Have a Seat at the Table
It all begins with an idea.
When I first started building Chez Madeline, I didn’t really set out to create a website. I just wanted a place to share the things I love: the meals, the moments, the way setting a table can feel like setting the tone for a memory. Over time, it became more than that. It became a home for the little rituals that make my life feel full: choosing flowers, stirring a sauce slowly, lighting candles before guests arrive, creating space for people to gather. This site and this section especially, is an extension of that idea. A Seat at the Table is my way of inviting you in, not just to the finished dishes, but to the heart of what hosting means to me. It’s where I’ll share the behind-the-scenes moments, the lessons learned, and the inspiration that keeps me reaching for my apron and pulling out an extra chair.
I look back on dinners I’ve planned, the flowers chosen at the market that morning, the playlist that carried the night, the dessert that maybe didn’t set perfectly but made everyone smile anyway, and I collect them like memory threads, weaving them into something that feels like home.
This space is as much for me as it is for anyone reading. A place to capture what I’ve done, and more importantly, to inspire myself for future gatherings. To hold onto the details, the lessons, the little sparks of creativity that turn a meal into a memory. If Chez Madeline is the kitchen and the table, A Seat at the Table is the conversation that happens around it. The storytelling. The exchange. The part where we all lean in a little closer. So pull up a chair. Have a seat at the table. There’s always room here — for a new recipe, a new idea, a new friend, a new story. And I hope each time you visit, you leave feeling a little more inspired to set your own table, in your own way.