Hey There, It's Amanda

A New Dansk Reissue & a Clare V. Collab to Celebrate

Plus a pear and almond cake and more Paris finds.

September 18, 2024
Photo by James Ransom

Welcome to the latest edition of Food52 Founder Amanda Hesser’s weekly newsletter, Hey there, it’s Amanda, packed with food, travel, and shopping tips, Food52 doings, and other matters that catch her eye. Get inspired—sign up here for her emails.


As much as I’d like to delude myself into thinking it’s still summer, the cool air, the maxed-out September schedules, and the creep of Halloween candy in my local Key Food is suggesting otherwise. To take the sting out of this somber reality, I bring you spiced lamb, a hearty salad, a soothing pear and almond cake, and what follows below . . .


Dansk Debut

Photo by James Ransom

We revived more gems from the Dansk archive, this time two trivets by Gunnar Cyrén, the celebrated Swedish designer who resisted working for Dansk for a long time—but later created more than 300 designs for the company. The original trivets were made of plastic and designed for outdoor entertaining; we upgraded to cast iron, making them more durable and, well, useful!

Shop the Story

You can read more about the elusive Cyrén here. And see one of his flatware designs, which is used at the annual Nobel Prize award dinners.


Paris Meets Portland

From left, Katie Elliot, Schoolhouse VP of Design; Melissa Miller, Schoolhouse GM; Clare Vivier, Clare V. Founder; Amanda Hesser, Food52 Founder; Katie Hatch, Clare V. Chief Brand Officer. Photo by Courtesy Amanda Hesser
Photo by Schoolhouse
Photo by Schoolhouse

Last week was a big moment for our sister brand Schoolhouse, the Portland-based lighting and furniture company. It launched a home collection in collaboration with the fashion company Clare V. Among the 20 pieces are a striped sofa, brightly-colored task lamps, and jaguar-patterned rugs. The New York Times thought it was all pretty nifty. And we had a buzzy little party at the Clare V. store in West Hollywood. You can check out the collection here. A few of my favorite pieces: the task lamp, the lumbar pillow, and checkered shag rug.


Food52 Doings

Our Head of Content, Josh Young, and his team have been busy filming brand-new Food52 cooking shows. Our newest one, Yes, Chef, just debuted, and check out Erika Learns, where our CEO gets a crash course in the culinary arts. Lesson #1: one-skillet chicken thighs with dates and olives with Tamron Hall and Lish Steiling.


Paris Part 2

As promised, some more highlights from my sourcing trip to Paris and Antwerp with Food52 GM, Jojo:

Pitchers with personality. Photo by Amanda Hesser
Mixed metals flatware. Photo by Amanda Hesser
Color block terry cloth towels. Photo by Amanda Hesser
The future of cutting boards? Photo by Amanda Hesser
A charming clock. Photo by Amanda Hesser
Draw the bath. Photo by Amanda Hesser
You heard it here first: tongs will get more stylish. Photo by Amanda Hesser
The pizza as textile art. Photo by Amanda Hesser
The ombré of birthday candles. Photo by Amanda Hesser

I leave you with a photo of mankind’s greatest invention, which I discovered in Antwerp: butter wrapped like pieces of candy.

Photo by Amanda Hesser

Have a splendid week!

Amanda

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Amanda Hesser

Written by: Amanda Hesser

Before starting Food52 with Merrill, I was a food writer and editor at the New York Times. I've written several books, including "Cooking for Mr. Latte" and "The Essential New York Times Cookbook." I played myself in "Julie & Julia" -- hope you didn't blink, or you may have missed the scene! I live in Brooklyn with my husband, Tad, and twins, Walker and Addison.

1 Comment

AntoniaJames September 18, 2024
That task light is a gem - perky, yet quirky, and just what the world of indoor lighting needs! And stylish tongs? Yes, please! We have several elegant sterling, been-in-the-family-for-generations small tongs for ice, but larger tongs for other purposes? Brilliant! Can't wait to see what you put in the Shop. ;o)