At The Table With: Chloe Walsh
Ft. Castelvetrano olives and a sunset aperitif
At The Table With is a monthly interview series that explores the ideas of creativity and personal taste through the eyes of my friends (or people I would like to be friends with). This month introduces a new set of questions that prompt some visualization and imagination—I’m excited to mix it up a bit!
And what perfect timing to do so, because this month’s guest is chef, recipe developer, food stylist, and sweet friend of mine, Chloe Walsh!
Originally from the UK and now living here in LA, Chloe’s been working as a freelance chef and recipe developer for the last five years. And she’s a really, really good one—I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing Chloe’s cooking a few times now and it’s genuinely a privilege to sit at her table. But beyond the incredible things she makes, Chloe is one of the most supportive, kind, and welcoming people I know. Every once in a while she hosts ticketed dinner parties at her house, and last summer I went to one without knowing who would be there. A testament to her warmth and the types of people Chloe brings together, I left the night with a very long table’s worth of new friends.
Chloe and I share a lot of things: a love of Italian cooking (she studied at the Italian Culinary Institute in Calabria last year—jealous), farmers market vegetables, head-to-toe linen, martinis, everything about California, cozy restaurants, good design, and so much more. I’m probably bordering on gushing now but I am just so fond of her and am lucky to call her a friend. (See, you can make friends as an adult!!!)
I asked Chloe a few questions…
Ali LaBelle: Imagine your dream dinner party. You can invite anyone, serve anything, and invite whoever you’d like. Where is it?
Chloe Walsh: We are on a hilltop in Italy. In fact, more specifically, we are in Ostuni, Puglia, a little coastal town in the southernmost region of Italy. We are at a beautiful, rustic farmhouse with views to the sea and beyond. We are all sat in the garden at a large rustic long dining table and it's sundown. It is a warm, balmy evening. The sun is stretching over the sea and everyone is truly happy and relaxed, enjoying an aperitif. (Dinner always begins with an aperitif.)
AL: What’s on the table?
CW: A few big vases filled with wildflowers from the garden. Lots of little snacking dishes to compliment our aperitif. Big, fat, juicy Castelvetrano olives. Mortadella. Bread with a lovely dipping oil (harvested from the olive trees on the property). Some roasted tomatoes, to also schmear on the bread. Things like that. Some delicious local natural wine that cost us next to nothing, because it was made by our friend down the street. We buy it by the gallon because it is so delicious. We also have some homemade laurel digestif that was made by another friend, for after dinner. And lots of candles.
AL: Who’s there?
CW: Both of my Nans, Nanny June and Nanny Ray. Both of my Grandads, Grandad Ken and Grandad Robin. I have such amazing memories of all of them; my Grandad Robin and Nanny Ray loved to host, and I have memories of being at their house for some many garden parties as a young girl.
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I have loved Fred Astaire for as long as I can remember. I still love all of his movies, particularly Follow The Fleet.
Elvis. Again, I have been so obsessed with Elvis, ever since I was a little girl. I watched all of his movies instead of cartoons (so my mum tells me).
My husband, sister, brother-in-law and my niece and nephew.
The architect Luis Barragan; I think he would be an interesting dinner guest, and I would love to hear more about how he was inspired by light and more about his thought process around designing each space he worked on. I would also love to know more about why horses in particular inspired him.
The artist Agnes Martin would have to be there too!
AL: What are you eating?
CW: I have just roasted a few whole chickens with lemon and thyme. We are going to enjoy them with some salad leaves from the garden, dressed in a gorgeous olive oil and anchovy dressing. We will also have some roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary. Again, everything is from the garden. Even the chickens!
AL: What music is playing?
CW: Italian jazz during dinner. Italian disco after dinner, because we will all get up to dance after dinner—we always do.
AL: Switching gears. When do you feel most creative? What do you do when you are in a creative slump?
CW: I feel most creative when I have space to think about being creative! In my line of work it is easy to get caught up in saying yes to everything, because I never want to miss out on an opportunity. But at the same time, allowing myself time and space to work on each project with time, care, and attention is ultimately what allows me to thrive in my creativity.
When I am in a creative slump I like to, first of all, give myself grace. I usually like to talk it out with my husband; he always gives such good, sound advice. I get inspired by my friends a lot too, I feel like we all inspire each other. I think I am one of the few people that still gets inspired by Instagram and other creatives like me. It's so cool to see what everyone else is doing.
If the creative slump really is not shifting I will take myself on a date with myself and that usually does the trick. That could be an evening walk, a gallery or museum, a solo trip to the beach or I love a solo dinner with a good book and my journal, to really get the creative juices flowing.
AL: Quick fire round. Tell us your favorite…
Scent?
CW: Honeysuckle or orange blossom at the end of a warm, sunny Los Angeles summer day. Or garlic sautéing in a pan!
Artist?
CW: Rothko
Thing to watch?
CW: Bravo ;)
Thing to read?
CW: Anything on food history or food anthropology.
Comfort food?
CW: Pasta
Thing you bought recently?
CW: A food zine
Chloe, thank you so much for your time and thoughtful answers!!! I’ve now fixated on making that dream dinner party a reality so I hope you’ll all join me at the table by the sea.
Keep tabs on Chloe’s work (including her recipes, which never miss) on Instagram at @chloecooks___ and on her website, chloe-cooks.com. I hear she’s hoping to pitch a cookbook this year, too, so stay tuned!
Friday’s newsletter will be for paid subs and it’s a fun look into one of my branding projects, so upgrade your subscription to make sure it lands in your inbox. First-time annual subscriptions are 20% off all month, so now’s the time.
x
Ali
In case you missed it:
Last week’s Side Order shopping round up was inspired by the fact that I am hardcore homebodying right now and includes things to wear, wrap yourself in, and keep within arm’s reach of the sofa.
I kicked January off with a newsletter about a Parisian apartment I am obsessed with, my latest purchase, a favorite artist, and more.
December’s mood board was NYE themed, which does not represent January’s vibe in the slightest but is pretty nonetheless.
I was just transported to an Italian dream for 5 minutes this morning. Thank you 🫦
That Italian dinner party by the sea sounds divine.