However unreadable Stein’s work, in life she was the approachable one; Toklas watched over their raucous parties in nineteen-twenties Paris with a beady eye, artfully guiding undesirable guests away from Stein. Sharp, private, often silent, Toklas would serve magnificent dish after magnificent dish to guests. After Stein’s death, in 1946, friends realized that they had almost never heard Toklas speak. But they had eaten her wonderful food: carp stuffed with chestnuts, braised pigeon en croûte, bouillabaisse, and flaming peaches. Toklas believed in going the extra mile. Once, she served Picasso a poached striped bass decorated with an elaborate design of sieved hard-boiled eggs and red mayonnaise, only to have the artist suggest that the dish would be better suited to Matisse.journey-inline-newsletterinline-newsletter