Having a Bite With: Claudia Perez
A new series that offers different perspectives on food and how to share it
I have, at length, shared with you, reader, how food is my love language. How it is inextricably tied to my most vivid memories. The ways in which it has lent itself to feelings of joy, grief, home, happiness, disappointment, connection, and loneliness. During my recent hiatus, I’ve been working to bring you a series that offers new perspectives on food and how to share it. In interviews with some of my hosting idols, we will discuss how to put on a dinner from start to end in the hopes it inspires you to do the same. I hope you enjoy. xx.
To kick things off, I sat down with my dear friend Claudia Perez (@claudiamperez), to learn how she hosts her dream dinner. If you have ever been to Smør in the East Village, you have probably seen Claudia, have had her coffee, have been on the receiving end of her hospitality. Claudia’s life, in so many ways, centers itself on just this, hospitality in its highest form. Whether she is grabbing you a pastry or hosting you for dinner, Claudia’s approach to food is comfortable and convivial.
Prior to working at Smør, Claudia ran the wine bar at Prodigy, an all day café in the West Village which closed late last year. The menu she created for Prodigy hinged itself on good bread and briny olives, and is reflective of her hosting style generally. Claudia shares more about how her Danish roots, her family, and her friends inform the way she gathers in our conversation below, which has been edited for length and clarity.
She starts by saying: I grew up in a family that was very big into hosting, but not in a way there is a lot of thought put into it. People these days have this idea that hosting a dinner party means creating a mood board, cultivating an aesthetic, putting on a show. Whereas for me it’s more an excuse to see people and create connection. Any thought that goes into what glasses or plates I put on the table is more just because I like design.
My parents always loved having people over and going to peoples’ houses. Dinner is one of the more intimate ways in which you can connect with people. I love the evening time. Growing up, whenever we had people over, it meant we had to clean the house, it wasn’t extravagant, but it was intentional. Meals were always served family style. We traveled around a lot and depending on where we were living, hosting would mean different things. When we lived in Australia, there were a lot of outdoor gatherings, a lot of outdoor meals. But we’ve always had a cordial, effortless approach to hosting.
Food is a love language, pouring wine, lighting candles, creating a playlist. I hate to even mention it because it’s been overplayed, but the concept of hygge, the embracing of the warmth and coziness, that you get from the colder months, embracing the seasons is part of how I host. For me, hosting a dinner party happens against the backdrop of winter.
Set the scene. I’m arriving at yours for dinner, where am I going?
My apartment on Orchard Street. No ceiling lights, absolutely not, it’s going to be dimly lit, music is playing, probably Bossa Nova, I’m cooking something. Candles are lit, the tables not perfectly set, but it’s arranged with different style glasses and mismatched plates. And it smells great.
Does your dinner party have a theme?
No themes, no gimmicks. The theme for me is what I’m eating. It’s family style, tapas style. It’s the way I grew up eating. Easy and casual, charcuterie, a couple of cheeses, a couple of meats, bowls of olives, whipped ricotta with olive oil, a mix of crackers and bread. In Danish, this style of eating, which, also having spent a lot of time in Spain so sort of the tapas style, is called Palæg. It’s how you refer to the type of meal that’s just a lot of cheeses and meats and spreads. Palæg means to put on. Literally putting things on bread. Growing up when I would ask what was for dinner, my mother would say palæg, which I used to think meant the ham and cheese we would use, but it actually refers more generally to a no cooking, very easy style of eating, with every condiment we had in our fridge.
What does the tablescape look like?
If I’m hosting a dinner party, I want to enjoy myself. I love cooking, but I think I like easy recipes so I’m not in the kitchen as much when I’m hosting. I’ll make a lot of dips, a big pasta dish, tapas style. Dips are something I can make before and it’s super easy. Good bread is key. Good cheese. Simple, but quality ingredients. Cheeses and meats from somewhere like Dipalos. There is intention behind what I’m putting on the table and where I’m sourcing things. Rye bread is something we love, that’s very Danish.
Usually if my parents are staying in the city, we’re eating out because it’s easier. But my mom come home the other night with marinated olives, marinated artichokes, and a couple of cheeses. When I got home, the lights had been dimmed. We are not bright lights people. I watched her put things out. Everything was so effortless and matterfact. She laid the plates out, the glasses, we poured wine. The table isn’t perfectly set. It’s casual.
Plates are from a stack of ceramic dishes that are all different and which I got for my birthday a couple of years ago. I like something that’s a little bit raw, handmade, a collection of things over time. A lot of different wine glasses, vintage ones. I have this beautiful set of Japanese wine glasses. Wine glasses I’ve collected over the years from different thrift stores. I definitely have put a lot of thought over time into the things I have in my kitchen. Not because they’re expensive at all, in fact I would prefer if they weren’t. But everything is a little unique. My thought that goes into setting the table is based on the design of the items I’ve collected. Mismatched plates, a combination of textures and colors. Very Wabi Sabi. Nothing needs to be uniform.
Okay a little rapid fire. Flowers or candles?
Candles.
Assigned seating or choose your own?
Choose your own.
Paper napkins or cloth?
Paper napkins are fine. The idea of cloth napkins is nice, but the effort doesn’t seem worth it. But if you’re going to go with paper napkins, they should still be nice. We keep an entire drawer filled with paper napkins that have different prints and designs.
Family style or plated?
Family style.
Wine or cocktails?
Ideally both, but wine if I had to choose. And always an after dinner digestif.
Cheese board or starter course?
Cheese board.
How are you planning your menu? What’s one dish you can’t skip on?
Menu is easy bits and pieces. One thing I can’t skip on, good cheeses.
Do you always pick the same type of cheese? Or do you mix them up?
The weirder the better for cheese. Obviously it depends on who I’m hosting but I love a stinky cheese, something a little funky.
Where do you go in New York mostly to get your cheeses?
Ideally I’m going to Dipalo’s if I can swing it. Zabar’s if I’m on the Upper West, though I never am. Trader Joes has a great selection if I need something easy. And I have to have chutneys and jams, the weirder the better, anything tomatoey or fruity. I love a fig spread.
Are there any recipes that other people have cooked for you that you have incorporated into your own repertoire?
The only person I can think of is my mom. I stole her bread recipe for a while. Most of the recipes I even make for myself come from her. Dutch oven chicken, simple hearty meals like risotto. Dream cake for dessert, also her recipe. Other go-to recipes include like a spaghetti bolognese. No carrots, just Onion, shallots, tomato, meat. Doesn’t even have to be spaghetti. Bow ties or spiral pasta covered in sauce. Orzo is great in stews.
Who are your biggest hospitality influences? What are the most important lessons you’ve learned from them?
Food wise, definitely Ottolenghi. For a while it was Athena Calderone. She was the one who, when I graduated from school, I had studied psychology, but I started leaning more into design and hosting and my love for that kind of thing. She is literally a designer who cooks. Also a lot of Danish wine bars and chefs. Frederik Bille Brahe, behind Atelier September, is another good one.
What’s your favorite part about cooking for other people?
I like feeding people. I like getting people drunk. When I ran the wine bar at Prodigy, it was always a funny thing our customers would say I was trying to get them drunk because I would just keep pouring them wine and refilling their glass. I like for people to have a good time.
What do you think that’s motivated by?
I think it’s providing a sense of comfort. I want people to feel at home, so creating an environment where they can feel that sense of ease. I also hate when things end. I like when people linger, when there’s not the pressure of time. The attitude of “take your shoes off, stay a while”.
I am tempted to skip that ubiquitous question of “who would be your dream dinner party guest” but I’m wondering if it holds some merit? I suppose I’m more interested in who do you love to cook for most?
I’m not someone who gets starstruck very easily, so I don’t know if I have like one dream dinner party guest. I am definitely a “the more people the better” but I also think dinner parties can take on all shapes and sizes. You and I have had dinner parties just the two of us which have been so fun. I consider that a dinner party. Or a table of ten people. Last New Years, my brother and his girlfriend set up a long table in their apartment and had everyone for dinner and I loved that. I love cooking for my close friends. I love what I’m familiar with, I think it lends itself to that feeling of ease. When I’m with my family and we’re all cooking together. I’ll host anyone who is interesting and who wants to jump into interesting conversations. My favorite thing is combining people from different parts of my life, and seeing my friends get on, makes me so happy.
What’s your favorite question to ask of your guests to start conversation?
I think conversation flows naturally. The older you get, you subconsciously curate your friendships based on the people you connect with the most. It’s the people you can have meaningful conversations with, conversation that’s interesting, existential. It’s a mix of serious and silly. I just assume the conversation will flow naturally, I rely on the connection between friends to carry things on.
I actually have a card game called Hygge. It’s just thought provoking questions. They’re not even particularly deep questions, they just open the door for conversation. It’s even just fun to do with your friends.
Claudia’s hosting playlist:
How do you hope people will feel walking away from your dinner? Are there any key takeaways you hope everyone will leave with?
Full, drunk and at ease. The “we have to do that again” feeling. A reluctance to leave.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned from hosting?
Hosting shouldn’t be stressful. Creating something for people should be fun, meaningful, and should foster interesting conversation. In the stress of life and everything going on, connection is so important. It doesn’t need to be perfect, in fact it should be messy and chaotic.
Final Thoughts:
Candles, wine, snacks. Everything you need.
Hosting well means an easy clean up.
The more dogs the better.
Last minute is okay.
Lean into the parts of you that feel organic and natural. I’m a Taurus, and we’re historically homebodies, we’re very sensual in the way we are drawn to different senses and textures. I think that really plays into the way I host.
Curating a playlist is an art. Have a hosting playlist always on hand.
We’re in a dinner party era. The seasons are changing, we’re getting older, we’re creating spaces we love. Embrace it and enjoy it.