Living calendar
June
Summer
June is the explosion. Tomatoes finally arrive (the real field-grown ones), zucchini, eggplant, peak strawberries giving way to peaches and apricots, melons, basil and flat-leaf parsley by the armful. The grill is in full use, Father's Day (third Sunday) puts the men at the coals, graduation parties fill the backyards, and the solstice marks the turn into solar summer. On the condiment side, you swing to bright and vibrant: young olive oil as a finish, fleur de sel everywhere, sansho on raw fish, Sichuan on seared meat, basil-and-balsamic on tomatoes. Soft-shell crab is in, the first stone fruit lands, and it's the month to start fruit vinegars and stock the summer larder. In the UK, Wimbledon strawberries and cream and the early-summer barbecue take over the weekends.
Bring out of the pantry
Signature dishes
- Caprese with balsamic · with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena 12-Year · see the pairing →
- Buttered crab (Father's Day) · with Halen Môn Sea Salt · see the pairing →
- Grilled ribeye over coals · with Tellicherry Black Pepper · see the pairing →
- Burrata with olive oil · with Tuscan Extra Virgin Olive Oil IGP · see the pairing →
- Seared tuna with Sichuan · with Sichuan Peppercorns · see the pairing →
- Strawberry pavlova (Wimbledon, UK) · with Pink Peppercorns · see the pairing →
Culinary celebrations
- Third Sunday · Father's Day (the man at the grill)
- June 19 · Juneteenth (US — cookouts, red foods, barbecue)
- June 21 · Summer solstice
- Variable (UK) · Wimbledon fortnight begins (strawberries and cream)
Chef's note
June is when you bring out the ribeye and finally learn not to murder it. The rule: pull the steak two hours before it cooks (room temperature), sear it hard over direct heat — a couple of minutes a side on a screaming-hot grate — rest it ten minutes under foil, and only then, only after, hit it with crushed Tellicherry and flake salt. Pepper before the sear and it carbonizes into bitterness, and you've burned $6 a pinch. For Father's Day, skip the tie. Hand him a jar of whole Kampot white and a marble mortar. He'll use it a thousand times more than the 'Best Dad' shirt.