I’m Victoria, O.G. Food Creative, living and working between New York and Los Angeles. You may already know me for my off-piste food styling (you know those crumbs and drips that make food look perfectly imperfect? I did it first - in 2001), my viral recipes (have you tried my Simple is Best Thanksgiving dressing from Bon Appetit?), feeding fussy celebrities and homeless New Yorkers; ghost-writing, styling and developing cookbooks for the likes of Snoop Dog, Anthony Bourdain, Zac Posen and food influencers who can’t cook (and shall remain nameless – on my honor). Plus I’ve written four of my own cookbooks, the most recent a Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2024 Sicily, My Sweet, shot entirely on location in a mind-altering month on the island. I’ll tell you all about it when you subscribe!

Speaking of which, welcome to Delicious Tangents, where food is never just food—

It’s a story, a snafu, a fever dream of savage broccoli and well-hung pheasants, all downloaded from my brain, to you.

Each week, I’ll take you into my weird and wonderful life in food. It’s been one long, delicious tangent, from being the daughter of an apathetic cook to living on pork pies and Fortnum & Mason China Rose tea as a student at the London Cordon Bleu; to fibbing my way into my first pastry job, catering photo shoots at the original Smashbox Studios and owning a psychic tearoom in Venice Beach. Then, an impulsive move to New York, a decade styling food photos for American and Japanese Vogue, and the next 15 years styling, cooking, eating, painting and now directing food commercials. I have a very hungry eye. Think of this newsletter as a dinner party where the hostess overshares in the best ways possible—true tales of culinary chaos, early childhood cheese trauma, the secrets behind subversive food styling, crafting cookbooks, and sourcing fourteen-pound lobsters for Mr. Irving Penn.

You’ll find humor, wisdom, criticism, imagery, magic spells and recipes worth your time, (but the kind that don’t feel like homework).

If you’ve ever wondered how to scheme your way into a food job, cure olives in a pillowcase, or what the inside of Bourdain’s fridge looked like; this is the place for you. So, please --pull up a stool, pour yourself something strong, and let’s talk turkey (neck), the politics of steak and frozen yogurt, and whether you should accept rumaki from a stranger. (yes, always)

xx Victoria

PS: Upgrade to a paid subscription to join The Cool Kids Table: Exclusive invites to events. Plus, receive The Hungry Eye: Quickfire Course for Food Creatives.

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