My favorite NPR Show The Splendid Table
Lynne Rossetto Kasper of NPR’s The Splendid Table interviews Heather Dane and Louise Hay on learning to love yourself: ‘That’s the most important thing in the world’. They explore the connection between digestive and emotional health.The interview with Lynne Rossetto Kasper takes place at a local studio that she and the wonderful folks at The Splendid Table arranged for us since we were on the road and visiting Savannah..
It was December 2014 and Louise Hay, author of the international bestselling book, You Can Heal Your Life and founder of Hay House Publishing and my favorite soulmate giggler, cooked up a great idea: a trip to Savannah, GA!
My husband, Joel, and I had lived in Atlanta, GA back when I was with The Coca-Cola Company (clearly before I changed my diet and my health!), but we had never visited Savannah at that time. We were game to check it out and to round out the fun, Terah Kathryn Collins, bestselling Hay House author and Feng shui expert, came along with us.
Our goal was simply to explore Savannah, to enjoy Savannah’s 22 historic and beautiful outdoor squares, soak up the Southern hospitality and learn more about Southern food.
An Interview with Lynne Rossetto Kasper
that was pure fun!On our way to Savannah, we got the call from Hay House PR that Lynne Rossetto Kasper of The Splendid Table, wanted to interview us about our book, Loving Yourself to Great Health: Thoughts and Food–The Ultimate Diet. Louise and I were so excited because we love listening to The Splendid Table and even included some of the things we learned from the show in our book. Lynne’s team arranged for us to visit a remote recording studio in Savannah for the interview. While I’ve been at the Hay House Radio recording studio, this was my first time doing a show like this. Louise was a pro and I took her lead as we sat down and got our mics and headsets adjusted.
Lynne made the interview smooth and easy, as did Louise. We had a great time and laughed quite a bit. Honestly, it didn’t feel like work — it felt more like another adventure we were having while in Savannah.
Even Louise said, “that was not work, that was pure fun!” as we were driving back into town.
Southern People, Southern Food
Louise loves to find local restaurants that serve good, healthy food. At first, we were not finding much more than the usual fried green tomatoes and macaroni and cheese — and while these are quintessential Southern fare, we wanted to experience a wider range of Southern cooking. One day, on her morning walk, Terah Kathryn Collins spotted Maxwell’s and thought it looked like the perfect place. The interior was beautifully decorated and it had an inviting not-too-big or too-small look. As suspected, the food was excellent. And as a delightful bonus, the staff made us feel like family within the first 30 minutes of our arrival.
Spirit Forward
Our waiter, Kevin, was friendly, knowledgeable and taught me the phrase, “spirit forward.” Spirit forward cocktails, as they are known by the hip-in-the-know crowd (which I wasn’t!) as cocktails with a base spirit with a touch of vermouth, dry sherry, bitters and possibly a touch of fruit syrup or twist of lemon or lime. Think Martini or Manhattan. Kevin could recommend a wine or cocktail for just about any food, taste or mood.
The kitchen is too small for butter…On the first night, we learned that the chef did not have butter in the kitchen because the kitchen is “too small.” This answer made us laugh out loud and we immediately began joking with Kevin about how small a kitchen had to be in order to have no room for butter. We actually love butter and after decades of banishment from the healthy eating world, butter came roaring back as a healthy food option, gracing the covers of Time Magazine and several major newspapers. Studies now show that butter is a health food. We are seeing this more and more often — with once-vilified traditional foods coming back into praised status due to their rediscovered health benefits (coconut oil and sea salt are two examples). In any event, we love butter — especially if it’s organic, raw and from pasture-fed, ethically treated animals.
For the next two nights, we went back to Maxwell’s and brought our own organic, raw butter, which brought more laughter to the whole group. By the third night, Chef James came out to meet us and laugh with us about our butter shenanigans. The owner, Catherine Bruce, also talked to Louise about her work. Louise taught Catherine to do mirror work and recently, Catherine wrote to say she’s still doing it every day. I think we all felt we’d found a family away from home and clearly, everything from the food, to the butter and mirror work — and most of all, the love and laughter — made a difference for all of us.
Forsyth Square
We took a tour of Savannah, enjoyed the beautiful, historic squares and learned about the Savannah’s commitment to historic architecture. We also listened to great music and truly enjoyed the understated Christmas decorations in the city.
Louise’s hotel room overlooked Ellis Square, which she loved because she could watch all the hustle and bustle of the people below. And, live music was only a few steps away.
Our whole group loved Savannah’s Southern hospitality and met some of the nicest people at every stage of our trip. The best memory is of the people we met, who laughed with us the whole way.
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