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James Kenji Lopez-Alt - Cooking on the River: Episode 1
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About This Title
It was the most intense beauty and serenity punctuated by moments of exhilaration, exaltation, and occasional panic. It was slowly understanding that what we create—the human connections, the music and food, the beauty we share with each other—is simultaneously the most insignificant thing in the universe and the only thing that really matters to us.
This past September, Lena and I headed to the deserts of southeastern Utah to cook on a four-day rafting trip down the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon. It’s the final event in the Moab Music Festival, a classical musical series that brings world-class musicians and composers into some of the most extraordinary natural venues in the world. Concerts take place under the stars, among the red rocks, at farms and ranches, in steep grottoes reachable only by traveling downriver on a boat—a particularly impressive feat considering these concerts feature a concert grand piano.
And the music comes with us on the rafting trip: Violinist and festival artistic director Tessa Lark and cellist and composer Paul Wiancko brought carbon fiber instruments to play concerts as we floated down the river, at camp each night before dinner, and every morning to wake us gently as the sun broke over the canyon walls.
Me and Lena’s job? Make sure everyone stays well-fed during the four-day, three-night, completely off-grid trip.
It’s a very different kind of cooking from feeding a family or even operating a restaurant. Meals need to be planned around what we can pack and store in coolers with zero refrigeration. Each night Lena, the crew, and I set up a brand new jerry-rigged camp kitchen. There’s a lot to plan for: Wind that kicks up the dusty riverbanks and tries to carry it into our pots and pans. A river that doesn’t care how wet you—or your supplies—get. Wildlife that has far more claim over the land than we do. And the occasional freak hailstorm.
This was not my first trip (I cooked for the guests last September as well) but this time, with Lena along to help coordinate between myself and the river crew from Sheri Griffith River Expeditions, things promised to go smoother than ever.
And this year, I didn’t just bring my wok. We also brought cameras to try and capture a bit of what it’s like to be out on the river and bring you Frienjis along.
Over the following three episodes, you’ll see the work that goes into feeding people in an environment that is as inhospitable as it is beautiful, along with the music inspired by the land, the conversations between old friends and strangers, the white waters, and the stretches of silence in between. I hope we’ve managed to share a little of what it felt like to be there.
— Kenji
It was the most intense beauty and serenity punctuated by moments of exhilaration, exaltation, and occasional panic. It was slowly understanding that what we create—the human connections, the music and food, the beauty we share with each other—is simultaneously the most insignificant thing in the universe and the only thing that really matters to us.
This past September, Lena and I headed to the deserts of southeastern Utah to cook on a four-day rafting trip down the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon. It’s the final event in the Moab Music Festival, a classical musical series that brings world-class musicians and composers into some of the most extraordinary natural venues in the world. Concerts take place under the stars, among the red rocks, at farms and ranches, in steep grottoes reachable only by traveling downriver on a boat—a particularly impressive feat considering these concerts feature a concert grand piano.
And the music comes with us on the rafting trip: Violinist and festival artistic director Tessa Lark and cellist and composer Paul Wiancko brought carbon fiber instruments to play concerts as we floated down the river, at camp each night before dinner, and every morning to wake us gently as the sun broke over the canyon walls.
Me and Lena’s job? Make sure everyone stays well-fed during the four-day, three-night, completely off-grid trip.
It’s a very different kind of cooking from feeding a family or even operating a restaurant. Meals need to be planned around what we can pack and store in coolers with zero refrigeration. Each night Lena, the crew, and I set up a brand new jerry-rigged camp kitchen. There’s a lot to plan for: Wind that kicks up the dusty riverbanks and tries to carry it into our pots and pans. A river that doesn’t care how wet you—or your supplies—get. Wildlife that has far more claim over the land than we do. And the occasional freak hailstorm.
This was not my first trip (I cooked for the guests last September as well) but this time, with Lena along to help coordinate between myself and the river crew from Sheri Griffith River Expeditions, things promised to go smoother than ever.
And this year, I didn’t just bring my wok. We also brought cameras to try and capture a bit of what it’s like to be out on the river and bring you Frienjis along.
Over the following three episodes, you’ll see the work that goes into feeding people in an environment that is as inhospitable as it is beautiful, along with the music inspired by the land, the conversations between old friends and strangers, the white waters, and the stretches of silence in between. I hope we’ve managed to share a little of what it felt like to be there.
— Kenji
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