A Regular Anniversary
Gotta take care of the regulars. It’s a particular honor to see a familiar face walk through the door, returning to enjoy your food. Without the regulars there would be no restaurant.
Aster Pantry doesn’t have a restaurant. We still have regulars, though. That’s you. This issue marks one year since I began writing The Regular newsletter. We’re so grateful for those of you who have followed along every week, signed up as paid supporters, and cooked our recipes. We can’t thank you enough for your support.
A restaurant has a life of its own. The daily ceremony of prep and service creates a powerful rhythm. It can be exhausting, yes, but it’s also an incredible engine of creativity and practice.
The peak of dinner service is like high tide. There’s a rise and fall, but there’s no single moment when everything is finished. Sure, the final plate leaves the pass and the last customer signs the check, but by that time, the kitchen has already started on the next task. We’re cleaning, making prep lists, maybe even setting up a fermentation project. The ocean never stops moving.
Practice, consistency, repetition. These are the watchwords of excellence - for cooking, for writing, for sports, you name it. But these days I try to remind myself that if there is no end, if the tide keeps coming in and going out, season after season, maybe we can practice with a bit less stress than we ever did at the restaurant.
The menu we write is always bolder than the menu we serve because we’re not perfect. We never were. Roasting the chickens takes longer than expected, the pickles taste too funky, the ricotta gets scorched. We adjust. We trust our instincts. We serve the best we’ve got, and that’s always been good enough for today.
The Regular is my new engine of creativity and practice - a much more sustainable one. Once again let me express my gratitude to the regulars for helping me keep this humble ship afloat.
So let’s have a quick toast, like we always did after service. Put down your spatulas, sponges, and stacks of deli containers. Close your laptop. Here’s to another day, another service, and the people who work alongside us. We’ll pick it up again tomorrow.
Thank you so much for joining us on the regular.
Cheers,
Sten and Mac
