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Savor the Season with Heather Sperling
The restaurateur and culinary expert knows that honest food tastes so good
Published: Sep 30, 2026
Heather Sperling loves a latte with freshly made almond-cashew milk and lots of cinnamon. She loves a good Vietnamese rice noodle salad with vegetables so fresh they crunch. And she loves supporting local business owners. But most importantly, she loves food and the way it helps give life meaning to every new season.
“From the earliest dawn of consciousness, I have engaged and delighted and explored the world through food,” said the culinary expert and restaurateur who counts high-quality ingredients as paramount to a delicious meal.
Heather, who owns Botanica and Bar Besito restaurants in Los Angeles, is a curator of good taste and is very particular about where her food comes from. She was working in Chicago as a food writer when she met her husband, John. In 2017, the couple moved to New York when Heather was developing Botanica but spent some time on the West Coast as a creative exercise during the process.
“After a couple trips to Los Angeles, it became clear that California was the destination for our lives and Botanica,” which opened its doors in 2023 followed by a second establishment, Bar Besito at the end of 2024. “I wanted to create a space where everything is anchored by well-sourced, good food, cook it with care, and serve it. When you bring people together and serve them something that is cooked and create thoughtfully and intentionally it fosters a sense of connection to what people are eating and to each other.”
That connection is also strong at home in the family’s 1914 historic craftsman home, which Heather shares with her husband, seven-year-old daughter, Marina, and five-year-old son Hammond. She describes the home’s style as “classic country chic” with an emphasis on materials like wood, historic glass, and iron. But perhaps the most impressive feature of the home is a custom dining table that extends to seat 18 people.
“We host abundantly, especially around the holidays, but I am also the queen of saying we should have a 12-person dinner party tonight during the week,” said Heather. “My greatest joy is spending time in the kitchen cooking for people. I get so much satisfaction just by having a space where people can eat and drink and converse.”
Keep reading to learn Heather’s secret to impromptu entertaining, her kitchen non-negotiable, and how the holidays are just another reason to come together over good food and community.
HD: What does good food mean to you?
HS: Good food to me means food that is sourced thoughtfully and well, in season, from farmers and producers who are also doing thoughtful work, and who we should be supporting through our forks and dollars. I am extremely dogmatic in how I provision my house with ingredients that I stand behind in ways that are produced that feel ethical and sustainable.
HD: Are you more of a sweet or savory person?
HS: Definitely savory! My favorite meal is something I make year-round in California: Vietnamese style boon. It’s a rice noodle salad that I will make with a whole mish mash of flavorful greens from the garden, arugula, watercress, mizuna, mustards, radishes, snap peas, asparagus if it’s in season then steak or pork or chicken marinated in a classic Vietnamese fish sauce, sugar, garlic marinade and grilled.
HD: What’s your kitchen non-negotiable?
HS: Plenty of counter space and an endless supply of very good olive oil. Those are essential to my happiness in the kitchen and filling the kitchen with objects that you love and love to work with like a variety of mortars and pestles. Things that have aesthetic value as well as functional merit that make cooking extra pleasurable.
HD: What is your favorite Christmas/holiday dessert?
HS: I loved a wine poached pear served with mascarpone, a little toasted nut crumble, and poaching juices reduced drizzled all over it.
HD: Walk us through Christmas Day at your house.
HS: We let the kids dig into their stockings while we are baristas for the rest of the family, getting cozy and caffeinated. Then we do presents around the Christmas tree followed by a big Christmas breakfast—biscuits, scrambled eggs, sausage, avocado and sourdough toasts and smoked salmon because it’s California. We’ll play with toys and read our new books until it’s time to start dinner prep.
HD: What are your favorite Christmas traditions?
HS: I loved decorating the Christmas tree; that’s such a cherished moment in my family. Bringing out all the ornaments we collected over the years and have been passed down like the lacquerware ornaments I had from India as a 7-year-old that I loved from my Christmas tree, that to me is the most special.
HD: Can you walk us through your holiday table?
HS: Silver goes with everything; it’s the little black dress of the table. We always use my husband’s grandmother’s silver (we have a great collection of platers and bowls passed down from her, and I love using those). From my grandmother, we have silver champagne flutes, which was my grandparents' 25th anniversary wedding gift. And of course, lots of candles and beautiful linen napkins.
HD: Wine is a big part of the holiday table. Are there varietals you always have on hand for entertaining? Is there a good wine that pairs with everything?
HS: For holiday cooking and entertaining I like to have some lighter bodied reds on hand because while savory and rustic holiday winter cooking lends itself to more bodied reds, I find that in the course of a big holiday meal and multiple days of eating and drinking and being merry, I most enjoy drinking something lighter. We love to do a magnum of something and always start with champagne on Christmas Eve with blinis and toast and simple salads.
HD: What do you make for an impromptu holiday party?
HS: One of my favorite things to bring to a holiday spread is roasted squash—honey nut or butternut— with an herbaceous salsa verde. It’s bright and vibrant and it’s nice to bring to a holiday spread.
HD: You call yourself a “compulsive host.” Tell me about impromptu entertaining and your thoughts on good food as a way to bring people together.
HS: It’s easy for me to entertain in an impromptu manner because I keep a well-stocked pantry—that’s the secret. You can throw something lovely together in no time because you have all the beautiful oils, vinegars, sauces and spices so you can make something that feels elevated and dinner party-worthy with minimal effort.
HD: How do you make holiday hosting feel effortless? What’s your secret?
HS: I’m big into advanced planning so planning the menu and setting the tablescape early in the day helps ensure there is no last-minute scramble. We have four ovens and we still have to be strategic and ration oven space!
HD: What pantry staples do you always have on hand?
HS: A variety of great olive oil—basic for cooking and flavorful olive oils for garnishing and drizzling; one or two great vinegars like a really good sherry vinegar; plenty of fresh citrus; sea salt and great spices; and tons of fresh herbs. You can do anything with olive oil, citrus, and fresh herbs.
Heather Sperling’s Harry & David Picks
Can’t wait to gift:
- The Favorite® Royal Riviera® Pears: I don't think there's anything more chic than a box of perfect pears.
Deluxe Pears, Apples, and Cheese Gift:
Fruit and cheese (and nuts) make for an impeccable gift, in my book, especially during the holidays, when it's extra-meaningful to have fodder for a snack spread close at hand.Entertainer's Dried Fruit and Nut Tray: One of my go-to dinner party desserts is an array of beautiful, dried fruit and nuts, with some very good dark chocolate, and an after-dinner drink -- like Tawny port or Oloroso sherry. It's an unfussy and elegant way to end a meal.
Pomegranates and Persimmons:
Pomegranates and persimmons are two of the gems of the holiday season. They look gorgeous on the table -- my favorite centerpiece for my December table is a beautiful bowl of either or both! They're so marvelous for incorporating into holiday cooking -- I love adding persimmon to chicory salads, and sprinkling pomegranate seeds over everything and anything.
Would love to receive:
- Pears and Apples Gift with Royal Riviera™ Hard Pear Cider: I love serving a lower-proof drink as an aperitivo, like cider or a vermouth and soda... Just add a wedge of a lovely blue cheese, a big hunk of parmigiano or aged cheddar and you have a perfect aperitivo spread.
- Royal Riviera® Gold Pear Gift with Scharffen Berger® Chocolatier's Collection : I usually host 16-20 people for various dinners over the holidays -- Hanukkah, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and more -- and this gift box is an excellent finale to a festive gathering. My grandmother would always bring boxes of chocolates on holidays, so this one feels beautifully nostalgic to me.
- Organic Family Affair Royal Riviera® Pears : During the holiday season, the more pears, the better. I slice them for salads; poach them in wine with warm spices (star anise, cinnamon, cardamom), vanilla and citrus peel for a light yet festive dessert; or just set them out with a knife, some nuts, and some dark chocolate after dinner.
- Welcome Sunshine Citrus Fruit Box : In California, winter is prime citrus season, so my holiday cooking is always citrus-packed, from start to finish. I use the whole citrus -- zest, juice, supremes of the fruit, thin slices (raw or roasted) -- in holiday dishes; it adds so much brightness and balance to heavier winter cooking. A freshly simmered marmalade is a beautiful accompaniment to desserts like almond cakes or olive oil cakes, and candied citrus rind is one of my favorite simple winter treats to make.... so basically, I'll take all of the citrus, please!
AUTHOR
Jennifer Fauci is a passionate editor and storyteller, currently serving as the Deputy Editor for 1-800-Flowers.com where she is a part of the brand's creative team. She is also a Long Island-based lifestyle and human-interest writer, and her work has appeared in The Spruce, Byrdie, Newsday, and more.
