From the Editor: Spring 2017
Families, friends and fabulous food. The stuff that dreams—especially Edible Delmarva dreams—are made of. My founding co-publisher Anne Monti and I met in our 20s while working in a restaurant in Connecticut, and became instant best friends. Across the decades we were there for each other’s big life moments—weddings, funerals, births, new jobs, major moves—and so many smaller moments that make up a lifetime friendship. With this issue, our “wouldn’t it be fun to launch an Edible together” dream reaches a milestone and is sure to be among the Very Best Moments for us both. And fabulous food is most definitely involved.
You know that feeling when something is just right. When you’re where you’re supposed to be, doing what you’re supposed to be doing. In putting this issue together, we found so many kindred spirits across Delmarva who are right there with us. At Perennial Roots Farm, Natalie McGill and Stewart Lundy are seven years in to their dream of building a biodynamic farm, and each season brings new challenges and a certainty that they wouldn’t have it any other way. Photographer Jay Fleming gets to do what he loves every day, sharing with us just how much beauty and power and inspiration there is in the lives of ordinary people doing everyday things. And husband-and-wife chefs Bill Hoffman and Merry Catanuto are integrating work and home and family at The House of William & Merry, in an effort to balance all the things they love most. In these times of uncertainty about what the future may bring, all across Delmarva there is energy and excitement and hope and optimism about making a difference in the community, one small action at a time. We couldn’t be more proud to be here, now, with all of you.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, who had their own dream about launching Edible 15 years ago. From that original publication, Edible Ojai, they went on to build a national community of Edibles, now numbering over 100 across the U.S. and Canada. Their commitment to celebrating fresh, local food and supporting the people who grow, harvest, cook, serve, and eat it, is even more relevant and important today. We are grateful to them for setting the table all those years ago.
Our thanks also go to everyone who gave us a warm welcome and shared their excitement about Edible coming to Delmarva. Thanks for inviting us to your table and sharing your stories with us. For supporting our new publication with advertising dollars and telling us where to find your favorite dishes. For calling around the Eastern Shore to find that cooked coconut icing recipe you just knew someone had to have. For posing so patiently with your gorgeous fresh-from-the-farm carrots so we could get the Instagram photo just right. For proving, once again, that food brings people together.
Welcome to the Edible Delmarva table!
Carole Whitaker, Editor
