Deeda Blair - (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Deeda Blair is one of the last great American swans, revered by cult followers for her enduring beauty, fashion taste, and easy elegance. She embodies a sense of decorum and practices a relaxed, graceful etiquette that is much lauded but often missing from today's soiéres and gatherings. An invitation to Blair's New York home has been a rare privilege, but now, in her first book, Blair invites readers in and reveals how they too can develop their own uniquely personal style. Central to the narrative are six fantasy meals, each accompanied by a menu, recipes, table settings, and floral arrangements that are inspired by the people and places that have shaped Blair's own inimitable and envied taste and style. Each meal is set in Blair's exquisite home and is accompanied by photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo's evocative images of the imaginative table settings Blair has created for her timeless dishes. Accompanying Blair's coveted eighty recipes are personal anecdotes and helpful serving suggestions. Renowned design writer and tastemaker Deborah Needleman collaborated closely with Blair to capture her vision for entertaining with fantasy and enchantment, as well as her reflections on life and how her experiences have influenced the way she lives, works, and entertains."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Style icon and preeminent hostess Catherine "Deeda" Blair shares her inspirations for entertaining with understated elegance and distinction, accompanied by menus, recipes, table settings, and charming stories about her extraordinarily colorful life.

Deeda Blair is one of the last great American swans, revered by cult followers for her enduring beauty, fashion taste, and easy elegance. She embodies a sense of decorum and practices a relaxed, graceful etiquette that is much lauded but often missing from today's soirées and gatherings.

An invitation to Blair's New York home has been a rare privilege, but now, in her first book, Blair invites readers in and reveals how they too can develop their own uniquely personal style. Central to the narrative are six fantasy meals, each accompanied by a menu, recipes, table settings, and floral arrangements that are inspired by the people and places that have shaped Blair's own inimitable and envied taste and style. Each meal is set in Blair's exquisite home and is accompanied by photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo's evocative images of the imaginative table settings Blair has created for her timeless dishes. Accompanying Blair's coveted eighty recipes are personal anecdotes and helpful serving suggestions. Renowned design writer and tastemaker Deborah Needleman collaborated closely with Blair to capture her vision for entertaining with fantasy and enchantment, as well as her reflections on life and how her experiences have influenced the way she lives, works, and entertains.

Review Quotes

"Holiday Book Pick: You're invited to the home and world of hostess and style icon Deeda Blair, who with author Deborah Needleman and photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo, has assembled menus, recipes, and tablescapes together in a remarkable tribute to a famed entertainer." --ELLE DECOR

"Best Fall book pick: An invitation into the inimitable Deeda Blair's graceful and intriguing world is an invitation that can't be missed! With eloquent tips for setting a table and hosting an unforgettable dinner party, inspiration abounds in this book from one of America's most legendary social butterflies." --FREDERIC MAGAZINE

"Passionate philanthropist, traveler, aesthete, and hostess, Deeda Blair tells of her loves in a new book; Food, Flowers, and Fantasy. Here, she discusses the release and other aspects of her colorful life." --FLOWER MAGAZINE

"Here, the inimitable socialite shares her inspirations for entertaining with an understated elegance and distinction. The time is chock-full of menus, recipes, table settings, and charming stories about her extraordinarily colorful life. This is one to give to your very favorites." --SOCIETY CHRONICLES

"The medical research advocate and style arbiter maintains that curiosity breeds good taste." --W MAGAZINE

"There are very few truly elegant people in this world and Deeda Blair: Food, Flowers & Fantasy published by Rizzoli today gives us peek into her life, her apartment, her inspiration, her entertaining, and her address book, in addition to places that have inspired her fantasy dinner parties." --HABITUALLY CHIC

"I devoured Deeda Blair's Rizzoli book Food, Flowers & Fantasy, and was particularly charmed by her tablescapes. She uses the most incredibly frosty floral table linens in whispery blues and purples and grays topped with Aptware and very delicate Limoges porcelain, and this embroidered tablecloth by Tory Burch is very much the look and mood.' --HARPER'S BAZAAR

About the Author

Deeda Blair is a fashion icon and a philanthropist of science and medicine based in New York. Deborah Needleman is a writer, editor, and craftsperson. She currently contributes to the New York Times, the Financial Times, and Cabana magazine. Andrew Solomon is a writer, lecturer, activist, professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University, and a regular contributor to the New Yorker, NPR, and the New York Times Magazine.