It has always been a part of my culinary ethos to offer people a space to eat in a childlike way, to be playful with their food. Since starting in the industry in 2008 I have been on my own journey tapping further and further into that concept.

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Six of my formative cooking years were spent shaping the kitchen at Cafe Xoho, a supremely special place in Tel Aviv, Israel.  While building a life in Tel Aviv, I was faced with my own questions about food, culture, identity, connectivity, and the purpose of productivity in the service sector. The "professional kitchen space" became a place for exploring these themes and to generate a feeling of joy and a new (healthier) methodology in an industry that notoriously favors a brutal set of conditions as part of its own identity crisis. 

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I led a team of all women in a kitchen and bakery. Together we manifested and created and cook and baked in order to help foster each other's passion and to provide our customers with a unique experience. 

This approach to cooking and working with others in a kitchen space is what profoundly influenced my most recent independent working project, ZOEFOODPARTY.

 

A "food party" is a blanket term that I use to describe all of the food experiences I create. This can range from site-specific pop-ups, like the Pita Party that exploded in popularity, to my food and video art found on IG, to collaborative projects, and now NAP SNACKS!!!

 

All of which have purposefully placed me at the center of the relationship between folks and their desire to be taken our of their comfort zone, into my cozy arms, and fed lovingly. It is a formula that allows for unsolicited connection through food - and acts as a great reminder to the basic humanity of feeding people and why the importance of that task can/should never be overlooked by society.