The Kitchen and the Studio: A Memoir of Food and Art

The Kitchen and the Studio: A Memoir of Food and Art is a cookbook, an art book, a memoir, and a love story. Artist John A. O’Connor and Art Historian Mallory M. O’Connor met at the University of California, Davis, in 1962. They were married in January 1963. From the beginning, they shared a passion for good food and wine that has continued for over sixty years.

This book is both a memoir of their life together as artists and teachers and a collection of the special celebrations that they shared with a wide variety of guests over the years. The book includes more than one hundred recipes from their collection, each illustrated with John’s original paintings. Every occasion has a story to tell about a time and a place when friends and family came together to share their lives, their passions, and their daily bread.

In this unique love story of a creative couple who have always “lived the artist’s life,” John and Mallory O’Connor share their favorite special occasions and recipes along with the places and the people who made them memorable.