{"id":937,"date":"2021-09-01T13:17:08","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T20:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alteritas.net\/alteritas\/?p=937"},"modified":"2022-08-27T17:11:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-28T00:11:53","slug":"conversation-around-richard-olney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alteritas.net\/alteritas\/2021\/09\/01\/conversation-around-richard-olney\/","title":{"rendered":"Conversation around Richard Olney"},"content":{"rendered":"

An exchange on Richard Olney, occasioned by one of our estival Olney menu dinners on 28 August, which led to this IG post:<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CTLCx0zh6-f<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

On Aug 25, 2021, at 11:34, JA wrote:<\/b><\/p>\n

Folks–<\/p>\n

We’ll convene on Saturday at our place for the second Olney dinner this summer.\u00a0 <\/span>Festivities begin at 6.<\/p>\n

Looking forward!<\/p>\n

MM replies:<\/b><\/p>\n

Bonus points to anyone interested in dressing up like Julia or Paul as Jonathan works his interpretation of the Olney food magic. \ud83d\ude18<\/p>\n

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Julia feeds Paul<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Richard in his Kitchen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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MM adds:<\/b><\/p>\n

Source: http:\/\/archive.kuow.org\/post\/vive-les-gourmands-how-six-american-expats-paris-changed-how-we-eat<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>“Richard Olney unpacked the way the French plan a menu and synchronize not only the dishes but the wines, occasion, time of year and company, to make a meal a work of art. He also gave us a model for eating that’s close to the earth and of living simply and beautifully.”<\/i><\/p>\n

SJ intervenes :<\/b><\/p>\n

Gosh, can I come as Richard?? He\u2019s pretty handsome. \u00a0I guess I\u2019ll have to take up smoking …<\/p>\n

I reply (GL) :<\/b><\/p>\n

If we doin’ drag I am too small to become Julia.<\/p>\n

Richard always wore the same thing: cord espadrilles, khaki shorts and a usually checked cotton short sleeve., substituting long pants whenever restaurant protocol required. I don’t have any espadrilles anymore but when in the south of France I dressed just like him.<\/p>\n

Yes, he smoked Gaulouses until he died at 71. He was one of rhe few who was allowed a post-prandial … cig at Chez Panisse. He called them “fags”. And I was allowed to smoke alongside him. His palette was based on nicotine, he claimed.<\/p>\n

SJ replies :<\/b><\/p>\n

Hah! \u00a0Thanks for the sartorial details! \u00a0Wish I had espadrilles, but I\u2019ll pass on the Gauloises.<\/p>\n

GL 2:<\/b><\/p>\n

They, Gauloises, haven’t been for sale in the US for decades now. Fear of US litigation. The first years I was here I used to always bring back some packs from EU.<\/p>\n

MM 3<\/b><\/p>\n

Well, Nordstrom has options: https:\/\/www.nordstrom.com\/sr?origin=keywordsearch&keyword=espadrilles<\/a>\u00a0 <\/span>\ud83d\ude1c<\/p>\n

I love y\u2019all! I was just joking. And I loved those pics because Richard was in slacks and I thought barefoot in his kitchen. Thanks George for the espadrilles history. I presume the photographer or perhaps Julia insisted on the slacks. \ud83d\ude02<\/p>\n

GL 3:<\/b><\/p>\n

Since we’re on this jag, two more with Richard (courtesy of Judith Olney)<\/p>\n

With James’s first wife, Judith, herself the author of several cookbooks. She’s on Instagram and still teaches cookery in Miami Beach.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Richard with his sister-in-law Judith Olney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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With his buddy Georges Garin in the strip\u00e8d tee, and Richard’s friend Mary Painter, by then Mary Garin, circa 1969. She was the dedicacee of Another Country<\/i>. For more lit gossip see the second item in https:\/\/lithub.com\/behind-the-dedications-james-baldwin\/<\/a>. Baldwin once said, \u201cWhen I realized I couldn\u2019t marry Mary Painter, I realized I could marry no one.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Richard, Georges Garin,, Mary Garin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Finally, the calling card of Garin’s resto on the Left Bank.\u00a0 <\/span>I had a fabulous 4 hour luncheon there as Mary’s guest in November, 1972, from which I emerged inebriated beyond measure to confront the full fa\u00e7ade of Notre Dame in 5pm sunset glow. Took a cab back to my hovel in the 14th and slept until the next morning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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***<\/p>\n

GL 4<\/b><\/p>\n

For info: Richard’s espadrilles were the basic proven\u00e7al version, the rope sole with light canvas uppers. He would go through a couple of pairs every summer. Didn’t mind going barefoot either.<\/p>\n

For those who haven’t seen it, R’s portrait of James Baldwin.<\/p>\n

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RB joins in:<\/b><\/p>\n

Dear Georges,<\/p>\n

Your reminisces and photos are fantastic, in all senses of the word! Wow!<\/p>\n

And I really look forward to being with you all on Saturday!<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n

GL 5 :<\/b><\/p>\n

Thx, R-,<\/p>\n

Not to be presumptious (o what the hell, why not?), the byline in my Insta account profile reads: \u00a0Memoria vitae bene actae iucunda est.<\/i><\/b>\u00a0Memories of a well-lived life are a pleasure.<\/p>\n

This afternoon, anyway, I feel like I had a well-lived life \ud83d\ude07.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

And JA’s IG on the event:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CTK2EfQBJBI\/<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An exchange on Richard Olney, occasioned by one of our estival Olney menu dinners on 28 August, which led to this IG post: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CTLCx0zh6-f *** On Aug 25, 2021, at 11:34, JA wrote: Folks– We’ll convene on Saturday at our place for the second Olney dinner this summer.\u00a0 Festivities begin at 6. Looking forward! MM … <\/p>\n

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