I’m back!

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Jul 312022
 

With Nat at Joy Macy’s farm, West Nyack, New York, 2015. Background photo by Paolo Destefanis for my book, Veneto (Chronicle Books, 2002).

Hello good people everywhere,

I hope you are well. As you know, I’ve been away from my blog for a long while—nearly three years. My adored husband, Nathan Charles Benedict Hoyt, passed over to the other side on August 25, 2019. Savant and genius, graphic designer, world-class architect, my partner in photojournalism, the light and love of my life and kindest man I ever knew, he left this world too soon, at 66 years. But he accomplished more in one lifetime that few ever do, even as he lent a hand to others along the way and lifted them up when he could.

If the graphic background on this page is still a winter scene (new image in progress), spring has returned to my life. Many things have changed––a move from New York to Massachusetts to be near my two daughters, living part of the year in Sardinia, the birth of my first grandchild, Eliodoro (Elio, or “LiLi,” as I call him), and more. I’m back to work, with Nat’s spirit at my back, writing a book that has been humming in the background nearly all my life, a novel based on a true story––mine. Set in Sardinia and Puglia, the Italian regions of my forebears, it’s about a family secret I uncovered recently and how I have come to realize it shaped my life.

Onwards, fork in hand… I wish to look back on my journey when I am 105 and still spry (if my Sardinian genes prevail), and be able to say, “It was a life well-lived,” as I know Nat could. Come with me, my friends.

With love,

Julia

 

 

The Good News from Venice: We’re Still Sailing

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Nov 212019
 
The Good News from Venice: We're Still Sailing

No doubt you have heard about the disastrous rains and resulting floods in Venice in recent weeks—the worst since the tragic flooding of 1966 that did so much damage to the city and its art and architectural treasures; to homes and shops and livelihoods. Those of you who have been on our culinary sailing cruises of the lagoon islands no doubt wonder how Mauro Stoppa, our Venetian captain and host and his beloved ship the Eolo, have fared. Because the boat was out of the water for seasonal repairs and maintenance when the violent storms hit again and again over […more…]

Join Our New Adventure: Tour of Venice and the Brenta Riviera, May 18-24, 2020

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Oct 042019
 
Join Our New Adventure: Tour of Venice and the Brenta Riviera, May 18-24, 2020

Dear Hungry Readers, Because many of you have asked, here’s the itinerary for our new 2020 7-day culinary sailing tour in collaboration with Venetian host Mauro Stoppa. This will be a cultural and culinary exploration of the Venetian lagoon and the Brenta Riviera. Boats and traditional means of transport make for a unique journey in one of Italy’s most historically, culturally and gastronomically rich regions. This is a variation of our original tour of Venice and the lagoon islands (that will be offered once again, September 14-20—itinerary to come). OVERVIEW The spring 2020 journey begins onboard the Eolo, the restored historic sailing vessel owned by […more…]

Sail Venice and its Lagoon This Fall

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May 282018
 
Sail Venice and its Lagoon This Fall

John Ruskin once described this watery city as a ‘ghost upon the sands of the sea, so weak—so quiet–so bereft of all but her loveliness’…. [153 years] later, he would be more likely to compare this packed tourist magnet to a shopping mall during the sales season than to a shadowy mirage…. But Ruskin’s Venice still exists…. Sitting on a historic fishing boat on a recent July evening, with the sun setting over the island of Torcello and the sound of the gull cries splitting the silence of the seemingly endless lagoon, a visitor might even get a sense of […more…]

Holiday Greetings from Julia & Mauro

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Dec 232017
 
Holiday Greetings from Julia & Mauro

Dear Hungry Readers and Lovely Eolo Guests, If you’ve wondered why you haven’t heard from me recently, I’ve been immersed in a big book project this year (stay tuned for senstional images from all over Italy). In the meantime, my sailing tours of Venice and its exquisite lagoon, done in tandem with Venetian host Mauro Stoppa on his historic sailboat, continued in spring and autumn. Here’s a photo taken on deck in September as we glided past one of the hundreds of islands enclosed in this little sea, so pristine and still—a side of La Serenissima that so few people, natives and visitors alike, ever see. Additional posts […more…]

Christie’s Loves Our Sailing and Culinary Tour of Venice—Still Openings in September!

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Jul 162017
 
Christie's Loves Our Sailing and Culinary Tour of Venice—Still Openings in September!

Christie’s came on board just a few days after our recent May sailing and culinary tour of Venice and its lagoon and did this story on our salty host and his historic boat. We have a few spots left on our upcoming September 16-22, 2017 cruise. And plenty of room in June 2-8 and September 15-21, 2018 (maximum, 10 people). Here’s the Christie’s story—apologies for the fuzzy images, but I think you’ll get the idea. Join us! Details here.

Forget About Pasta, Pizza, and Smiles: Meet La Nuova Cucina Italiana

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May 012017
 
Forget About Pasta, Pizza, and Smiles: Meet La Nuova Cucina Italiana

Back in the day when nouvelle cuisine was firing up the new chefs of Europe, I wrote in the introduction to my first cookbook, published in 1986, that Italy, a country that has complained about the excesses of French cooking since the 16th century, would never succumb to it. Take, as an example, the words of Gerolamo Zanetti, a 16th century Venetian, which are still uttered by modern Italians: French cooks have ruined Venetian stomachs with so [many] sauces, broths, extracts… in every dish… meat and fish transformed to such a point that they are scarcely recognizable by the time they get to the […more…]

Learning by the Book with Wine Legend Kevin Zraly

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Feb 182017
 
Learning by the Book with Wine Legend Kevin Zraly

I know relatively little about wine. I was once ashamed of saying so in light of forty years as a food writer—but that changed recently when I admitted as much to world-renowned wine educator, Kevin Zraly. “It’s not surprising,” he said, adding that the same is true for most chefs he knows, and vice versa for wine authorities. As he writes in the introduction to his newly re-issued best-selling Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, “Studying wine isn’t merely learning about a beverage but also understanding the history, language, culture, and traditions of the people and countries where each […more…]

Venice by Boat Culinary Tour: New 2017 & 2018 Dates

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Feb 152017
 
Venice by Boat Culinary Tour: New 2017 & 2018 Dates

“I want people to see the lagoon as I see it. So many people come to Venice and never really understand what is out here.” —Mauro Stoppa, host of the Eolo As recommended by The New York Times, Saveur, Elle, The Herald Tribune, Travel & Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, The Guardian, Tatler, The Daily Meal, Marie Claire, Gente Viaggi, Meridiani, Yacht Digest, Gala, Côté Sud, and other prominent publications. Join our remarkable culinary tour of the city built on water and its lagoon islands. Our May 2017 tour is fully booked, but we are now offering these new dates: 2017 September 16-22 2018 June […more…]

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