Pâté, Brandy, and Bombs

The title of the talk that Andrew Graham-Yooll planned to give at the Argentine Ambassador’s Residence in London on July 23 tells a lot about his exuberant approach to life. “A Liitle History of the Buenos Aires Herald: Pâté, Brandy, and Bombs” sums up what it was like to work at the newspaper during the military dictatorship. It was, indeed, pâté and brandy that kept up our spirits. The pâté was provided by Andrew – who had a fearsome recipe requiring chicken livers and and lots of gin. I have no idea what else went into this marvellous apéritif, but I do know that it sustained us through some fraught nights. The brandy was consumed in the bar just around the corner. It was unique, as are all the great bars in Buenos Aires, and had a unique name: “El Nido.” It was run by a family and was uniquely unique because they would prepare, for our fashion editor Madame Moulin, blanquette de veau — believe it or not— while serving the vast majority of the crowd pizza that I still dream about (and I generally am unimpressed by pizza). I remember, too, with Proustlike devotion their pastafrola. But what powered the Herald’s audacity was undoubtedly the brandy. It was Reserva San Juan and It had the same effect on us as on the troops who discovered calvados, the potent apple-brandy, after the Normandy landings. It made us think we were invincible, fearless of the bombs that threatened us. So let’s raise an imaginary glass of Reserva San Juan to Andrew. And let’s hope that his little history of the BuenosAiresHerald waswrittenand recorded and that it will soon be online for all to read.