I’ve just come back from a whirlwind road trip. It actually started a few weeks ago when I went to Boston (to screen my film at the Boston Film Festival, which you can read about here or here). I came home for a few days to cook for a dinner being held at the Debut Contemporary Gallery in Notting Hill before jumping on a plane for San Francisco. We’ve started collaborating on these dinners. The innovative gallery put artists and collectors together. And we put people and food together – a great combination for a smashing evening, that was spotted by Tatler magazine. You can read about it here. We’ll be doing another one on October 24th! And then every month after (except in December). This is the Art in HeArt.

I was shortly back on the road – this time to San Francisco. The day after I arrived, jet lag and all, I cooked dinner for 30 people who had gathered to remember a dear friend who died a few months earlier. We were all heartbroken when Chris Andrews so suddenly died. I didn’t make it to his memorial service so was happy when one of his friends decided to organize an evening of dining, dancing and live music at her hilltop house in Tiburon (google if you don’t know where it is – it is so beautiful there). Food is all about comfort. The beautiful and dynamic Cynthia from a Napa wine making family, our hostess, paired lovely wines with our aching souls and I cooked my heart out, wishing Chris could have been with us and felt our love. Cynthia and friends sang their hearts out. Victoria Theodore performed, playing a magnificent piano and sang her heart out too. Cooking is what I do when I’m sad. And feeding people is what I do when they’re sad. So it was a perfect equation. Soul Food.

Then I was off to Los Angeles, where my film screened again, this time in the LA Femme International Film Festival. I was happy to be surrounded there by women filmmakers (and friends) when I screened my film about the inner journey I have taken since my son died. It is not easy for me to see him on the big screen, or even in little photos. And so I did the only thing I could do while staying in a hotel – I went to a friend’s house and made curry popcorn. It was all I could muster under the circumstances.

My son would be proud of me for cooking and creating in spite of such a huge hole in my life. He was the artist (actor and writer) and chef. Now I’m just following in his footsteps, doing things that remind me of him. It’s all about heart and soul food. That’s what we need as humans.

Next dinner here at the Nomad Chef is on Friday, October 26th. Then Thanksgiving (Saturday November 24th; more info soon)! And I’ll be doing another dinner on the road, the 22nd of November in Vienna! Stay tuned…