Ubuntu, Napa

On 28^th September 2006, Bill Clinton, addressing the Labour Party Conference, introduced the idea of ubuntu to the British public: ‘society is important because of ubuntu…If we were the most beautiful, the most intelligent, the most wealthy, the most powerful person – and then found all of a sudden that we were alone on the planet, it wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans,’ said the former president.

A couple of years on, Archbishop Tutu reminded them of it, explaining that this Bantu word from South Africa – its literal translation, ‘I am because you are’ – ‘speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness.’

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Manresa (the return), Los Gatos

On Friday, Aaron and I had shared a remarkable meal at Manresa. On Saturday, we returned…

Manresa, Los Gatos

René Redzepi, Alain Passard, Mauro Colagreco…this may appear to be a shortlist of world’s most exciting chefs, but their names also comprise a checklist of those who have recently made their way across the world, from Europe to little Los Gatos, to cook at one specific restaurant – David Kinch’s Manresa.

Coi, San Francisco

Events unforeseen and the United States government conspired to delay my arrival in the city by four hours. I had set aside sufficient time to unpack, undress, put on my suit and make it to Coi for an early dinner, but instead, I had to make my way straight from San Francisco International to the restaurant.

The comedy of my consequent enforced, cinematic-style change of clothes in the back of a cab admittedly assuaged some of my annoyance, but I also took comfort that Coi – an archaic French term for tranquil, but today commonly used to mean speechless/quiet – implied that it could be the perfect antidote to the day’s aggravating events.