Jennifer Rubell

Jennifer Rubell

Food & Entertaining Writer: Cookbook Author

Jennifer Rubell, 36, writer, renowned hostess, hotelier, Harvard grad and member of the illustrious Rubell clan, is poised to become the country’s newest entertaining guru.  Jennifer is currently Food and Entertaining Editor of the Miami Herald’s Home & Design magazine, Former Contributing Food Editor of, the recently folded (March 2009), Condé Nast shelter magazine Domino, and her first book, Real Life Entertaining, was released in May 2006 by HarperCollins.  She writes regularly for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, and has appeared in, among others, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W, Better Homes and Gardens, Elle, The New York Times, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Travel + Leisure, Ocean Drive and Food & Wine. In 2007, Paper Magazine named Jennifer one of its 30 most beautiful people.  

Entertaining is in Jennifer Rubell’s blood.  Her uncle, the late Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell, treated Jennifer as his own child, taking her along to parties with Halston, Calvin Klein, Liza Minelli and Bianca Jagger, and inviting her to every major event at Studio 54, starting at the age of 7.  Her parents, world-renowned contemporary art collectors Donald and Mera Rubell, became famous in the ‘80s for the Whitney Biennial after-party they hosted at their Upper East Side townhouse.  With artists like Keith Haring, Jean Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel and Andy Warhol roaming around the house, Mera turned out bowl after bowl of spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce, with Jennifer at her side learning the Rubell family style:  personal, unconventional and decidedly hands-on.

2mins
It’s a way of feeling like you have a human connection to someone that you really don’t even know.
4mins
Rubell usually starts with one ingredient.
1mins
We are eating food from all over, and the seasons are no longer an issue.
2mins
Food should not be mass produced regardless of whether or not it is organic.
1mins
The obesity issue is a direct result of the lack of home cooking.
1mins
Rubell thinks that in this country, people are open to new ideas.
1mins
Rubell thinks the vibe is what makes a great restaurant.
1mins
You’renot a getting a view into a real human being’s cooking.
2mins
Rubell feels there are many talented chefs out there.
1mins
A great home cook needs much less than a great professional chef.
1mins
Serve everything at room temperature, and serve one hot dish.
1mins
The ideal kitchen is in the center of the house.
1mins
Rubell likes a good knife and a heavy pan. She can live without appliances.
Rubell always has olive oil, sea salt, pepper, garlic, lemon, and herbs.
Good ingredients and a modern conception.
2mins
Women tend to stay earthy, and men lean toward restaurant style cooking.
3mins
Cooking is the antidote of consumerism.