Table Culture: The Williamses
Table Culture is about people. It is about people’s stories at the table as they unfold, effortlessly.
There are few experiences more personal and fulfilling than sharing a meal with someone. Sharing a meal opens the door to deep connection.
We want to capture the powerful story that lives within those daily bread-breaking experiences. We want to share that with the world, in hopes to raise appreciation for the ordinary things we live everyday, often taken for granted.
A few weeks ago, we picked up a bottle of COR Cellars’ Cabernet Sauvignon and we drove to NE Portland, where we were warmly welcomed into Rachael and Andrew Williams’ home.
Rachael is the extra talented ceramicist behind Margaret + Beau, a playful, minimal, handmade ceramics studio in Portland, OR. Our first encounter with Rachael happened so organically—at an event that one of our dear friends hosted a few months back—that following along with her adventures came effortlessly. Through those online interactions we learned that Rachael and her husband Andrew, who is a mechanical engineer and the rational force in the Williamses’ endeavors, have a passion for food and not only do they enjoy cooking on a regular basis, but they are excited to be able to grow many of the vegetables they consume, right in their garden.
We were really excited to experience a usual, weekday evening at the Williamses’. Rachael pouring wine and slicing a fresh loaf of bread, and Andrew meticulously measuring and tasting, making sure everything was cooked to perfection. We had heard Andrew’s an incredible planner when it comes to putting meals together, while Rachael enjoys a more spontaneous approach to cooking, it certainly was fun to watch their dynamic in the kitchen.
Rachael and Andrew have been nurturing their interest in food through their monthly ‘Chef night’, taking turns cooking intentional meals for each other for over a year now. They have an incredible story of how they turned this one activity into something they do together as a couple and how it has developed a special bond between them.
The Williamses were the perfect family to bring to the spotlight for our very first edition of the Table Culture project. We were beyond excited to know they were willing to open their home to us and let us visually document their interaction with food.
Andrew set the table with lovely white ceramic bowls and plates handmade by Rachael. We sipped wine, peeled eggs, and captured images, as Rachael and Andrew moved from the oven to the counter, putting the finishing touches to the comforting meal. In between chats about hiking trips in The Columbia River Gorge and our beloved furry friends, dinner was served. A ‘weekly standard’ according to Rachael, which included a farro and cabbage soup they recreated from Six Seasons cookbook, a salad made with kale from their garden and hard-boiled eggs from their chicken, and the amazing fresh bread Rachael baked earlier that day.
It was quite refreshing to feel so welcomed into a home, amidst the chaos of daily life, and be soothed by conversations around food and many other shared interests we discovered along the way.
