Natelege Bryant’s new cookbook reminds readers that the kitchen is a magical place

It’s not often that a divorce is the genesis of a celebration or the birth of a new business, but sometimes the sweetest moments in life have a bitter start.

“I got divorced, and I was inviting friends over to change the energy of the house,” said cookbook author and catering company owner Natelege Bryant. She used the art of cooking as a tool in her healing; filling her home with friends and loved ones while cooking food was an easy way to bring joy and purpose back into her life.

“My family celebrates everything, we get together often,” Bryant said.

The kitchen, and the love-infused food that it provides, is at the center of those familial celebrations. It’s the prelude and the denouement of jovial times, even in times of sorrow or need.

“The kitchen is a magical place,” she said.

Bryant’s second cookbook, Celebrations: Recipes for Life’s Sweetest Moments, encompasses the festivity of everyday life and how to achieve your greatest hosting goals. Some find throwing a party daunting and don’t know where to start or shy away from hosting duties; others just need inspiration or an organizational system for a kickstart. Everyone from seasoned professionals to hosting novices will pick up tips and tricks for a successful party with Bryant’s guidance. Bryant’s carefree yet matter-of-fact tone dances across the page, explaining everything in great detail from how to choose salt and pepper for the table to full-color tasting menus with simple, elegant presentations.

The photography-heavy guide showcases elaborate tablescapes using everyday household items with touches of luxury and beautiful imagery and styling of each recipe. For example, the sample baby shower menu dives right into luscious hand-rolled Moroccan-glazed meatballs, a platter of whole sweet and sticky chicken wings, delicate and striking horseradish deviled eggs with pickled red onions, and simple but chic pickled crudites with whipped feta and aged honey. The dinner-for-two menu starts with kale salad studded with drunken cherries, pecans and mozzarella and ends with a chocolate mousse garnished with fresh whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Bryant’s first foray into the world of food media began with a blog, recipe development with photography and food styling.

“Someone asked if I catered and I said yes, even though I didn’t,” she said and thus, her catering services company, Virginia and Co., was born. Based in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, her business grew first by word of mouth. After a nearly two decades-long career as a retail store manager, she went full-time two years ago. The company turned five in 2022.

Her first cookbook, Heritage: My Journey Told Through Food, was published in October 2020 and is her love letter to honor the cooking traditions of her ancestors, which include culinary traditions from the Gullah Islands in South Carolina, eastern North Carolina and the James River in Prince George County in Virginia. While the recipes in that book are an internal extension of that familial love letter, Celebrations focuses on outward beauty and luxury being attainable with the right tools. In the style of B. Smith and the late, great Edna Lewis, Bryant’s book epitomizes style, grace and seasonal celebration planning.

“I hope people look at this and make their next celebration beautiful,” she said.