Into the Fridge 🫦💅🏼
Alay Bowker on the perfect brunch plate and the butter she smuggles back from Paris
Alay Bowker 🫦💅🏼
Alay Bowker is a Los Angeles-based private chef, nutritionist, recipe developer, and the founder of Glo Kitchen and Glo Bars. She trained professionally at culinary school in Paris, though her cooking leans less technical and more intuitive—simple, seasonal, and built around eating what makes you feel good (and tastes that way too). You’ll find her recipes with all of the above on Instagram, TikTok, and her Substack, alay's kitchen, and as a fan of all three, it’s my great pleasure to introduce you all to her fridge.
What is your fridge philosophy?
Keep it simple and seasonal.
I shop the farmer’s market every week and build the fridge around what actually looked good that morning—which means i’m cooking with the whole ingredient, not just the pretty parts. Carrot tops, herb stems, broccoli stalks all have a next life. When you cook this way, eating well and not wasting anything end up being the same thing.
Your fridge is always always always stocked with ____.
Whole milk: Alexandre Farms 6% A2, always
Farmer’s market eggs: the dark orange yolk kind
Glo Bars: I like to keep mine in the fridge for freshness and texture (hehe just personal preference)
Skyr: Painterland Sisters or Siggi’s — a little bowl with a Glo Bar or granola is my go-to snack
Prepped vegetables: I go to the market on Sundays and prep what’s in season for the week ahead
Top 5 condiment picks, go.
A really nice olive oil: one that you can literally drink
Flaky salt: Maldon forever
Good Dijon: Maille, non-negotiable
French butter: I always smuggle some Bellevaire butter back from my trips to Paris (lol)
Chili crisp: Momofuku’s is great
Fine, I’ll open it up to pantry too. Let’s hear your favorite snacks / pantry staples:
Snacks:
Slightly biased, but Glo Bars: I cannot live with them
Medjool dates with almond butter and dark chocolate (or just buy some yummy premade Gato Dates—the cashew is my favourite)
Good sardines (love Fishwife) on crackers when i want something salty
Skyr with honey and whatever fruit is in season
A soft-boiled egg on toasted sourdough with olive oil and salt
Pantry:
Anchovies, capers, a few different vinegars, tinned fish, and wayyyyyyy too many types of flour.
A meal that’s on heavy rotation these days:
My brunch plate. I’m a big breakfast food person and lately it’s been some version of eggs, bacon or sausage, a piece of sourdough toast or a bagel, my protein pancakes—not because I’m a protein addict, just because they’re genuinely delicious and I feel good after—fresh fruit, and a handful of sautéed greens. I love a plate with a little bit of everything. It’s the meal that makes me happiest to cook and happiest to eat.
Let’s go a little deeper…
What’s the mantra you keep coming back to?
Cook the ingredient, not the recipe. If the carrots are gorgeous, let them be the focus.
What products / practices are part of your regular mental wellness habits?
The farmer’s market in mornings is genuinely the thing. Walking around, talking to farmers, picking up something I’ve never cooked before—that’s my reset.
Also, cooking for other people. Nothing clears my head like making dinner for friends.
And your physical?
Movement is a big one—running, long walks (usually on the phone with a friend or family member, or deep in a podcast), hiking, strength training, and yoga.
I try to get a massage or lymphatic drainage when I can.
Beauty-wise I keep it simple: SPF every single day, Egyptian Magic as my moisturizer, and a good lip balm is always on me. Honestly it all comes back to the same thing—moving my body, being outside, and taking care of the basics.
What do think is the most underrated part of wellness?
Cooking your own food. Not in a virtuous way—just that when you make something yourself you know what’s in it, you slow down enough to eat it, and you’re usually happier for it. It’s the cheapest, most effective wellness practice there is and nobody sells it to you.
And overrated?
Overcomplicating eating, honestly. Gluten-free isn’t automatically healthier, not everyone needs to cut out dairy, and just because something works for someone else doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you. Focus on how YOU feel, that’s the most important thing.
Picture this: you wake up one morning and feel like shit. What’s your next move:
A big glass of water, a walk outside before I touch my phone, an hour of movement (the walk itself, or a gym workout), and then a breakfast with actual whole foods—usually a big breakfast plate of eggs, bacon or sausage, sautéed greens, sourdough bread and butter. I’ve learned the hard way that “I’ll just have coffee” is never the answer for me.
Give us your ride or die wellness products:
Glo Bars (always one in my bag—fibre- and protein-dense)
Made Of protein powder (the only one i genuinely like, I bake and cook with it)
Magnesium before bed
Foam roller
Not a glamorous list but it’s what I actually use.
One thing you do everyday that makes you the most YOU version of yourself:
Cooking my meals. Even on the busiest days at the kitchen, even when it’s just five minutes—sitting down with something I made is how i feel like I did something for myself and feel good.
Whose taste inspires you?!
Alice Waters and Nancy Silverton, always. I love how they’ve each carved out their own path in food and built something really magical. Alice basically defined what it means to cook seasonally and locally, and Nancy has this way of reinventing herself over and over—La Brea, Mozza, all of it—without losing what makes her her. I find both of them so inspiring.
A major thank you to Alay Bowker for inspiring us to step up our breakfast games and to get back to basics with everything else. You can follow her on Instagram, read her Substack, and find her fridge favorites + more here.
Feel free to leave a comment or respond to this email with questions you want asked, people you want featured, or anything else that’s on your mind. Don’t be shy, I love hearing from you.
I love this and omg those eggs look perfect
I love this series and these guidelines back to basics <3 btw a few of the links are broken!! the glo bar ones are 404 not found!