An appetite for life: Tarajia Morrell’s “Desire Feeds the Feast”

In her new memoir, “Desire Feeds the Feast,” writer Tarajia Morrell traces a life shaped by an appetite for beauty, pleasure and belonging. On Saturday, Oct. 24, Morrell will discuss the book with fellow author Dani Shapiro, whose works include the memoir “Inheritance” and the novel “Signal Fires,” at a prerelease event at Troutbeck in Amenia. Published by Zibby Books, a women-led startup, “Desire Feeds the Feast” will be released Nov. 3.

Described by author Chris Pavone as “a deeply gratifying emotional feast of a memoir: poetic, dramatic, romantic, atmospheric, sensual, evocative, poignant, heartbreaking, heartwarming,” this tale brings readers on a restless journey. Morrell writes of the “electric excess” of the New York City club scene in the late 1990s and the Hollywood tables where she waited on celebrities while pursuing her acting career. Her wanderlust took her to the beaches in Uruguay, where she discovered the “brine and brightness” of ceviche, the splendor of Barcelona’s food markets and, back home, the simple pleasure of a ripe plum eaten by her “graceful mother.”

Her family founded fine wine mecca Morrell & Co., a fine wine destination in New York City. “I grew up in a family where the next meal was an ever shifting, but constant lodestar, where the pleasures of the table were paramount.”

Morrell is currently the communications director for Troutbeck and Litchfield’s Belden House & Mews. She continued, “I’m finally doing what I want - writing about characters through the lenses of food, wine, and travel, and helping specialty hospitality brands and restaurants to grow.”

Morrell explains, “Food is the metronome keeping the rhythm of my days, of my life. It’s the source of pleasure for the people I love most and hold dearest, my family. It is how we show each other love, and how we show love for friends. I find a meditative pleasure in the kitchen.”

Her friend, chef Gabe McMackin once wrote, “Tarajia, it is a privilege to work with you, to have your guidance, your enthusiasm, your thoughtfulness, your imagination and the love you put into all that you do. I feel fortunate to create things with you, but also to have your perspective on the world - to see the light and joy you bring into it as a part of our community and our lives.”

Morrell shares that her greatest pleasure is her daughter. “Just inhaling her, kissing her, making her laugh and sharing her with my parents and friends who help me parent alone. My mother is my absolute muse. She is incredibly strong. Her strength comes from steadiness and consistency. I hope that I’m passing that on to my child. Gathering at a table with the people I love. Love, loss, appetite, motherhood, home, friendship. To me these are the crux of everything.”

Morrell, a native New Yorker, co-authored “Savor: A Chef’s Hunger for More” with Fatima Ali. The book won a James Beard Award and was named one of Oprah’s best books of 2022. She also wrote “Soul of New York: A Guide to 30 Exceptional Experiences.” Her food and wine writing has appeared in publications including WSJ Magazine, Food & Wine, Departures and Cherry Bombe.

Shapiro lives in Litchfield County and has written 11 books. She is the creator of the podcast “Family Secrets.” Her novel “Signal Fires” and memoir “Inheritance” won National Jewish Book Awards. Her work has been published in 14 languages.

For tickets to the book talk on Oct. 24, visit
troutbeck.com.