Gourmet Business April 2017

Scrambled eggs and whiskey in the false-dawn light. Chicago, a sweet town, bleak, God Knows, but sweet. Sometimes. 

(from “Scrambled Eggs and Whiskey”) 

I can only assume the bleakness Hayden Carruth refers to in this poem (which turns out isn’t about scrambled eggs or whiskey at all) is either about loneliness, which can happen anywhere, or those bitter cold winter nights when, standing near Lake Michigan, you think your ears are going to shatter like icicles. I’ve been there. Fortunately, Chicago was neither lonely, bleak nor cold last month when our team was in town for the International Home + Housewares Show. We had great food (our special thanks to Owen & Engine, a favorite of ours), the weather was ne, and the show was its usual glorious self as we walked the aisles looking at new products and trends, and greeting friends old and new. It’s an experience not to be missed. Next month we’ll give a full wrap-up of the show and what we saw there, but in the meantime we have a tabletop gallery this month that includes many of the items we culled from the show in Chicago. 

On one of my first big, grown-up job interviews, I was asked what kind of dinnerware I used. The question didn’t come entirely out of left eld because, after all, I was being considered for the position of housewares buyer for the legendary retailer Dean & DeLuca. Jack Ceglic, the third partner and the one responsible for the store’s iconic look, one that has been imitated more times than one can count, was the one who asked me about my taste in tabletop and I guess I gave an acceptable answer (at the time we were eating o Buffalo China from the restaurant supply store on the Bowery) because I got the job and remained there for the next ten years. One result of my time there (when asked, I tell people that’s where I went to graduate school), I still ip plates over in restaurants and people’s homes to see the manufacturer. I also still use a lot of restaurant china but have filled in with many different patterns, colors, and styles of tabletop designs that make for a very eclectic table when we entertain family and friends. It reflects who we are and that still is one of the more fascinating aspects of the tabletop genre, making it almost as important as the food that goes on top. I hope you enjoy our tabletop issue. Cheers. 

James Mellgren 

Managing Editor, Gourmet Business 

jmellgren@gourmetbusiness.com