Editor's Note

Guest Editor Kate Dychangco-Anzani

When a decade arrives of being in the industry and you ask yourself if the time invested was meaningful, you look back at how it unhinged everything you used to believe in and how willing and raw you allowed yourself to be to the lessons it presented. You realize you’ve only just begun. The big question looming in our heads these days is about being sustainable to last another 10 years (I only work in numbers with 0 at the end). Change is the only constant as we are faced with challenges on how to do things, which is why we officially launch the Zee digital issue this month to usher in 2019 in full acceptance. I am also immensely grateful to the constant of being guest F&E Editor for this digital revolution.

We are navigating our way in and will happily lead you to what a full year 2018 was through food and entertaining, recipes to file, and the coveted emergence of a collaborative economy coupled with the digital stratosphere that knows no boundaries. We are an online magazine and it feels great. No paper trail, no pollution, just intellectual property through and through to live your life fully optimized.

For this holiday and entertaining issue, I am happy to engage you with amazing stories of tablescape wanderlust. Our themes take you from the classic Retrospective Christmas, to The Belle Epoch period, transition to The Modern Filipino, and finish with an elevated epicurean theme of exotic taste. There is no right theme, just experiences that arouse curiosity and create laughter. And our theme takes you to the one that marks life milestones. Someone said to me, “I still remember that one meal from 20 years ago”—it must have been so memorable and impactful.

It’s amazing how entertaining can now be without the inconvenience (Honestbee has changed my life. Yep, I just press buttons now on my phone and suddenly groceries appears on my doorstep) and with the reverence of cooking (Homemade is still happiness—see recipe guide). We have the Food Whisperer (for an in-the know-gift guide). There are pleasures and seekers (New trends and the coveted What’s New on the Grid). Then, there are the “reinventors” who share how to live life happier. (Order your gifts online, some say Zero sugar, Zero fat, ketosis is The goal) Our cover story, the ever-present Michel Lhuillier, still charging forward after all these years. He opens the concept of The French Life (La Vie) where dreams meet fantasy in the sky—literally—with Louis Thevenin.

We are all grateful our judgements have turned into curiosity. It kept all of us relevant & growing, opened a lot of doors and breathed in a changed empowered person. This should be YOU too, surrounded with family, friendships and meals. Always evolving for the better.

Be Progressive, Relevant & Sustainable, because there is something that will speak to you in this issue.

KATE DYCHANGCO-ANZANI, Editor