Leah Guadagnoli speaks love in the language of food.
Leah, I first met you last summer at a farmers market in the Catskills, where you were selling your magical jet-black charcoal focaccia. One bite of it – spread with whatever divine butter you’d whipped up to go with it – and immediately, I thought ‘who is this person and where did she come from?!’ That’s what we’re here to find out today. Thank you so much for joining us. So, to begin… Clearly you are an incredibly talented chef. And you have chosen not to take the traditional route of, say, working in a high-end restaurant. Why not? Have you ever cheffed in a restaurant, and if not, might you consider it?
You are too kind! I’ve never worked in a restaurant and am a self-taught chef. I love restaurants but aim to create unique communal culinary experiences for others that are more like having folks over for dinner at my home (how I began) than that of going out to eat.
I’ve read that you are yourself an omnivore. But for your supper club, you cook totally vegetarian. Can you talk us through that?
Yes! For one, it is more inclusive as many people are vegetarian (it’s the most common dietary restriction I’ve come across when hosting dinners) and I want to have everyone sit around a table and enjoy the same meal together. I also have a small farm/homestead where I grow a lot of the food used and enjoy playing with the endless varieties colors, textures, and flavors that plants have to offer. I enjoy meat very much, but I have way more fun with vegetables as an artist. Meat to me is a treat, and honestly kind of boring to cook!
Finally, and very importantly, exposing dinner guests to a fully vegetarian meal can be eye-opening for many who would not otherwise choose to pick plants. I hope to dramatically reduce the amount of land, water, and oil, and pollution caused by such a positive experience!
Finally, and very importantly, exposing dinner guests to a fully vegetarian meal can be eye-opening for many who would not otherwise choose to pick plants. I hope to dramatically reduce the amount of land, water, and oil, and pollution caused by such a positive experience!
Name your eight favorite ingredients to cook with right now, go!
Fennel pollen, Chioggia beets, Parmesan rinds, garlic scapes, eggs from my adorable flock of laying hens, labneh, edible flowers, olive oil.
Fancy Feast Supper Club, while focused on the food and the social element, has a very beautiful aesthetic component, too. I’m talking flower crowns, elaborate centerpieces, themed dinners linking cuisine to decor, etc. What has gone into shaping your aesthetic eye, and why is it important to you that your meals be pleasing to the eye (as well as taste buds)?
I came to cooking from a background in visual art. I made sculptural paintings for over tean years before turning to food as my creative medium. I often collaborated with other artists to make table cloths, sculpt candelabras, and grow many of the flowers used for the tables (and garnishes!). Food and art have always been a synergy and these dinners allow me to express myself more than I ever could within the confines of artwork meant to be shown in galleries.
Tell us about your team—does it exist? Are you a one-woman show? To what extent has Fancy Feast Supper Club been collaborative, and do you imagine this staying consistent or might you like to make it more/less so?
I have an amazing team that was built on folks wanting to attend the dinner but offering services like taking photos, washing dishes, or bartending in exchange for a seat at the table. Before I knew it, they all became my closest friends and now my team in which I depend on for help, especially when we have larger dinners (sometimes up to 150 people). I simply cannot do all that prep and serving alone and it’s way more fun to do it with those that have been by my side since the early DIY days of me hosting these meals from my home.
I sometimes collaborate with other chefs, Molly Katzen and Dana Bowen have been two women I’ve done dinners with, and love being able to build menus with others. The more the merrier! This summer, I’m working on a Greek dinner to be presented at Stable Gate Winery in collaboration with Rosemary Liss, owner of Le Comptoir du Vin in Baltimore, as part of Upstate Art Weekend.
I sometimes collaborate with other chefs, Molly Katzen and Dana Bowen have been two women I’ve done dinners with, and love being able to build menus with others. The more the merrier! This summer, I’m working on a Greek dinner to be presented at Stable Gate Winery in collaboration with Rosemary Liss, owner of Le Comptoir du Vin in Baltimore, as part of Upstate Art Weekend.
“I enjoy meat very much, but I have way more fun with vegetables as an artist. Meat to me is a treat, and honestly kind of boring to cook!”
Cooking for as many people as you do sounds stressful. How many mouths are you feeding on an average night? Have you figured out a way to divide the work in the days approaching a feast so that it’s not too much strain on the day-of?
The dinners range anywhere from thirty to a hundred and fifty people, and yes, prepping for that is HARD! I work to break down the prep in a way that feels manageable but there’s always going to be moments when I’m up until sunrise finishing the details. There is also an endless amount of administrative work: I design all the menus and flyers, there’s accounting, negotiating contracts, researching new themes, and getting all the details down for each event to ensure they run smoothly.
I cannot stress enough how unbelievable it is that you pull off what you pull off. I can’t help but wonder, though: Have you ever had some kind of disaster or epic mishap? Say, burnt half a meal hours before it was due to be served, or used salt instead of sugar in a cake?
YES! Once the pot of soup slid off the induction burner due to condensation right before serving!!!!! We took what was left and created something new from what was available in the nearby kitchen up the hill at the venue: garlic, chickpeas, MSG, heavy cream, brought to a boil, blended and served with the wonderful garnishes that were luckily not obstructed from the fall. You wouldn’t believe it, when I asked guests what their favorite dish was, many answered: THE SOUP!!!
During COVID, we were isolated. The correlation between the timing of your supper club and the end of the pandemic is notable. Have you thought about the increased need for socialization post-pandemic, and shared meals as one way to do that?
Yes, absolutely! One of my first public dinners was at a friend’s barn the summer we all felt safe enough to be around strangers. I cried during the welcome speech, overwhelmed by the joy of having all these amazing new people together in one room to share a meal after so long of feeling isolated.
You are, of course, the brains and the hands behind the culinary operations of Fancy Feast. I’m picturing a group of fifty strangers who have never met sitting at one long table together. Do you feel the need to conduct social dynamics as well as culinary operations? Do you ever use conversation starter cards, games, etc.? Does it generally work, as in, do people get along and does the conversation flow? Have you seen friendships emerge from these gatherings, even?
I used to do a curated seating chart but learned many people came solo ready to make new friends (a unique part of Fancy Feast), so more recently I just let people choose where to sit and it’s true, there’s many new relationships formed.
A lovely thing about Fancy Feast Supper Club is its inclusivity, the fact that anyone is free to sign up and join. Would you say that there is a certain type of person the operation generally attracts?
Many creative outgoing people come knowing they’ll meet very cool individuals who love food.
What do you think people are looking for when they come to one of your feasts?
I think they are coming for a delicious and enjoyable culinary experience.
To what extent do you feel able to participate in the meals once all of the preparation is done? Do you sit down at the table, or does the need to run the show keep you from doing so?
I definitely am unable to sit down by trying my best to engage and connect with everyone who is there.
Your feasts take place at venues all over. And the themes are never the same. Can you tell us about one favorite (theme and venue)?
Yes! My favorite theme was my Black and White dinner (Season of the Witch) at Stonehill’s. My favorite venue was the cemetery behind my home (which is a converted church from the mid 1800s). Francesca DiMattio made the table settings for that one and it was BEAUTIFUL!
Dream venue, dream theme: go!
Venue: A castle somewhere in Europe. Theme: I’ve always wanted to do an outer space-themed dinner!!!
Thoughts on future direction, collabs you might like to do, new cities you might like to bring this to?
I’d love to continue working with other chefs and artists to create meals that are meaningful and memorable. Los Angeles, Paris, Montreal, Miami, Mexico City, anywhere in Italy—these are all places I’d love the chance to do a dinner in.
