La Dolce Vita

Elana Horwich teaches non-cooks how to be a badass in the kitchen, the Italian way, in her new book, Meal and a Spiel

INTERVIEW BY BETH WEITZMAN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN SCHELL

Q: When did you first become interested in food?

A: I joke that I fell in love with cooking as a child, because the kitchen was the only place in the house my mother couldn’t find me. In many ways that’s true. Because my mom didn’t like to cook, I saw the kitchen as a safe refuge to try out simple creative experimentations without any onlookers or judgement. Plus, I was hungry. Later, in my20s, I was living in Italy and I used cooking as a way to make peace with food. As many teenage girls do, I had a challenging relationship to eating, but cooking gave me the opportunity to re-create this relationship. Cooking allowed me to no longer be a victim to food, but rather a playful master of it. Plus, living in the country known for its cuisine, I became extremely passionate about learning as much as I could in an organic way. I never took cooking classes, but I paid very close attention to what I was eating, to the way Italian women prepared things and to how my European roommates made their meals. I guess you could say my passion for food has been lifelong, but it definitely crept up slowly, gaining momentum in different times of my life for different reasons.

Q: What does cooking mean to you?

A: Cooking is a means of nonverbal self-expression. It’s an intimate and powerful way we can connect to ourselves and then transmit feeling without having to say a word about it. It connects us to our fellow humans and gives us the opportunity to connect in a primal and loving way to each other.

Q: At what moment did you know you were destined to write a book?

A: In the midst of my sophomore year of college, I took a one-time experimental dose of magic mushrooms and had an epiphany. I understood that it was my life’s purpose and journey to write about life and love and that I was destined to live and work abroad so I could learn about such subjects that I knew so little about. I took a leave of absence from Brown University and, through a series of coincidences, found myself in Italy for nearly five years in total. It took me 20 years to finally write this first book, but I never ever let go of that sense of purpose. I made many difficult choices on my career path, always choosing the ones that could lead me to be a storyteller, that would give me the wisdom to have something worthy to share with others.

Q: When did you know it was going to be a cookbook?

A: In my early years in Italy I decided I wanted to write a cookbook based on the recipes of all the Italian mothers I knew. I went to Maria, who I write about often in Meal and a Spiel, and asked her for her meat sauce recipe. Turns out she had no recipe! She couldn’t even explain how to make it in detail because it was so obvious to her that she skipped all kinds of important steps while explaining it to me.I felt defeated and gave up the idea of writing a cookbook for well over a decade, until I started to teach cooking classes here in L.A.

Q: Tell us about the trials and tribulations that inspired you to write Meal and a Spiel?

A: The trials and tribulations of my career... After living in Italy, I set off looking for a career that would ultimately allow me to express myself.For the most part, I was a high school history teacher and my first year in a classroom was in inner city L.A. I gave it a go at being a theater actor in NYC. I performed stand-up comedy in Los Angeles. I practiced hands-on healing body work and organized creative tours throughout the boot of Italy. All of these ventures spoke to different important aspects of me, but nothing tied it all together, and as a result, I felt incredibly defeated. (Side note: I’m from an overachievingJewish family where everyone went to college and then followed a straight line to success. Everyone but me.) After more than a decade of searching, I decided to do something drastic. I decided to do nothing for as long as it took until I could hear what moved me on the deepest level. And in the midst of“nothing,” I started to cook for cooking’s sake. One day, a friend was over and said she would love to learn to cook. “I can teach you,” I said. “But I don’t have the feel,” she lamented. “I can teach you the feel.” And with that, we opened my fridge to find a bunch of dinosaur kale, which they call cavolo nero in Italy, and whipped up a pasta in 20 minutes. She was so amazed at not only how delicious it was, but how easy it was, she went home and told her mom. The next day they called me and offered to pay me to teach them to cook. I sent out an email to about 30 people saying I had two spaces left in a cooking class, a blatant lie. And to my utter surprise, six people signed up. Everyone insisted I do it again, and before I knew it, I had a cooking school on my hands.

Q: Where did the name Meal and a Spiel come from?

A: I needed a name for this new venture. I used to read a rhyming dictionary when I was a kid, so I was looking for a name that would work with meal. Meal and a Spiel! That was it. This would give me the permission to write about my musings on humanity, as I had set out to do many years earlier when I had heard that calling.With each recipe I developed, I wrote spiels—stories, sales pitches, commentary. And now, nine years later, I have finally put all of it into my first book: Meal and a Spiel: How to Be a Badass in the Kitchen.

Q: What did you enjoy most about your time in Italy?

A: The best part of Italy is the appreciation for what they call il dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing. Casual meals can last a whole day, coffee an entire afternoon, sitting in the countryside basking in the beauty of the surroundings feels like it never has to end. Life slows down in Italy and there is a profound romantic sweetness to that.

Q: Top things you learned while living in Italy?

A: First, fluency in the Italian language and Roman dialect, which is loud and vulgar, but also hilarious and colorful. Second, olive oil is not just used to oil the pan, it’s the foundation of all flavor and must be used in abundance. Third, the key to making delicious food is using the best quality ingredients you can find. And fourth, the importance of the sensual life and appreciating beauty in all of its forms. The Italians call this la dolce vita, and they bask in it.

Q: What do you mean by, and how did you come to create, the concept of intuitive cooking?

A: Intuitive cooking means you no longer need to be married to recipes, that you can cook from the heart and walk into the kitchen, take a look around your properly stocked pantry and whip up something because you actually know what you are doing.

Q: Do you believe that anyone can be a badass in the kitchen?

A: Absolutely! Learning to cook isn’t learning how to perform brain surgery. It’s really not that hard, particularly if you follow the Italian model. Plus, one doesn’t need to learn a million different dishes to be a badass. Make burrata crostini with confidence, and boom, you’re a badass. It’s okay if that’s the only thing you know how todo, because being a badass is about unleashing your passion and knowing your ability to give pleasure from the kitchen, even if in one simple way.

Q: What do you love most about teaching people how to cook?

A: I love seeing their eyes light up when they break through the fear of cooking and realize that they will totally be able to do what we learned in class at home.

Q: Where did the idea first come from to teach cooking classes in your parent’s kitchen? What did they think of that?

A: Shortly before my first cooking class, my parents moved into the home where I currently teach. I was devasted that they moved from my childhood home, but when the opportunity came to teach a cooking class, and it was suggested that it be in someone else’s home, I realized that with the burners in the center of the island, and with space for up to 15 people, my parents’ kitchen was the best place for it! My parents love it. They usually make themselves invisible, but when they do come to say hi, they tend to get compliments from people about how “fun, lovely, talented” their daughter is. And who doesn’t want to hear nice things about their kids, particularly one they worried about because she nearly never found her career path!

Q: Do you still teach there, and what should readers expect in a Meal and a Spiel cooking class.

A: Yes, and I also teach in private homes across the country. Expect to participate fully hands on, to have fun, to get messy and to let any notions go about cooking that no longer serve you. Expect to connect with new people, to eat delicious food and be a part of transforming order into chaos and then chaos into a fabulous meal.

Q: How can Gio readers sign up to take one of your classes?

A: Join my mailing list at mealandaspiel.com to get first access to class sign-ups as soon as we announce classes. Private group classes can also be arranged.

Q: What is your favorite ingredient?

A: Extra virgin olive oil. Use more of it than you think!

Q: What do you consider must-haves in the kitchen?

A: Core ingredients for Italian food: olive oil, kosher salt, red pepper flakes, capers packed in salt, pasta, fresh herbs, tomatoes (fresh or canned), parmigiano reggiano and pecorino romano, olives.

Tools: microplane, a good knife, a good pan, a braiser or dutch oven for slow cooking

Q: What’s your go-to cheese mix on a cheese platter?

A: Mix goat’s, sheep’s, and cow’s milk cheeses for balance, and try to include one hard, one soft and one semi-firm. I prefer goat’s milk and sheep’s milk cheeses because they’re easier to digest and they taste like Central Italy.

Q: Five things you always have in your fridge?

A: A bottle of prosecco in case guests come over; parmigiano reggiano; radicchio and endive; fresh herbs; almond milk.

Q: Five things you always have in your pantry?

A: Pasta; canned tomatoes; pine nuts; tamari; olive oil.

Q: Favorite market in L.A.?

A: I get all my fresh produce from the Santa Monica Coop. It’s all organic, mostly local and the prices are fantastic. I love to get Italian specialty items at Guidi Marcello in Santa Monica (it’s a hidden gem, if you can find it) and Eataly.

Q: Secrets for making the perfect crostini?

A: For crostini, I often use a French baguette, but I love a ciabatta or rustic country loaf. What’s important is that you don’t oil the bread before toasting it. That will make the flavor of the olive oil taste a bit rancid. Toast it plain and then drizzle lots of olive oil on top.