Welcome to Chez Cesca ❤️

At home in Newburyport.

Ciao tutti! Francesca here (and yes—my family calls me Cesca.) In both my personal and professional lives, my story always comes back to one thing: I frickin’ love to cook for friends (and dine out, but not all the time.) Whether it was the fondue birthday party I hosted in high school or the dinner party to celebrate our friends’ new home, there is nothing that brings me more joy than a group of people I love, huddled around a table with good food and even better conversation. After many many many dinner parties between my NYC editorial life to the San Francisco restaurant tech world, I’ve developed a playbook for how to stop, drop and throw one anytime you want to bring people together.

Enter two children, a very hungry husband, busy jobs, a bigass renovation and the day-to-day life of motherhood here in the coastal town of Newburyport. We’re talking a daily breakfast rush, packed lunches, weeknight dinners, and a revolving door of friend and family entertainment. We love it. But it’s a lot! You can’t leave everything to chance the way I could in my twenties (what do we want for dinner tonight? I shall go to the beautiful little market for inspiration)—nope, you need a plan. And a strategy to accomplish it.

Chez Cesca is not a recipe website—it’s a place to get inspired, learn how to improvise, and get schooled with the skills you need to host and cook for your family in a way that doesn’t feel like the world’s longest plod. Food is a joy. It is a privilege. I learned so many essential skills from the world of Chez Panisse as I cooked in Rome over many summers alongside chefs from that restaurant, but perhaps the most important thing, was how to enjoy the effort of putting together a beautiful meal, and that no matter what you are making—kids’ waffles or a late summer soirée—it makes your guest feel welcomed, taken care of, nurtured. Welcome in.

Bread, wine, butter, salt… and a helluva lot of lilacs.