Hi, my name is Ian Wickman. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and now call Santa Barbara home. I am a lover of all things food. I believe in cooking simply, seasonally, and sustainably. Oh, and I love well crafted cocktails… more on those later. I’m an idealist and an optimist and I think we have the power to change the world. I think little things can have a big impact, especially iF magnified by a large enough group of people.

I want people to feel the same.

I love to cook, eat, laugh, gather with friends, and share stories. I think food has the power to bring people closer together, to create and foster connections between each other, the food we eat, the land it comes from, and the people who produce it.

I have an amazing wife and two incredible daughters (ages 5 and 10). I cook as much for them as for myself. I believe in eating healthy… ish. I have always had a garden (yes, I’m counting several years of container herbs in the city). I am now lucky enough to have roughly 25 different types of fruit trees at my house. I get inspired when I see amazing ingredients and start to think about how I can best express the essence of what they are and who I can share it with. Which is to say, all of this influences how and what I cook.

I started this blog awhile ago in my mind and have finally managed to get it out into the world. It’s part elevating weekday meals, part ingredient exploration, part dinner party or cocktail hour inspiration, and part just things I love related to food and drink. I’ll be sharing what and how I cook, the flavors and ingredients that I love, ingredients and producers, etc all in the name of creating better food and sharing food stories.

I want people to connect more with PEOPLE, not with technology. I want more people to have the confidence to simply cook great food. I hope people relate to what I’m sharing. I hope it makes people hungry, inspired, connected, and maybe laugh a little. I would LOVE iF this is a conversation, not just a monologue. So, pour yourself a glass of wine and have a flip through and let me know what inspires you, what do you love about food?