How Amanda Plans to Unplug In the New Year

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.

Happy New Year!

I’ve been skiing for the past few days at Whistler, in Western Canada. I love skiing because once you’ve learned the basics, it’s a completely joyful sport. I also love skiing because it takes you entirely out of everyday life. It forces you to focus on what you’re doing, to see the snow in front of you, and make rapid decisions all the way down the slope. There’s no chance for email/texts/Instagram/technology to interrupt.

Having these thoughts about skiing reminded me of another activity that requires a similar focus and brings me a similar joy: cooking. But when I'm cooking at home, I’ve often allowed technology to creep in. I’ll listen to podcasts while chopping; I'll text while sautéing; I’ll email while a roast chicken rests. And doing all that multitasking has sometimes made cooking seem to me more like a task to complete. It's deprived me of some of its innate opportunities and pleasures. Perhaps you can relate?

In 2025, I plan to get back to the joy of cooking, to relishing the quiet of the kitchen and the focus of using my hands and senses to create food. Even if it requires me locking my phone in a safe.

In my last newsletter I mentioned that I was heading to Whistler, and invited any of you who would be there to meet up. And meet up we did!

Here is Laura, who has a home in Whistler. She is organized and savvy, and she snagged us the best table at my hotel’s bar, by the fireplace. Even though she’d been living in Asia until recently, Laura has been an attentive follower of our recipes and Shop. Some of her favorite purchases include this handmade porcelain serving bowl by Studio Joo and seven—seven!—of the Hasegawa step ladders, in all different sizes. As a single step ladder owner, I bow to her midheight domestic emergency preparedness!

I also had a beer with Charlie at the Mallard Lounge in the Fairmont Hotel. Charlie has her own catering company, Sobremesa Catering, in Vancouver and Whistler. She shared a lot of good local details, everything from the ski/snowboarding pants of the moment—very baggy, like these—to the quality of life in Whistler (the tax base is so high that the local sanitation department broadcasts jazz music at the town dump). After we met, she went home and made this fondue recipe.

• We’ve been writing up our home design predictions for the new year, including the paint colors that designers think will take over in 2025. Pantone says Mocha Mousse is the shade to watch out for—thankfully we have plenty of it in our Shop, and it also appears in our recipes. We’ll be making more predictions in the coming days, so stay tuned.
• It’s time, sadly, to start taking down the tree—here’s how to store Christmas ornaments safely. (Spoiler alert: These Like-it rolling bins are key!)
• Noah did a 2-part Instagram how-to on porchetta. It’s pleasing even if you never plan to make porchetta, though I think you should.

Very best wishes for serene and distraction-free focus in the days and months ahead!

Amanda