In 1996, Princeton resident Debbie Tunnell, fresh from a vacation, got an idea: She would write a cookbook featuring recipes she’d created for her catering company including unusual dishes with easy-to-follow directions. But for the time being, she set aside her idea to focus on her family. In 2001 she invited friend Dale Engelbert to participate in the project, and designer Susan Szymanski soon joined them. The newly established trio called themselves Recipeas4u and began work on the book by catering and planning parties for friends.
They decided to concentrate on events in the Princeton area—“There are so many pockets of beautiful places here,” Tunnell says—and a few parties later, in 2004, they published Sacred Spaces: Princeton Parties, Gatherings and Celebrations (Recipeas4u, $65). The book offers an intimate peek at dinner and cocktail parties, including a gathering of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and a luncheon at Drumthwacket, the governor’s mansion. Renowned photographer Ricardo Barros shot most of the pictures for the book, which is available at www.recipeas4u.com and www.barnesandnoble.com, as well as several Princeton-area shops, including the Princeton University Store, Micawber Books, and Go for Baroque.
Recipeas4u will offer a cooking class demonstrating ideas from the book on the 6th at the Princeton Market Fair. For more information visit www.recipeas4u.com
Article from November, 2005 Issue.