Welcome to Dream dinner partywhere we ask notable personalities to describe just that: the dinner party of their dreams.
Although we only just met for this interview, I am convinced that Lana Condor would be just as happy to work professionally with food as she is in Hollywood. Condor is the acclaimed lead in the Netflix films based on Jenny Hans’s novel “All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”. She has an infectious passion, whether it’s creating her own recipes or finding the best sack in Seattle. Condor is now playing in To All the Boys: Always and forever about the magical powers of soup – and more.
Do you have a color scheme that you want to follow in your table settings?
I really just love dull, subdued blues. I love that for my dishes. And then I want a statement serving dish in a different color. I recently got this Dutch oven which is so great. It’s a beautiful pot that was given to me by Jenny Han who wrote To All the Boys. It’s from Great Jones and it’s just a delicious evergreen color. It’s not that hard that you can’t just put it on the table. I like to put it in the middle. I will have my soup there so that everyone can easily scoop it up.
You can invite everyone, dead or living, whether fictional or real, to this dream dinner party. Who do you choose
Professor Snape of Harry Potter, because I wonder how he spent a good part of his life keeping such an intense secret? As someone who has a hard time keeping secrets himself, it is amazing for me that he can live so convincingly with two faces. Meals open people up in ways they may not expect. When I cooked, he let go of his guard and we could see a little of his heart.
What would you cook him
Never have I ever met a soup that doesn’t feel like a hug. So I would make him this great soup that I love to make when I feel bad. The soup would say, “Look, not all children are bad. I have you. “For him I would serve it in a cauldron.
What’s in this soup that you developed?
It’s a coconut cream-based soup that also has a little chicken broth, mirepoix, and a sweet Italian sausage that I crumble and get nicely roasted, plus a couple of small potatoes and a huge handful of kale. I crispy bacon for garnish. It’s very easy.
Just you and snape?
I would invite my brother. Like me, he was adopted. I’ve always wanted to have a deeper discussion about his feelings about adoption. Maybe if that damn Snape opened up, he would think that he can do it too.
So is it you, Snape and your brother for a pot of soup? What else do you serve?
My brother is not an adventurous eater. I don’t think he’s ever had coconut cream in his life. So I would make pizza. We all baked new things during the quarantine and for me it was pizza dough. (I’m still working on sourdough – I’m a little bit crazy about it.) I’d love to make him a delicious thin crust pizza and mozzarella from King’s Mozzarella Ballard farmers market in Seattle. I would also serve homemade dumplings filled with a mixture of meat and herbs. Finally, dessert wine and a Marionberry Pie from Whidbey Pies. I grew up with this cake and I eat it for every special occasion.
Let’s say the dinner party is a hit: Snape reveals his inner heart and your brother opens up. Where are you going the next day to take a day off?
There’s a tiny little grocery store called 45th Stop N Shop & Poke Bar. You wouldn’t even give it a second look. They have japanese snacks, seaweed, gyoza, sake and the best sack I’ve ever had in my life. They don’t give you any options other than: Would you like rice or salad? and what freshly caught fish do you want? You cannot choose the toppings. I have a lot of respect for people who know their dish is so good.
