We always wish we could spend the day in the shoes of people we love here at Kanon. Luckily for us, Friends of Kanon are always inviting us into their lives whether that be through events or inviting us over for dinner. After all, the best way to our hearts is through our stomachs and cocktail glasses, and being all heart, we're always on the lookout for new friends who can help us with that.
When we heard that Joshua Katcher of The Discerning Brute, a website that chronicles "fashion, food and etiquette for the ethically handsome man," also runs a vegan dinner series called Gracious Gourmand, we knew we would become fast friends with him too. This newest FOK gives us a look at a regular day in his life from a bounty of delicious vegan meals to working on his website and styling jobs for an anti-fur project topped off with a sparkling Kanon cocktail we're craving. Here's Joshua's day:
I am a conscientious hedonist. That is, I'm a person that seeks out pleasure and prioritizes aesthetics ethically. Some might argue that placing any limitations on the pursuit of pleasure, joy or fulfillment is a compromise, but what I've found is that when you indulge in anything - from a perfect cappuccino to a cozy and handsome coat, the pleasure is heightened in the knowledge that those things were created in an ethical manner, where more than just self or convenience is considered. This is also what I love about Kanon - it's a delicious vodka, and it's organic, made in a wind-powered facility, and has been that way since the 16th century.
9am: I am finalizing the menu for the evening's Gracious Gourmand supper-club. Enzo, the rescued Chihuahua, likes to get in on the action. My lap is his preferred location. We'll soon go for our morning walk and deliver the menus to the cafe. I am sporting some great thrift store finds, like the acrylic knit sweater and the cotton moleskin peacoat. A lot of what I do on TheDiscerningBrute.com is offer ethical fashion advice to men. Thrifting is one of the easiest and fun ways to shop ethically. When no new resources have to be extracted, that is ideal. The glasses you see are vintage frames from Fabulous Fanny's, a rad vintage glasses store in the East Village.
10am: I drop in on my friend Esther Bell's new cafe, The West Cafe (dedicated to Mae West) in Williamsburg. They've been using the Brooklyn Roasting Company's coffee, which is a very strong contender in a neighborhood full of amazing, smooth, velvety coffees. I have a soy latte with some Mast Brothers spicy chocolate and a NYC bagel with tofu cream cheese. Yep, I'm vegan. Knowing I'll have to get my money's worth at the gym later, we chat for a while and then I have blunch (past brunch, before lunch). I just invented that. I'm an inventor as well. And a failed comedian, too. I love to eat! So I have a baguette with hummus, apples and beets and a small pickled brussel sprouts plate and another soy latte. I think I read a study somewhere that rationalizes this much coffee. The tattoos you see were made by artist Seth Wood - a fellow vegan artist. The left arm is a work in progress featuring several species of extinct birds from Passenger Pigeons to Carolina Parakeets and the Laughing Owl. It's a daily reminder to me to keep focused on my passion.
12pm: I head over to the photo studio in midtown where we're shooting the new PINNACLE editorial, which is an anti-fur fashion project that asks designers and artists to put a new spin on the classic anti-fur pin by created accessories and fashion imagery that communicates the anti-fur message in a way that the fashion community can embrace. So far we've featured John Bartlett, Stella McCartney, Victoria Bartlett, Ashton Michael, Vaute Couture, Olsen Haus, Cri De Coeur and a bunch of other ethical designers in our shoots - and we've been building a pretty big cabal of contributors, from professional models who have become our spokesmodels to makeup artists, hair artists and photographers. Today's shoot is being shot by Anthony Two Moons, a vegan photographer and friend, with hair by Alejandra Nerizigal, makeup by Christopher Drummond, and styling by yours truly. Jessica Sjoo, Elle cover girl and vegan yogi was one of our models and helped plan the shoot. What shoot would be complete without fresh scones from Champs Family Bakery or sandwiches from V-Note?
The boots I'm wearing are these great new non-leather boots from Novacas and they are made fairly in Portugal. The shoes I am tying are also vegan, from Cri de Coeur.
5pm: I pick up some Dr. Cows aged cashew cheese and vegan chocolates and truffles from Cocoa V and have a pre-dinner snack on my way back to Brooklyn. Dr. Cows is an amazing little cheese factory that is tucked away under the Williamsburg Bridge. The alchemists behind the small wheels of goodness are handsome Argentinean transplants that could pass for South American Gelflings. They are raw and vegan and are raising a gorgeous little girl. They add cultures, molds, and magic to nut paste (as opposed to cows milk) and then age it, and the result is a nutty, delectable cheese. The chocolates from Cocoa V are divine - especially the peanut butter creme argyle one, and their hot cocoa in the winter is worth trudging through snow for.
6pm: I arrive at the Second Stop Cafe where Chef Ella Nemcova has been busy prepping her dinner for the evening's Gracious Gourmand supper club. She designed a rose-water infused, sparkling Kanon Organic Vodka martini with chocolate kisses to go with her six-course meal. My favorite part about hosting Gracious Gourmand is getting to eat and photograph the food. The small back room is transformed into a warm, glowing restaurant with flowers, candles and the din of a small crowd. There are only two seatings of 15. I head down to the kitchen and check in on the Faux-Gras truffles with bing-cherries and pistachio (and by check in on, I mean eat one). Ella's Faux-Gras is so delish, and she sells it packaged in NYC. Unlike real foie gras, this plant-based pate was not once a duck or goose who was force-fed with a huge metal tube injector until her liver becomes painfully diseased. This pate is delicious and ethical. The main course was rice cannelloni stuffed with lobster mushroom, pecan, braised leek and tempeh in mirin-poached enoki and a porcini cream sauce. Need I say more. Mind blowing.
Midnight: More food. That Dr. Cow's cheese is addictive! On some crisp watermelon radish with hot sauce, black salt and kiwifruit, this goodnight snack hits the spot. It's off to dreamland. I didn't get to the gym...but there's always tomorrow. Bon Nuit.
