Cooking in Marfa: Welcome, We’ve Been Expecting You (Phaidon) introduces readers to the artist colony and ranching community in the remote country of Far West Texas. Written by Virginia Lebermann, co-founder of Ballroom Marfa and co-owner of famous dining venue The Capri, and Rocky Barnette, the chef at the restaurant, this new book offers an intimate look at the many facets that make the small town special. Boasting a foreword by chef Daniel Humm and photography by Douglas Friedman, the tome is a shrine to so many who make the pilgrimage here. Creative director and Texas native Trey Laird, the man behind ad campaigns and branding for mega brands like Tom Ford, Tiffany & Co. and Tory Burch, has been coming to Marfa for years and spends a lot of his time there alongside friends like Friedman.
Jenny Laird’s Texas Caviar recipe
“Marfa is this unique convergence of complete isolation yet complete connectivity and sophistication,” says Laird. Marfa is definitely a study in contradictions; it’s in the middle of the desert but connected to any number of important cultural happenings. “Donald Judd was just so visionary to take art out of a museum setting and make it an experience that’s connected to nature.” Devotees love the purity and authenticity that exists there. “It hasn’t been totally redesigned,” says Laird, who’s a Chinati Foundation board member. “It’s really a special group of like-minded people who have a connection to art and to the region.”
