During the summertime, nothing brings friends, family, and community together like a well-cooked meal. Today, more than ever, gathering around intimate dining experiences and curated suppers has become a way to form new connections and spread love through the quickest way to our hearts—our stomachs. One chef is using her cultural background and vibrant culinary style to show us how to host our next summer gathering.
Chef Day's culinary journey is a vibrant tapestry of cultural influences and passionate pursuits. The Haiti-born, Miami-raised, “New York-seasoned,” and now Atlanta-based chef was brought up in a Caribbean culture that celebrated food and togetherness.
Her decorated culinary path has since led her to work in Michelin restaurants, catering high-profile events like Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and Grammy after-parties, and playing a vital hand in the curation of innovative dishes that blended Jamaican, Haitian, and African influences for Atlanta’s top restaurants.
Now, as a private chef, Day thrives on elevating culinary experiences through her supper club, Dine with Day, while continuing to make waves in the food industry with her unique and flavorful creations. For xoNecole, she’s dishing her tips on how to spice up your summer cuisine and add some flavor to your next summer gathering.
On the inspiration behind starting her culinary catering experience, Dine with Day:
“It started back in 2017, I was living in Brooklyn, and I would cook for all my friends on Sundays. That’s when I could test all my recipes. I just loved to host, so I wanted to bring that speakeasy dining to the forefront. It's great to be able to give people an experience that they otherwise don't think they have access to, or maybe they just want to value otherwise. You're getting seven courses, art, music, a beautiful, well-decorated space, and a moment to be amongst the community and let your hair down.”
“I’m able to curate a space based on a theme and bring the theme to life with the food, the sights, the smells, and bring that all together. It's my happy place, my creative space where I may or may not make money from it, but it’s my form of self-expression — almost like writing a short story in the form of a dinner party.”
On the three things you need to make your next dinner party special:
The Setting and Atmosphere:
“Making sure that the setting is warm and comfortable and people's needs and expectations are accounted for is a part of service that I really enjoy. Setting that intentional space, whether it be a beautiful flower arrangement or decorations so that people feel like you're in an elevated space.”
Music:
“Music plays a big part at a lot of my dinner parties. I usually have one or two songs that were inspired by the menu, so I'll curate a playlist around that. I also bring in local artists, whether it's a poet, a saxophone player, or a harpist, to allow another artist to showcase of their talents.”
Keep Community In Mind:
“People now, more than ever, are looking for community. Whether it's in the run clubs we're all seeing, or a hiking and pottery club, community is so important. There's so much going on around us that we can't directly control, but the way that we open ourselves up to community is going to do a lot for our well-being and keep us on track, even though things are very chaotic. People may come alone, but they’ll leave with a few new friends."
On the inspiration behind her signature dish with Topo Chico, grilled lobster with Scotch Bonnet honey glaze:
“I've had that recipe for a while and the sauce is featured in a lot of other dishes — it's one of those staples that goes good on everything. When Topo Chico approached me and told me about the flavor profiles of their drinks and the feeling of summer that they wanted to put out, immediately I was like I'm putting lobster on the grill — that's a no-brainer.”
It has all my favorite things on: the scotch bonnet pepper, which is a staple in most Caribbean households, delicious raw honey, and succulent lobster. It was really fun being able to show people you can have sparkling water pair well with something decadent.”
On how to stay creative in the kitchen and elevate your summertime recipes:
“Sauces! Make your own sauces. Find that small batch of sauce at your local store, stock up on that, and put it on everything to elevate your cuisine. Cooking isn't as hard as you might think it is, and playing around with some of the trends can make cooking a little bit more accessible.”
“Stay curious, pick up a cookbook you probably wouldn't just to try new recipes in there, and watch a new cooking show. Social media also has so many great creators and different chefs on there to educate you on new things. Fail twice and get it right the third time — go after the new. Everybody has the ability to cook if they trust their instincts, so experiment and step outside of the box.”
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Featured image by Chef Day/Instagram
