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Seasoned

Seasoned celebrates National Library Week

By Robyn Doyon-Aitken ,
Meg Dalton, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Tagan Engel
Published April 4, 2024 at 12:23 AM EDT
Middletown librarian Shannon Barillari paired Ann Charters’s biography “Kerouac” with a bottle of Château Redortier Beaumes de Venise, she's pictured holding both in her hands.
1 of 7  — March 8, 2024 - Wine and Words
Middletown librarian Shannon Barillari paired Ann Charters’s biography “Kerouac” with a bottle of Château Redortier Beaumes de Venise. “I was looking at how Ann Charters brought to light what a sensitive man Kerouac was and how he was kind of a lost soul finding his way through life, and I think this wine is finding its pathway as well.”
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Middletown librarian Shannon Barillari stands for a portrait with a wine and book pairing she made for her “Wine & Words” blog. “‘Orlando’ — it is not what you think of when you think of Virginia Woolf,” she said. “It is a very fun, whimsical novel…and she writes so poetically.” Barillari paired it with the wine Bodet-Herold Crémant de Lorie Physis because it was bubbly and because the label is “elegantly done with nice floral designs…which played within the novel itself.”
2 of 7  — March 8, 2024 - Wine and Words
Middletown librarian Shannon Barillari stands for a portrait with a wine and book pairing she made for her “Wine & Words” blog. “‘Orlando’ — it is not what you think of when you think of Virginia Woolf,” she said. “It is a very fun, whimsical novel…and she writes so poetically.” Barillari paired it with the wine Bodet-Herold Crémant de Lorie Physis because it was bubbly and because the label is “elegantly done with nice floral designs…which played within the novel itself.”
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Book and wine pairings for Middletown librarian Shannon Barillari’s “Wine & Words” blog. She says there’s parallels between the acts of recommending books and picking out wines for people. “It’s a connection between you and another person,” Barillari said.
3 of 7  — March 8, 2024 - Wine and Words
Book and wine pairings for Middletown librarian Shannon Barillari’s “Wine & Words” blog. She says there’s parallels between the acts of recommending books and picking out wines for people. “It’s a connection between you and another person,” Barillari said.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Andréa Hawkins and Doug Barber stand for a portrait in their café, Berkins on Main, in downtown Hartford. They also run Berkins Blend Café in Glastonbury. Berkins on Main is on the first floor of the Hartford Public Library. Barber says he hopes the cafe will create “spaces for people like us, people of color, that have a place that they can comfortably come and call their own,” said Barber.
4 of 7  — March 6, 2024 - Berkins on Main
Andréa Hawkins and Doug Barber stand for a portrait in their café, Berkins on Main, in downtown Hartford. They also run Berkins Blend Café in Glastonbury. Berkins on Main is on the first floor of the Hartford Public Library. Barber says he hopes the cafe will create “spaces for people like us, people of color, that have a place that they can comfortably come and call their own,” said Barber.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
University of Connecticut undergraduate Nicole Muthoni laughs while on a call at Berkins on Main cafe in downtown Hartford. Cafe owners Andréa Hawkins and Doug Barber say they hope the cafe can be a space for community. “The light, the access to the community, we want them to see us, we want them to feel welcome here,” said Barber.
5 of 7  — March 6, 2024 - Berkins on Main
University of Connecticut undergraduate Nicole Muthoni laughs while on a call at Berkins on Main cafe in downtown Hartford. Cafe owners Andréa Hawkins and Doug Barber say they hope the cafe can be a space for community. “The light, the access to the community, we want them to see us, we want them to feel welcome here,” said Barber.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Head Chef Justin Barber works behind the counter with his brother Doug Barber at Berkins of Main in downtown Hartford. Justin said he left his career of 24 years working as a manager at a corporation to work at Berkins. “It’s good to wake up and get excited to go to work. This is what I love to do,” he said.
6 of 7  — March 6, 2024 - Berkins on Main
Head Chef Justin Barber works behind the counter with his brother Doug Barber at Berkins of Main in downtown Hartford. Justin said he left his career of 24 years working as a manager at a corporation to work at Berkins. “It’s good to wake up and get excited to go to work. This is what I love to do,” he said.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Customers work on their laptops Berkins on Main, located on the first floor of the Hartford Public Library. Doug Barber, who owns the cafe with his wife Andréa Hawkins, said they hope the cafe can be a space for community. “The light, the access to the community, we want them to see us, we want them to feel welcome here,” said Barber.
7 of 7  — March 6, 2024 - Berkins on Main
Customers work on their laptops Berkins on Main, located on the first floor of the Hartford Public Library. Doug Barber, who owns the cafe with his wife Andréa Hawkins, said they hope the cafe can be a space for community. “The light, the access to the community, we want them to see us, we want them to feel welcome here,” said Barber.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public

This week on Seasoned, we’re talking with people connected to our state’s libraries who mix their work with a passion for food, drink and community.

The downtown branch of the Hartford Public Library may be closed for renovations, but that hasn’t stopped Andréa Hawkins and Doug Barber from opening up a coffee shop on the light-filled first floor of the library. They talk with us about how the shop fosters community.

And, pairing wine with cheese and charcuterie is too obvious. What wine might pair with Virginia Woolf’s Orlando? How about Madame Bovary or Anna Karenina? Shannon Barillari, of the Russell Library in Middletown, talks with us about how she pairs wine with books.

Plus, how does Youth Services Librarian Kristen Slepecki get kids excited about the library's Teen Test Kitchen program? "I bribe them with food," she says. "Sugary treats are, for sure, the way to go." We talk with Kristen and Christine Michaud, the Durham Library's director, about the intrinsic value of the library's Cookbook Club, which is part book discussion, part pot luck.

Also, some city and town libraries in our state have what's called a Library of Things. Home cooks, ask your librarian if you can borrow a Barbie cake pan, cookie cutters, an air fryer, rice cooker or pizza oven! Bridget Quinn, President and CEO and Head Librarian at the Hartford Public Library describes the awesomeness of the Library of Things.

GUESTS:

Interested in the book and wine pairings Shannon Barallari suggests?

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Meg Dalton, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Tagan Engel, and Meg Fitzgerald. Scout Raimondo is our intern. Sabrina Herrera, Francesca Fontanez, Martha Castillo, Katherine Jimenez and Janae Spinato are our Social team.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org.

Seasoned is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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Seasoned foodBlack VoicesHartfordMiddlesex County
Robyn Doyon-Aitken
Robyn is the host and senior producer of Seasoned.
See stories by Robyn Doyon-Aitken
Meg Dalton
Meg Dalton is the deputy director of storytelling for Connecticut Public where she provides editorial support for the station’s talk shows and podcasts, including the limited series 'In Absentia'.
See stories by Meg Dalton
Katrice Claudio
Katrice Claudio is a producer of Seasoned.
See stories by Katrice Claudio
Stephanie Stender
Stephanie Stender is a producer of Seasoned.
See stories by Stephanie Stender
Tagan Engel
Tagan Engel is a producer/contributor and guest co-host of Seasoned. She is the founder of The Table Underground radio show, podcast, and website, and is a social justice organizer and trained chef.
See stories by Tagan Engel
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