We’re private chefs living in Los Angeles.  We love food and books and bulldogs of all sizes.  We also love finding pretty stuff for our homes and kitchens.  We’re both from a family of four children, from families who sat down to dinner together every night.  Food-wise, we’ve done it all over the past ten years: worked in restaurants, catered, assisted celeb chefs, shot TV segments, started the company that started this blog, worked on cookbooks and shared a ton of meals with wonderful, food-loving people.

So why A & O? Because we connected over the same memory of the book we both loved when we were little. Within days of meeting each other in the fall of 2006 we knew we wanted to work together. We planned to make gourmet gift baskets for the holidays.  Beyond that? No idea. We met up over a cheese plate to decide what to name our company and the following discussion ensued:

“Did you ever read the Little House on the Prairie books?”
“Yes, but my favorite was really random…”
(interrupting, as usual) “Farmer Boy?”
“YES! No one else read the one about the boy!”
“That one was the best because his family was able to afford food, not just hard tack. And the descriptions of his mom cooking were amazing.”
“Yep, like the smell of apples and onions sauteing for his favorite pork dinner.”
“Exactly, apples and onions!”
“Apples and onions!”

If you meet someone in your adult life who was touched by the same description you loved in the most obscure book of a beloved children’s series, then we think you should start a business with them too.

Lydia:
nickname: Champers (as in champagne)
crime: habitual toast burner
fav author: Jhumpa Lahiri
designer: J Crew
fav color: Yves Klein Blue
scent: Jasmine and Gardenia
animal: french bulldog
style: Kate Middleton meets tomboy

Sarah:
nickname: Sa-sie
crime: re-reading novels when there’s work to be done.
fav author: impossible question! Cormac McCarthy, Charlotte Bronte.
designer: Elizabeth and James, Tibi
fav color: pale pink,  cognac (for leather goods)
scent: Philosykos for me and Foin Coupé (cut hay) for my candles.  Both by Diptyque
animal: horse
style: Chanel meets Wild West.

P.S. We love to hear from you.  Contact us at applesandonions@gmail.com to say hello, introduce a product or inquire about advertising opportunities.

Learn more about Lydia. Learn more about Sarah.