Victory Club is…
The membership organization I founded to bring together friends of friends over the culinary and visual arts. Meals are hosted two to three times per month in art spaces — artists’ studios, private collections, galleries and museums — where I get to cook! The menu items are always inspired by the art on the walls.

And about the name…
It comes from a desire to celebrate the small victories in day-to-day life.

I was inspired to start it because…
I felt a gap between my creative life at Columbia, where I spent four years painting, studying languages and writing poetry, and what followed. After graduation, I became a financial analyst in Silicon Valley, and Victory Club is exactly what I wished existed when I was doing that job: a way to meet people over a shared enjoyment of art and a meal.

An example of a recent Victory Club event theme…
The work of New York artist Peter H Mackie. I fell in love with a series where he painted gold and silver leaf on athletic objects to make them “more regal.” To create a dialogue between his work and the lunch, the menu items referenced this series: the salmon’s metallic scales and silver-plated pumpkin seeds evoked the precious media he uses. The dessert course included a chocolate house, referencing the iconic houses created by Peter’s late wife Elba Damast. Henrik Olsson, the New York director of the Olsson Art Collection and a dear friend, introduced me to Peter and Elba’s works.

My tips to transforming your home for a dinner party…
Have a bottle of Perrier-Jouët open when guests arrive and (several) others on standby. Nothing signals a party like the sound of a bottle opening — or a full wine glass. I like to put a sculpture on the table, so that art is literally the centerpiece for conversation. Flowers and candles are nice too, but parties are really about people. Great people make a dinner a party.

My insider tip when it comes to seating…
I always sit nearest to the kitchen and try to seat the shyest people next to me. Also, I do my place cards last minute — you never know when there will be a surprise guest!

And to kick-start the dinner conversation…
I fill everyone’s glasses and thank them for coming!

My favorite holiday dish…
Trays and trays of cookies! Victory Club is hosting a cookie swap at Geary Contemporary this December, and I’m going to bake my famous chocolate chip cookies for the event. Also excited to see what my other foodie friends bring…. Brookie’s Cookies, Eleni’s, Amy’s Bread and Emily Morse of New Fork City are some of the wonderful friends whipping up scrumptious sweet bites!

And cocktail…
Too many to list! I collect all of my ideas on Pinterest here.

No Victory Club event is complete without…
One of my hand-painted menus, the Victory Club signature napkins (which I sell and still embroider in my apartment), great art, food and people.

For Thanksgiving, you’ll find me…
Finding ways to use the plating techniques I learned at ICC to interpret traditional Thanksgiving fare at my family’s dinner table. I will play with sous-vide and try to share my tricks on Instagram…. Stay tuned!