Former Boston gossip columnist talks about …
Laura Raposa spent 30 years at the Boston Herald, 20 of those as half of the provocative Inside Track gossip columnist team. When she stepped into her second career it was familiar territory. (Her grandparents owned a bakery, and her family still runs a bakery supply company.) Laura opened The Foodsmith in August of 2015. Behind the baker’s apron, Laura has a string of experiences and training via classes at King Arthur Flour, the Culinary Institute of America, and a stint at Flour Bakery + Café.
You will find The Foodsmith at 17 Standish St., Duxbury, Massachusetts.
NINA: From your years as a gossip columnist at the Boston Herald, can you share a favorite story?
LAURA: You mean like the one when I exited Julia Child’s powder room and walked through the French Chef’s dining room with my skirt tucked up into my pantyhose? I’ve been dining out on that one for years.
NINA: If you could invite four celebrities to your home for dinner, who would they be and what would you serve?
LAURA: Oh, I foresee a hen party. I think I’d ask Julia, so I could apologize for showing my butt during one of her parties. Queen Elizabeth II because I adore her. Oscar winners Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep, who have played Julia and Her Majesty on the big screen. I think that would be fun. I’d serve my winter giambotta with chicken and lots of veg that I made on “MasterChef,” so I could heal an old wound inflicted by that asshole Gordon Ramsay and his posse. I KNOW Julia would like it.
NINA: Picture it, you’re fresh out of college, where would you be? And would you do anything differently?
LAURA: I wouldn’t do a damn thing differently. I worked at the Herald during my senior year at BU, so when I graduated, I had a job — and didn’t leave for 30 years.
NINA: What is your idea of a getaway vacation?
LAURA: Going to England — the Cotswolds or Cornwall, for instance — and living like a local. My husband and I go to village concerts, plays, shop at Waitrose. It’s so much fun! We’ve done it in Paris, as well. Italy is a little harder because we don’t speak the language. Once a year, we go to the Caribbean and sit on the beach and read for a week. That’s heaven, too.
NINA: What is the one thing you can’t live without?
LAURA: Good bread. And I’ll drive for a good loaf.
NINA: What do you like most about yourself?
LAURA: I think I have a good sense of humor. I like to make people laugh.
NINA: What should we know about you before meeting you?
LAURA: I used to have beautiful designer clothes and shoes, a weekly manicure, a monthly pedicure and facial. What you will see now is a 60-year-old woman with big bags under her eyes, orthotics in her sneakers and cinnamon under her fingernails. But her smile is wider than it used to be.
NINA: Rewinding time, what was your happiest moment?
LAURA: Opening the doors of my little shop on Aug. 26, 2015, at 7 a.m.
NINA: What Netflix/streaming network series got you through the pandemic last winter and which ones do you recommend this round?
LAURA: “Grace & Frankie,” “Schitt’s Creek,” “The Kominsky Method,” the usual suspects. We’re big “Bosch” fans. We watched a spoof of the BBC series called “W1A.” I highly recommend it for media types. I also got into “Dr. Death” and “Dirty John,” two series based on podcasts.
NINA: What is your most treasured possession?
LAURA: It’s so treasured, I cannot say. Sorry!
© Nina Livingstone, “Nina’s 9,” Destination Mirth
