‘Food Between Friends’

Palisadian Julie Tanous and Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson Share Passion for Cooking

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Sometimes a chance encounter can spawn a life-changing idea or even kindle a life-long friendship.

That occurred when actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Palisadian recipe developer Julie Tanous happened to meet at a dinner in Los Angeles. The two immediately bonded over their shared passion for creating delicious food and quickly became great friends.

They have loved cooking together ever since, and as a way to share their delectable creations with the world, the duo co-founded a food blog called “Julie & Jesse Cook” where they share all the dishes they want to eat.

Their collaboration has also resulted in “Food Between Friends,” a hardcover, 272-page cookbook that was released on March 9 by Clarkson Potter Publishers, and is now available on Amazon and Google Play.

“Jesse and I met in 2015 at a pop-up dinner party hosted by the Spring Street Social Society, which is, sadly, no longer,” Tanous said. “I was uptight about going to the dinner alone and when I got there, I reluctantly sat down at the only available seat, which happened to be next to Jesse and blurted out, ‘I think I have Spring Street Social anxiety!’”

Tanous said he let out a big laugh, and they two were fast friends.

“There’s that cliché about meeting someone and instantly feeling like you’ve known each other for a lifetime,” Tanous said. “Well, as someone who suffers from occasional social anxiety, the notion of instant chemistry was something that only happened in the movies. Yet, from the moment we met, Jesse and I had this amazing bond and a shared passion for cooking. In fact, that first night we decided to write a cookbook together.”

In their debut book, the authors bring their blog to life, focusing on the joys of marrying food and friendship while paying homage to their hometowns as they seamlessly merge modern Californian cuisine with the richness of Southern dishes, and the intense, peppery flavors of the Southwest.

They put unique twists on childhood favorites, including dishes ranging from Hatch Green Chile Mac and Cheese, Grilled Chicken with Alabama White BBQ Sauce, and Beer-Battered Catfish Tacos to Little Grits Soufflés, and Biscuits with Cracked Peppercorn Gravy.

They share recipes for a variety of meals, sides, desserts and drinks, spiced with stories they say are pulled right from their “platonic marriage.”

“As an avid cookbook collector and lover of great food, I am so honored that ‘Food Between Friends’ will sit on kitchen bookshelves soon,” said Ferguson, who is best known for his portrayal of Mitchell Pritchett in the TV sitcom “Modern Family”—a role that has earned him five Emmy Award nominations and four People’s Choice Award nominations. “Julie and I have spent the last few years lovingly creating a collection of delicious recipes, and we can’t wait to share them with the world.”

In 2017 and again in 2019, Ferguson hosted the James Beard Awards, a show recognizing culinary professionals across the country. Now a proud father, the 45-year-old from Missoula, Montana, lives in Los Angeles with his husband, lawyer Justin Mikita, and their baby, Beckett.

“We started cooking together once a week, for our friends, our families or just for each other,” shared Tanous, who was born and raised in Alabama but now lives in the Alphabet Streets with her husband Will, their two children and their French bulldog. “Even on a really bad cook day where everything failed, we found ourselves hysterically laughing. We had so much fun exploring ingredients that connected us to our childhoods—like hatch green chiles that were native to his home state of New Mexico, or sorghum syrup, which was something I grew up with in Alabama.

“We were constantly cooking dishes for each other that our moms made for us as kids, and then we’d smash two recipes together and create Southern-New Mexican hybrids. Every recipe in the book is inspired by someone or something very personal.”

A Pacific Palisades resident since 2014, Tanous is more than just a recipe developer: She is also a private chef, food writer and, of course, a blogger. Her recipes have been featured in numerous books and magazines, including Food & Wine, Bake from Scratch, Taste of the South, People, LA Weekly and InStyle.

“Food Between Friends” is a labor of love for both Tanous and her co-author.

“The book took about two years to write,” Tanous recalled. “Writing a cookbook during a pandemic was a true test of our commitment and friendship. There were many long nights writing and cooking together over FaceTime and trying to find ingredients that were in short supply. With everything going on in the world and so much pain and suffering, I realized how incredibly fortunate we are to create something that we are so passionate about and that we hope will bring a little joy into people’s lives.”

Tanous is proud to call the Palisades home.

“Our children go to school here in the Palisades, we love our community and feel so fortunate to be raising our kids here,” Tanous concluded.