Out to Lunch: A Holiday Potluck with Chay Wike

“I love getting together with my friends around the holidays, but I wanted a way to do it without taking up their precious weekend time,” says Chay Wike, the creative force behind Chay, a favorite L.A. resource for home accessories, textiles, clothing, and gifts. “Lunch is always a low-stress event for everyone,” she says. “And, making it a potluck keeps it pressure-free for me.”

In fact, effortless entertaining is just one of the subjects Wike explores on her new website Butter, a sort of insider’s guide for the modern host, with recipes, remedies, and must-haves culled from her talented and diverse creative circle. Last week, Wike invited a few of these artists and designers—including Wendy Polish of Le Feu de L’Eau, Amanda Chantal Bacon of Moon Juice Shop,  Agnes Baddoo, Kathleen Whitaker and Debbie Leavitt of Sheswai Beauty to her downtown Los Angeles studio overlooking the Theatre District for a light, homemade lunch and catch-up.

To devise a well-balanced menu, Wike asked each guest to list a few of their go-to dishes, then assigned one. “We all tend to prepare the same five or six things over and over again,” Chay says. “Trading those ‘I can make it with my eyes closed’ recipes is a great way to expand your repertoire.” Some of the offerings on the rustic table (decorated with a fragrant Hollyflora centerpiece, vintage silverwear, and block print fabric re-upholstered dining chairs borrowed from Chay’s home) were roast salmon, curried lentils with mustard vinaigrette, a lemon pesto barley salad, shaved fennel and zucchini salad, a fritatta, and a raw cheese plate. For dessert? Fresh berries and an almond apricot cake. After the meal, guests left with a signature Chay organic tea blend, Le Feu de L’Eau mini candle, and wooden measuring spoon. “The holidays can be insane,” Chay says. “But this was easy, and fun.” ROOPIKA MALHOTRA