Cool people doing cool things:
Meet Gaby Scelzo
If there's one thing you should know about Gaby Scelzo, it's that she can make a damn good cake. Along with baking custom cakes for all the New York it-girls, she also writes Perfect City, a newsletter filled with recommendations for where to eat in New York City.
I asked Gaby about her dream dinner party, and who (dead or alive) would be invited to this event. She also gave me 8 products to step up my hosting game and I've already ordered two of them. Read the full story below.
Hi Gaby! Introduce yourself to the readers:
I’m Gaby! I bake the custom cakes of people’s dreams (like cookie dough-frosted layer cakes & brown butter funfetti supermarket-inspired sheet cakes). I also write about where to eat in New York via my Substack, Perfect City.
Tell me about your dream dinner party:
It’s June, I somehow have a gorgeous backyard with a garden of sunflowers and basil and crunchy heads of lettuce. All of my friends are sitting at a long table, drinking Campari sodas with orange slices and olives floating in them, cold red wine and glasses of scotch with big ice cubes in them. There are mountains of bread and salted butter, pickled cherry bomb peppers and hunks of sharp cheese. I’m placing big plates of lemony spaghetti with lobster, tiny tomatoes and sweet corn on either end of the table. There are bottles of fernet and amaro, mini mugs for espresso, and a creamy cake covered in summer strawberries in the kitchen, waiting to be served once the sun finally sets and all the stars come out.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party, dead or alive?
Tom Thibodeau. All of the Knicks + RJ Barrett & Immanuel Quickley. My best friend who moved to Utah and his new dog. Shams Charania (handsome, charming, good gossip). Sabrina Carpenter, in which case I’d pivot the cake to something with espresso buttercream. Someone who knows where to go out dancing afterwards.
What's on your dinner party wish list?
CB2, Muse White Wine Glasses
These are perfect glasses. They’re thin and delicate and feel way more expensive than they are. They’re best for wine, but I also like drinking spritzes and iced coffees from them.
Cereria Introna via John Derian, Bundt Cake Candle
I’ve always admired these from afar but have never bought one because I’d never have the heart to burn it. I like that this bundt cake version has icing dripping down the sides, though, because I could burn it briefly at a dinner party while serving dessert and the melting wax would blend right into it.
Gohar World, Giant bow
Everything at Gohar World is so extravagant and kind of ridiculous, but I think good party hosts can and should be both of those things. This extra large striped bow is one of the ways I’d accomplish that as a host.
Ginori 1735, Dinner plate set
I’m too clumsy to ever own these, but damn, a table set with colorful Ginori plates is a dreamy image.
Zara Home, Small floral plates
The hotel I stayed in in Paris last time I was there served breakfast on plates that were eerily reminiscent of Ginori ones. I had to check, and my jaw honestly dropped when I flipped one over and saw it was from Zara Home.
Williams Sonoma, Extra long spoons
I like that these long, skinny spoons have so many different names: sundae spoons, milkshake spoons, stirring spoons, iced tea spoons. These are undoubtedly the best kind of flatware to eat almost any dessert with.
Vaisselle via Liberty, Cake stand
The cakes I bake are usually pretty silly and very decadent. This cake stand has a similar energy.
Orseund Iris, Halter Bow High Low Dress
I want to sip a spritz, twirl pasta and serve cake in this dress. It’s the ideal hostess dress — simple but still completely over the top.
