BOOKSHELVES Program | Lucia Fabio, “Cooking the Bookshelf”

For her BOOKSHELVES program, Lucia Fabio and 3307 W Washington Blvd director Amanda Martin Katz co-developed a culinary translation of the core ideas presented on Fabio’s curated shelves. Fabio and Katz designed a menu and meal-score that allowed guests to explore the bibliography through a combination of listening and tasting.

Special thanks to our event crew: Lani Soto, Gemma Godfrey, Kimberly Fabio, Robert Andrew Mueller, and JJ Strawn.

Note: This was a ticketed event, and proceeds supported a day of public engagement with rare artist books from Fabio’s home collection.

Menu | Texts

Left Shelf

Core inspiration: Alison Knowles, “Identical Lunch” | Tunafish sandwich bites with a shot of buttermilk

Center Shelf

Core inspiration: Salvador Dalí, “The Dali Cookbook;” Maurice Merleau-Ponty, “The Phenomenology of Perception;” Anne Carson, “Eros: The Bittersweet” | Whole grilled sea bass stuffed with Thai basil and lemon, served with summer rainbow relishes (red cherry tomatoes with sea salt and sumac, yellow tomatoes with turmeric and saffron, purple cabbage and purple peppers marinated in fig balsamic vinegar, mixed baby greens in an herb vinaigrette)

Right Shelf

Core inspiration: Susan Sontag, “Illness as Metaphor” and Virginia Wolf, “On Being Ill” | Bone broth, Lucia’s handmade potato gnocchi

…and for dessert, summer berries marinated in wine.

photos by Bridget Batch