Welcome to The Nosh
The food and conversations that keep you at the table, with Jessie Wesley and Alexis Haut
Welcome to the Nosh. A creation born at a dimly lit bistro table on a bitingly cold night in Brooklyn, where we (Alexis and Jessie) cemented our friendship over food and a *few* glasses of wine. Throughout the course of the evening, we charmed the waiter by incorrectly identifying several obscure menu items, discussed things we loved (like complementary bread), things we hated (like when restaurants charge for bread), talked about how to change our corner of the world, compared notes about the latest season of Love is Blind and devoured a whole fried fish that we named Ferdinand.
A spark was lit. The night ended, but the conversation continued. As our friendship developed, usually in the presence of delicious food and with the help of far-reaching conversation, we started to realize that our individual experiences and passions really complement each other. Alexis is a writer, producer, teacher and all around culture vulture. She will be bringing you fresh analysis on how food is represented in pop culture. Jessie is a cooking instructor, organizer, community trainer, policy advocate and consultant for food related projects. She will bring you tasty recipes with complementary thoughtful narratives. The Nosh represents both of our talents, interests and sensibilities and celebrates the connections forged over a good meal and good conversation.
In Yiddish, “nosh” literally means a light snack or to graze on a meal over a long period of time. We loved this spirit as a way to describe our vision of continuing conversations about things that matter to us. The Nosh is the meals we share with friends that lead to a lifted mood or a life changing decision. It’s the dinner date where you realize the person across from you might be somebody special. For Jessie, it’s learning to make greens from Uncle Oclad. For Alexis, it’s Aunt Maureen making 100 meatballs every Christmas Eve. To be clear, this is not a Jewish newsletter. Jewish food and culture is just a jumping off point. To us, noshing is agnostic.
At The Nosh, we also believe that food is culture- even when we aren’t eating it. We see food as a pivotal cast member on screens big and small. When we read a novel, the food the protagonist eats tells us as much about who they are as where they live and what they wear. We also think that food references in song lyrics are a treat.
So The Nosh is also the dinner scene in every Black movie ever. It’s Chihiro watching her parents turn into pigs while feasting in Spirited Away. It’s the first time we see Issa and Molly on screen together at Merkato in the first season of Insecure. It’s every time Tony Soprano takes a helping of Carmela’s cold past’ out of the fridge after a stressful day at the Bada Bing. It’s Ratatouille. It’s Ari Lennox’s “Lemme go and check on these goddamn garbanzo beans”. And it’s definitely Biggie’s “T-bone steak, cheese, eggs and Welch's grape”.
And lastly, we believe food is political and that it is inextricably linked to liberation. The Nosh supports the reclamation of indigenous foods on Ohlone Territory. We also champion the movement towards food sovereignty in the Brooklyn and Oakland communities where we live and work. It also is in honor of Jessie’s grandmother's soul food dinners to raise money for Black politicians in the 70’s. We also hope to showcase the people who are the ACTUAL architects of American food.
What to expect: The Nosh is a bi-weekly newsletter. Every other Friday in your inbox you’ll find:
Recipes that encourage you to play in your kitchen and are a play on the culture we can’t stop thinking about.
Notes and analysis of tv, movies, music and written work that we’re chewing on.
Profiles of and guest essays from food friends we admire.
Recommendations for restaurants we love, media we are obsessed with and causes we support.
Links to events we are hosting that focus on culture and food.
Our first full issue will hit your inbox tomorrow (!) Friday, May 12th.
Here’s What’s On The Menu:
This Week In Culture: Pastrami on Rye: Reflections on the Jewish Deli
Your Next Nosh: Momma Becker’s Mayo Roasted Chicken Recipe (trust us on this one).
We hope you enjoy The Nosh. Please subscribe and share with a friend!
 | A guest post by
|