Leave it to the French to master the art of effortless entertaining. “There was always a nonchalance in my family around hosting,” says Mélanie Masarin, 34, the founder of the chic non-alcoholic apéritif brand Ghia and a newly minted cookbook author.
Mélanie grew up between Lyon and the South of France but has lived in the U.S. since her college days at Brown University (where, true to her enterprising nature, she managed 10 campus cafeterias). Today, the busy entrepreneur is rarely in one place for long. Yet, when she does find time to host in her TriBeCa loft, she reliably returns to her Mediterranean roots, favoring seasonal, simple produce and a free-flowing ease (no assigned seating here). “I’m pretty casual,” she says. “Cooking for friends feels very calming to me.”
Of course, there’s American casual (think: take-out around an overlit kitchen island) and there’s French casual, which predicates itself on extreme beauty born of minimal fuss. See, for example, the arrestingly photogenic root vegetable carpaccio Masarin whips up in under five minutes while simultaneously charming Moda’s creative team. (You can find the recipe below.) Thus Mélanie—whose personal style leans refreshingly more whimsical than the stereotypical “French chic”—firmly lives in the latter category.
Here, she unveils the new “Aperitivo” collection from Moda Domus and decodes the art of the dînatoire—along with her favorite looks to pair with it.
—Tatiana Hambro
Mélanie grew up between Lyon and the South of France but has lived in the U.S. since her college days at Brown University (where, true to her enterprising nature, she managed 10 campus cafeterias). Today, the busy entrepreneur is rarely in one place for long. Yet, when she does find time to host in her TriBeCa loft, she reliably returns to her Mediterranean roots, favoring seasonal, simple produce and a free-flowing ease (no assigned seating here). “I’m pretty casual,” she says. “Cooking for friends feels very calming to me.”
Of course, there’s American casual (think: take-out around an overlit kitchen island) and there’s French casual, which predicates itself on extreme beauty born of minimal fuss. See, for example, the arrestingly photogenic root vegetable carpaccio Masarin whips up in under five minutes while simultaneously charming Moda’s creative team. (You can find the recipe below.) Thus Mélanie—whose personal style leans refreshingly more whimsical than the stereotypical “French chic”—firmly lives in the latter category.
Here, she unveils the new “Aperitivo” collection from Moda Domus and decodes the art of the dînatoire—along with her favorite looks to pair with it.
—Tatiana Hambro
