Ireland - Kathryn at Home

Kathryn At Home

A Guide to Simple Entertaining

Kathryn M. Ireland

with Ithaka Roddam

Kathryn At Home

A Guide to Simple Entertaining

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2016 Kathryn M. Ireland

Illustrations 2016 by Lucilla Caine

Photographs of fabrics 2016 Jon Hugstad, other photographs as noted throughout

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah 84041

Orders: 1.800.835.4993

www.gibbs-smith.com

ISBN: 978-1-4236-4072-1

To Tarka, Tatiana, Tilly, Sidonie, and Lola the daughters I didnt give birth to

by Kate Betts

The first time I saw photos of Kathryns bohemian-chic French farmhouse, La Castellane, I knew I wanted to sit at her table. Whats more, I wanted to set my table just like her table. I wanted to learn all of Kathryns entertaining secrets from the colorful Moroccan linens to the terra-cotta pots of lavender and the way she pulls together a seemingly spontaneous guest list and then effortlessly creates a magical evening or afternoon. Who can resist her gorgeous table settings, simple yet so chic and inviting with tiny vases of fresh garden roses and brass candelabras dripping with wax?

Photography by Ithaka Roddam.

Photography by Manolo Langis (for California Homes)

Kathryn is the ultimate connoisseur: she knows the right wine to serve, the recipe for pot de crme, or the outdoor market where they sell the tartest apple cider. Shes also something of a set designer, whether she is creating pink candlelight at dusk, early morning breakfasts by a lavender-scented fire, or a pile of paisley pillows under a shady oak tree for an afternoon nap al fresco. More than Kathryns tables or her scrumptious food and inimitable settings, its the glow on her guests faces inviting us into the photo.

Ill have a dinner for you is a familiar refrain for anyone who has been so lucky to call her a friend. And with Kathryn, the genius of her invitation whether it be to an 18th-century barn overlooking Provenal fields or a Eucalyptus-filled garden in Venice is that she takes such pleasure in setting her table and gathering familiar and new friends around a feast. In fact, its hard to imagine someone with a bigger heart or a better sense of style when it comes to entertaining.

Photography by Mikkel Vang (for Veranda).

Photography by Deborah Anderson.

Photography by Mikkel Vang (for Veranda).

by Ithaka Roddam

When I think of my childhood summers, almost every one was spent at Kathryns houses either in France or LA.

I was one of four girls, and Kathryn had three sons of similar ages. With the boys friends and cousins, there were always about ten of us kids running around. Each of us was assigned a chore every day throughout the summer holidays, things like setting the table, feeding the horses, or watering the garden. Picking the vegetables from the kitchen garden was one of my favorite jobs. I used to walk barefoot in the prickly grass with my mum and Kathryn, carrying a straw basket and a pair of scateurs (pruning snips). They would show me which herbs to pick and what was ripe, and we would fill the baskets with the freshest lettuce leaves, tomatoes warm from the sun, sweet strawberries, and roses to adorn the tables. Another chore was lighting the hundreds of tea lights in the wall nooks of the barn, which was pretty tedious but certainly kept us busy for a while! I realized from a young age what a difference candlelight made to the romantic ambiance of the barn for dinner.

Kathryn has an amazing ability to create something out of nothing. The entertaining space that she inhabits has to look beautiful. I remember moving a table from one oak tree to another three or four times until it was in the right place. It is little details like this, which Kathryn has an eye for, that make the party flow. When I think of Kathryns dinners and parties over the years, there was always Elvis playing, delicious ros on tap, some of the most interesting and fun people, and an element of surprise. You never knew how the night might begin or end.

My mum, Carina Cooper, wrote cookbooks and my father, Franc, created the television program MasterChef, so I have always grown up with the idea that mealtime was a celebration and was inspired to cook on my own from a very early age. I often helped Mum cook big lunches for all the guests at Kathryns homes. I think I was about twelve years old when I first began making up recipes of my own and was always delighted by their success! In my early twenties Kathryn asked me at the last minute to cook for her first design/yoga retreat. It became the detox/retox week, and one of my most memorable summers. I cooked and cooked and it really was the beginning of a new culinary chapter in my life.

Since then, whenever I can, I help Kathryn at her retreats or special dinners in LA, and now I have been given the privilege of cooking, styling, and photographing for this book. I was truly inspired by the farmers markets in and around Santa Monica and am really taken with the Californian lifestyle and the outdoor living that Kathryn creates.

The recipes in this book are inspired by long summer lunches with a farm-to-table style in mind, using fresh and local ingredients.

Photography by Kathryn M. Ireland

by Kathryn M. Ireland

Entertaining is my passion and it comes naturally to me. As with producing anything, you cant rely on just one element. Its the combination of delicious food, above-average wines, amazing decor, and, most importantly, people who have something to say a unique mix, effortlessness that makes the guests feel comfortable, people you wouldnt normally put together, wonderful chaos, as my great friend the film director Jaci Judelson would say, that allows for spontaneity.