Mavis-Jay Sanders’ Dear New York
Chef Mavis-Jay Sanders’ letter to the New York City restaurant community
When I sat down to write a letter to New York City, I reflexively titled the document, “A Love Letter to NYC.”
Fact is, I’m a hopeless romantic, and New York City will forever have my heart—a city that suggests our surroundings are concrete, when in reality, there’s not a block that doesn’t have the potential to activate all five senses and make me swoon. Romance evokes imagination, adventure, and mystery. It encourages the celebration of life, love, and land. NYC embodies romance; food, hospitality, and service are at the core of its love story.
It takes a special kind of dreamer to wake up every day and choose romance, just like it takes a specific type of idealist to make waves in New York. Food, hospitality, service; it’s all a romantic art.
What are vegetables if not the love story of seed and soil, nurtured and translated by farmers and transported to our kitchens? What are chefs if not stewards of that story, curating nature and imagination? What is service if not an escort of that story to its intended destination, whether that be a person at table 26 or the family in apartment 14?
Commitment to community and tradition are what keep us in New York City through devastating conflict. Over the span of my career, I have encountered an innumerable amount of media attempting to predict what’s to come of our profession based on today’s trends. This threatens the very soil we are trying to nourish because ego is the antithesis of romance.
The destruction of food systems prevails when power holders forge ahead with ego as the dominating force over love and care. Food was never meant to be about exclusivity. It grows naturally as a unifier. We lovingly bury seeds in the earth and trust that as time passes, the ground will gift us a bounty in return. That is faith and a value we must prioritize in each other to push the industry toward the future we’ve been envisioning. Never be afraid to be a romantic about life, about education, and especially about hospitality. The systems in place are antiquated, but the values are everlasting, so be romantic about how you show up. What you are willing to do, accept, or overlook is carving a path for what the next iteration of our industry will have to anticipate.
Food culture across the globe is redefined based on what New York City dreams up and brings into fruition. There will never be another city like New York. I’m a romantic, and I’d bet my last 20 dollars that if you’re reading this, you are too.
