Launched in 2005, WellesleyWeston Magazine is a quarterly publication tailored to Wellesley and Weston residents and edited to enrich the experience of living in two of Massachusetts' most desirable communities.
Issue link: https://wellesleywestonmagazine.epubxp.com/i/819093
on a larger-scale dining demographic, because people here already were used to supporting women chefs. That's made a huge difference in terms of what I was able to accomplish." Meanwhile, her vision for the place's design was largely formed early on, in her years grow- ing up in the art community of New York back in the graffiti era of the '80s and '90s. "My friends were artists and musicians, my dad was a painter, and I went to school for art history before I went to cooking school. We lived in loft spaces with freight elevators, and I loved that grittiness." In the design of RFK, she sought to evoke that very sort of sophisti- cated imperfection with a mid-century mod- ern mood, exposed pipe work, and deliberately quirky elements met with beautifully crafted artisanal furnishings—such as the custom- made lounge sofas made by Irish artists she found living and creating works locally on Cape Cod. "Nothing is absolutely 'perfect,'" she says. "The back wall behind the bar is a textured piece that looks like it's almost get- ting eaten away at a little. We have a very sophisticated design here, but if you really look around there's a rawness to it." That's a perspective that clearly extends not just to the design, but to the sumptuous yet unfussy food, to the eclectic mix of guests she welcomes, and to the individual experiences they all have every night. "I want things to be real. I don't like 'cookie cutter' anything," she says. "And I think we've hit that mark." 187 W e l l e s l e y W e s t o n M a g a z i n e | s u m m e r 2 0 1 7