Guest Host: Designer & Creative Director Ali LaBelle
Steal all of Ali's playful ideas for your next summer soirée
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G’day!
Before we get to today’s newsletter: My 50th last weekend was awesome. I had to share Saturday night with a Knicks victory, which made it even more memorable. The weekend somehow turned into the Festival of Detty, but all you need to know for now is that the Vesper Ice Bar™️ worked a treat and I'm already plotting a larger-scale version. Full birthday report next week.
A peek behind the scenes at how people host—what they cook, drink, fear, desire, and remember. Life lessons learned around the table, plus plenty of ideas you can steal.
Today’s special guest, Ali LaBelle is the creative director and brand consultant behind Ali Labelle Creative. She’s also the woman behind the pasta appreciation project Pasta Girlfriend and the Substack À La Carte.
Ali is where I go for a dose of visual inspiration. Her newsletter is filled with vintage finds, trend reports, brand discoveries, room recipes, and clever ways to bring more creativity into everyday life.
She can take a reference point—Art Deco, Jean Cocteau, a film, a room—and spin it into a much larger conversation about design and living well. After reading one of her posts, I’ll want to throw an Art Deco party where everyone wears tassels, and I rearrange the furniture and food into perfect symmetry.
I come to food, home, and lifestyle through a theatre lens. I’m always thinking about motivation, mood, and occasion. Ali approaches things more like a set designer, bringing an art director's eye to how we live. I hope this conversation leaves you with a few ideas for your own summer gatherings.
Thank you, Ali. If you enjoy this conversation, subscribe to À La Carte.
What are you pouring when friends walk in?
I always have a lot of wine on hand. Anytime I host, I usually receive a few bottles as gifts that I then stash away for the next time my friends come over. Typically, it’s a crispy white from Massican or a juicy red from Jumbo Time.
What’s something a friend has done at a dinner party that you loved and wanted to copy?
When friends drop by last minute, what’s your no-brainer recipe that always works?
I usually have a variety of cheeses in my fridge, and if I need to pull something together quickly, I’ll often toss some combination of feta, goat cheese, mascarpone, or Greek yogurt into a blender to whip into a dip. Drizzle it with honey or olive oil, top it with pomegranate seeds or pistachios, or serve it with bread or crackers… There are a million ways to go, depending on what you have on hand. Pomegranate Pistachio Whipped Feta is an easy one I made recently, but if you have a little extra time, try this Lemony Whipped Feta With Charred Scallions.
Go-to host gift?
Boring answer, but usually a bottle of something, an amaro or something special to add to the host’s bar collection. I always tie a ribbon around the neck of the bottle so that it clearly presents as a gift.
Favorite meal that left an impression? Why?
I was invited to a dinner once where Chef Nancy Silverton herself made tableside bread pudding and told stories about the early days of Campanile and La Brea Bakery. That was special in its own right, but halfway through this meal of a lifetime, I found out that my best friend had given birth to her (thankfully, healthy) baby boy six weeks early. I don’t think I’ll ever forget where I was when I saw his picture for the first time, in the private dining room of Osteria Mozza.
Do you have any hosting insecurities or things you still overthink?
No matter how hard I try, I still haven’t figured out how to navigate cooking times so that food is hot on the table when my guests are ready for dinner. I need a warming drawer!!!
Is there a dish you love but have never cooked? What’s holding you back?
I’m definitely more of a cook than a baker. I like the improvisation that comes with cooking and am fearful of the exactness of baking. But someday I’d love to make a really impressive cake, something with a lot of layers that’s full of flavor and not too sweet. What’s holding me back? My unpredictable oven.
When was the last time a meal made you feel taken care of?
I do a lot of “taking care of myself”. I live and work alone, so it’s on me to make sure I’m drinking enough water, that I’m eating things with actual nutritious value, and that I’m not working every night through dinner. So anytime someone does something unexpected, like a midday treat drop off or an impromptu coffee date, it makes me feel really cared for, like they thought of me and wondered if I could use a pick-me-up.
You get invited to a party. What are three things in your shopping cart to wear?
I love clothes that look fancy but are actually just pajamas in disguise. There’s literally nothing worse than eating a three-course meal in high-waisted jeans. I’ll typically opt for something with an elastic waistband, like these Donni pants or this silk pair, to wear with a slouchy sweater and a fun shoe.
What’s something small in your home that’s bringing you disproportionate joy?
My sister just gifted me a Match Pewter wine bottle coaster with my initials engraved on it, and I’ve been using it on my desk as my iced-coffee holder between dinner parties.
Even if you tell me “you’re not a dessert person”, what’s the one dessert you’d never turn down?
Tiramisu.
A hard moment in your life when food or a meal helped you?
Remember Alison Roman’s “The Stew”? It had a huge moment in 2018, but it remains my go-to dish for whenever I’m feeling down and need something comforting to eat. Towards the end of 2021, I was having a hard time—I think the impact of Covid and everything else had finally caught up with me—and it was difficult for me to find the energy to put effort into meals. But I could make The Stew from memory, and in a time when I just needed consistency and comfort, it did the job.
Favorite album to play at a dinner party?
Probably The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. A classic.
What’s your Proustian madeleine? What food triggers instant nostalgia, a time, mood or moment that takes you back?
Spinach artichoke dip. We used to make it on Thanksgiving every year as a pre-dinner snack, and it was my grandpa’s favorite. I have so many memories of him standing at the kitchen counter, one eye on the football game on TV and the other eye on that dip. We haven’t made it in a while. I think once I realized how much mayonnaise was in it, I needed a break, but still, even when I have it at Houston’s, it reminds me of him.
Last time you danced?
My friend Jordy hosts ABBA Night here in LA, and although I’m just straight-up not a dancer, she can coax me out of my house every once in a while to dance to Lay All Your Love On Me with all my friends.
Best life advice you’ve been given?
I used to have a real die-hard perfectionist’s mindset, one that convinced me that nothing was ever good enough and that if I worked a little harder, pushed a little further, I would make things worth being proud of. Someone once told me that my 80% was everyone else’s 100%. No one can see the unrealistic expectations living inside my head, and knowing when to stop is part of the creative process. Since then, I’ve become a lot softer with myself and have learned not to dwell on things for too long, and I’m better for it.
What are you hungry for that has nothing to do with food?
I’m hungry for a world that treats every human being fairly, that navigates with compassion and empathy over fear mongering and force, and that embraces the differences between us all with respect.
Things Ali loves that I love.
Art Deco Dresses Are Back: Dropwaist dresses, mid-length slip skirts, and fringed tops are aplenty these days, from Sea to Zara to St. Agni to Dôen (and the list goes on). There’s a lot of lace, a lot of silk, and a lot of draping worthy of a cocktail at Sunset Tower.
Marcel, the new restaurant inside the Sotheby’s Breuer Building headquarters on Madison Avenue, is getting a lot of buzz since it opened. The interiors, designed by Roman & Williams, are plush and luxurious. No surprise there. I ate in the space when it housed Flora Bar and I’m curious to see how it feels now. The interior architecture reminds me a little of the Sydney Opera House. The design and art are getting better reviews than the food. Both New York Magazine and Helen Rosner at The New Yorker were unconvinced of their meals. (If you haven’t read Helen’s work before, you’re in for a treat. She has such a delicious way with words.)Desserts and cocktails sound like the standout. The madeleines, baked to order in scallop shells and served with jam, may be reason enough to stop by.
HOUSE: AFTER FIVE YEARS OF LIVING Make a cuppa and watch this Eames short film. It makes me want to start capturing all of the little details in my own house. Why don’t we all buy a disposable camera and shoot tiny details over the summer?
Anyone else still trying to master the art of serving hot food at exactly the right moment? What's the food that instantly takes you back? Tell me everything.
Inspired by Ali’s sensibility, I’ve put together some summer gifts for the host. Shop the full list here.
And thank you, dear reader, for spending part of your week with me. If you haven't subscribed yet, I'd love to have you join us. Every week I share recipes, interviews, restaurant discoveries, hosting ideas, and simple things that bring us disproportionate joy. This is a reader-supported publication, and every subscription helps keep these conversations coming.
(Opening gif, clockwise from top left) Serviette, Mansur Gavriel, À Table by Blanca, Plinus, Graydon Herriott, Cosa Ceramica, Lilly Sisto, Jacquemus, Jean Cocteau, Cookbook, Bottega Veneta All other images sourced from À La Carte.
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must say, there's something really chic about just having all the right things on hand to make a sweet, little cheese board at a moments notice...
Fantastic post Odette & Ali - so many gorgeous ideas here.