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6.13.26 | 🍅 No-scroll Saturdays + summer gazpacho with Melanie Masarin
The Ghia founder on protecting her slow Saturdays, de-rentalizing her apartment, doing more things 'just because' + a recipe from her new cookbook!
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Happy Saturday!
Today we’re joined by special guest curator Melanie Masarin, founder and CEO of Ghia and author of a new cookbook Riviera.
Melanie’s work is deeply inspired by her French roots and the summers she spent in the Mediterranean. She also has impeccable taste, and shares all of her home, fashion, and cultural recommendations on her newsletter, Night Shade.
Be sure to read all the way to the bottom for a sneak peek of one of our favorite recipes from her new book — a simple, refreshing gazpacho you’ll want to make on repeat this summer!
Warmly,
Kate
💛 Welcome, Melanie!
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Hi, hello!
I’m Melanie Masarin. I’m originally from France, and I now live in New York City. I am the founder of Ghia, the non-alcoholic aperitif that hopefully made it a bit cooler not to drink alcohol. This spring, I also published my first cookbook, Riviera, which is inspired by my grandmother Mymo, her handwritten recipes, and the summers I spent cooking alongside her in the South of France. When I’m not doing either of those things, I write Night Shade, my Substack about food, fashion, hosting, and living a good life.
Saturday mornings are my favorite part of the week, and I always keep them empty. My boyfriend and I will usually have coffee in bed - I’m the boss of morning coffee, and he’s in charge of afternoon espressos - and read a little in bed or, honestly, just hang out, water our plants, take things slow. That’s when I catch up on all my Substacks, with my phone on Do Not Disturb, and I won’t look at anything that involves a scroll or someone asking me for something. No emails, no texts. So many of my friends who are parents miss that slow weekend time, and I know I won’t have it forever, so I do my best to really cherish it while I still can.
Spring and summer are my favorite cooking seasons, so most Saturdays I walk to the Fort Greene Park market, even if it’s just to buy flowers and a few beautiful vegetables, then come home to make something or go see some art. Work at Ghia takes up so much of my time that the weekend is when I get to enjoy my kitchen without any pressure, and to be in my house in the daylight. I’m home a lot because I like it; it recharges my batteries.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how everything has become a business, something to perfect and transact, so I’m trying to do more things “just because”, from arts and crafts to cooking with no plan at all.