Perfume Making With Mandy Aftel

Last month we were honored to have Mandy Aftel come down from Berkeley to give an inspiring perfume making workshop at my house. Even though it was a record breaking hot day (climate change rearing it’s head), it still turned out to be a wonderful day. My lovely friend Kirsty Hume and I hosted the tea, while Mandy taught us about the exotic blends of natural scents and their historical legacies. We were then were able to make our own from Mandy’s exquisite collection. We had amazing scents ranging from ambergris (rare substance from sperm whales) to fir and Turkish roses. The beautiful tea was all hand made by Danielle Steckler from Paper Palate Catering and she was able to infuse  many of her bakery goods with Mandy’s specialized essences for chefs. The menu was:

Sweet Breads: Almond Blood Orange, banana ginger, polenta yellow mandarin.

Tarts: Apricot Orange, Chocolate cardamon ricotta, mascarpone aspargus.

Sandwiches: Asparagus egg, radish french butter, curried chicken salad

Cookies: shortbread, jam sandwiches, and chocolate chip cookies.

 

Lovely photos by Mel Blanchard.