16 new york | december 23, 2019–january 5, 2020
comfort around sharing and hygiene and
what is appetizing,” Menuez says.
Last January, Menuez got a call from their
agent: Adam would be premiering at Sun-
dance, and she wondered if they wanted to
go. “It was the first film where I’d be credited
with my new name,” Menuez says, “and I
thought, I’m just going to go back out there
and see how it feels.” They came out on Ins-
tagram the day before the premiere. After-
ward, they agreed to start going back out for
jobs again, and within months, Menuez had
booked a role on Euphoria. Next came a
film directed by Margarita Jimeno called
Grind Reset Shine. They also performed in
Hayden Dunham’s show at MoMA PS1 and
posed in W magazine in a suit and short blue
hair. They kept cooking dinners.
“I was so obsessed with something that
happened recently,” they tell me after dinner
winds down. “We did this installation for
H&M; we filled this West Village townhouse
with desserts. Guests were meant to eat
them without plates, to just stick their fork in
the cake and have a bite. And the actor Indya
Moore came, and without us explaining any-
thing about us or our project, they started
stream-of-consciousness yelling at this cis
white guy eating our cakes, saying, ‘This is
the queerest, trans-est, gayest food I’ve ever
had. Eating this makes you more trans.’
Going the fuck off. Saying, ‘This is going to
obliterate the toxic masculinity inside of
you.’ I was like, Oh my God. It’s working. The
transmission is being received.” ■L. A.-based artist Glenn Kaino and chef
Niki Nakayama, and Menuez’s new queer
food project, Spiral Theory Test Kitchen.
The expected guest list—an intimate group
of 16 of MSG’s and Spiral Theory Test
Kitchen’s friends—includes the artist Maia
Ruth Lee and the 75-year-old actor Frank
Oz (who later takes a game lick of the
cucumber ball gag before politely setting it
back on his plate). Back in the kitchen,
Menuez, Okoyomon, and the collective’s
third founder, Quori Theodor, cook without
aprons. “Why is it so stunning?” Menuez
says, walking over to admire a pig’s heart
that has been cured with sourdough. “I am
really impressed with this heart.”
Menuez started the collective a little over
a year ago while on a self-imposed break
from acting, modeling, and anything self-
promotional. The child of two artists,
Menuez grew up in Chinatown and Park
Slope and became a public figure—or a
downtown New York public figure, any-
how—at 19 with the Luck You Collective, a
crew of 19-to-21-year-olds (Henri Matisse
descendants Jack and Louis Shannon and
the filmmaker Adinah Dancyger among
them) who, as the New York Times put it in
2013, “organize art shows, run zine work-
shops, and bring together the bright young
things of the downtown art world.” Menuez
(who, at the time, used their female birth
name and the pronouns she/her) went on to
become the face of Miu Miu’s 2016 global
campaign, appeared on the cover of Dazed
(photographed by Ryan McGinley), and
began booking more film roles: Amy
Adams’s daughter in Tom Ford’s Nocturnal
Animals, a three-episode arc in Jill Solo-
way’s Transparent, Toby in Soloway’s I Love
Dick. Menuez was the definition of early-
2010s cool: Petra Collins’s muse and an “ ‘It’-
girl model-slash-actor-slash-artist” who
was, as everyone said, well positioned to
become the next Chloë Sevigny. Until, one
day in the summer of 2018, after filming a
role in Rhys Ernst’s Adam and shooting
with Hermès, Menuez stopped.
Menuez bought a trimmer and shaved
their long, oft-described-as-Botticelli-esque
red hair. They wrote a long email to their
team, explaining that they had some big
questions surrounding their gender and that
they’d need some time off, some privacy. “I
feel like I’d been sprinkling clues about my
gender into public spaces for years,” they say.
“But for a long time, I wasn’t ready to change
my presentation publicly or change my
name or be adamant about my pronouns.”
A friend helped Menuez get a gig
substitute-teaching kindergarten classes at
a prestigious Brooklyn alternative private
school, and Menuez also began working as
a barista at their friend Sandeep Salter’sBrooklyn Heights coffee shop–design store,
Salter House. (Menuez sells their etchings
next door at Salter’s gallery, Picture Room.)
“I’d shaved my head and changed my name
and hadn’t posted images of myself yet any-
where. But I remember once, I was making
coffee for someone, and they said, ‘You
know, you look so much like this person I
follow on Instagram.’ I didn’t quite know
what to say. So I just nodded and smiled.”
Menuez began meditating for two hours
daily and going on ten-day retreats. They
cooked, too. At midsummer, the artist Fan-
nie Sosa called and asked if the friends would
cook for the closing of Sosa’s exhibition
“Black Power Naps.” Within a few months,
Spiral Theory Test Kitchen had developed a
mission statement and had cooked several
dinners, some for charity, some for friends:
flowers with goat cheese and ghost-pepper
honey ants to raise money for the Parole
Pr eparation Project; a layer cake with green
slime for the chef Angela Dimayuga’s birth-
day party. Menuez isn’t a chef (“The idea of
it makes me laugh”), but this is where they’ve
landed, the next-next Chloë Sevigny as
genderqueer-intellectual-cook-poet- activist.
When it’ s time for the fifth course,
Menuez brings the 14-pepper fermented
“bondage” pigeon (tied up with string to
mimic a harness) to the table; there’s one
bird for every two people. “You’re meant to
share,” Menuez serenely whispers. The idea
is to break down the barrier between near
strangers. “It takes you to the edge of yourintelligencerGuests at Spiral Theory Test Kitchen and the MSG Club’s dinner on November 4.PHOTOGRAPHS: BRE JOHNSONTRANSMITTED
REVISED
________ COPY ___ DD ___ AD ___ PD ___ EIC2619INT_Encounter_lay [Print]_36350230.indd 16 12/18/19 11:46 AM16 newyork| december23,2019–january5, 2020
comfort aroundsharingandhygieneand
whatis appetizing,”Menuezsays.
LastJanuary,Menuezgot a callfromtheir
agent:Adamwouldbepremieringat Sun-
dance,andshewonderedif they wantedto
go.“It wasthefirstfilmwhere I’d becredited
withmynewname,” Menuezsays,“andI
thought,I’mjustgoingtogo backoutthere
andseehowit feels.” TheycameoutonIns-
tagramtheday beforethepremiere.After-
ward,they agreedtostartgoingbackoutfor
jobsagain,andwithinmonths,Menuezhad
bookeda roleonEuphoria.Nextcamea
filmdirectedbyMargaritaJimenocalled
GrindResetShine.Theyalsoperformedin
HaydenDunham’s showat MoMAPS1and
posedinWmagazinein a suitandshortblue
hair.Theykeptcookingdinners.
“Iwassoobsessedwithsomethingthat
happenedrecently,” they tellmeafterdinner
windsdown.“We didthisinstallationfor
H&M;wefilledthisWestVillage townhouse
withdesserts.Guestswere meanttoeat
themwithoutplates,to just sticktheirforkin
thecakeandhavea bite.AndtheactorIndya
Moore came,andwithoutusexplainingany-
thingaboutusorourproject,they started
stream-of-consciousnessyellingat thiscis
whiteguyeatingourcakes,saying,‘Thisis
thequeerest, trans-est,gayestfoodI’veever
had.Eatingthismakesyoumore trans.’
Goingthefuckoff. Saying,‘Thisis goingto
obliteratethetoxicmasculinityinsideof
you.’I waslike,OhmyGod.It’s working.The
transmissionis beingreceived.” ■L. A.-based artist Glenn Kaino and chef
Niki Nakayama, and Menuez’s new queer
food project, Spiral Theory Test Kitchen.
The expected guest list—an intimate group
of 16 of MSG’s and Spiral Theory Test
Kitchen’s friends—includes the artist Maia
Ruth Lee and the 75-year-old actor Frank
Oz (who later takes a game lick of the
cucumber ball gag before politely setting it
back on his plate). Back in the kitchen,
Menuez, Okoyomon, and the collective’s
thirdfounder, Quori Theodor, cook without
aprons.“Why is it so stunning?” Menuez
says,walkingovertoadmire a pig’s heart
that has been cured with sourdough. “Iam
really impressed with this heart.”
Menuez started the collective a little over
a year ago while on a self-imposed break
from acting, modeling, and anything self-
promotional. The child of two artists,
Menuez grew up in Chinatown and Park
Slope and became a public figure—ora
downtown New York public figure, any-
how—at 19 with the Luck You Collective,a
crew of 19-to-21-year-olds (HenriMatisse
descendants Jack and Louis Shannon and
the filmmaker Adinah Dancyger among
them) who, as the New York Timesput itin
2013, “organize art shows, run zine work-
shops, and bring together the bright young
things of the downtown art world.” Menuez
(who, at the time, used their female birth
name and the pronouns she/her) went onto
become the face of Miu Miu’s 2016 global
campaign, appeared on the cover of Dazed
(photographed by Ryan McGinley), and
began booking more film roles: Amy
Adams’s daughter in Tom Ford’s Nocturnal
Animals, a three-episode arc in Jill Solo-
way’s Transparent, Toby in Soloway’s I Love
Dick. Menuez was the definition of early-
2010s cool: Petra Collins’s muse and an “ ‘It’-
girl model-slash-actor-slash-artist”who
was, as everyone said, well positioned to
become the next Chloë Sevigny. Until, one
day in the summer of 2018, after filminga
role in Rhys Ernst’s Adam and shooting
with Hermès, Menuez stopped.
Menuez bought a trimmer and shaved
their long, oft-described-as-Botticelli-esque
red hair. They wrote a long emailto their
team, explaining that they had some big
questions surrounding their genderand that
they’d need some time off, some privacy. “I
feel like I’d been sprinkling clues about my
gender into public spaces for years,” they say.
“But for a long time, I wasn’t ready to change
my presentation publicly or change my
name or be adamant about my pronouns.”
A friend helped Menuez get a gig
substitute-teaching kindergarten classes at
a prestigious Brooklyn alternative private
school, and Menuez also began working as
a barista at their friend SandeepSalter’s
BrooklynHeightscoffeeshop–designstore,
SalterHouse.(Menuezsellstheiretchings
nextdoorat Salter’s gallery, PictureRoom.)
“I’dshavedmy headandchangedmy name
andhadn’t postedimagesofmyselfyet any-
where.ButI rememberonce,I wasmaking
coffeeforsomeone,andthey said,‘You
know,youlooksomuchlike thispersonI
followonInstagram.’I didn’t quiteknow
whattosay. So I just noddedandsmiled.”
Menuezbeganmeditatingfortwohours
dailyandgoingonten-day retreats.They
cooked,too.Atmidsummer, theartistFan-
nieSosacalledandaskedif thefriendswould
cookfortheclosingofSosa’s exhibition
“BlackPowerNaps.”Withina few months,
SpiralTheoryTestKitchenhaddevelopeda
missionstatementandhadcookedseveral
dinners,someforcharity, someforfriends:
flowerswithgoatcheeseandghost-pepper
honeyantstoraisemoney fortheParole
Pr eparationProject;a layercake withgreen
slimeforthechefAngelaDimayuga’sbirth-
dayparty.Menuezisn’t a chef (“Theideaof
it makesmelaugh”),butthisis where they’ve
landed,thenext-nextChloëSevignyas
genderqueer-intellectual-cook-poet-activist.
When it’ s timeforthe fifth course,
Menuezbringsthe14-pepperfermented
“bondage”pigeon(tiedupwithstringto
mimica harness)tothetable;there’sone
birdforeverytwopeople.“You’remeantto
share,” Menuezserenelywhispers.Theidea
is tobreakdownthebarrierbetweennear
strangers.“It takesyoutotheedge ofyourintelligencer
Guests at Spiral Theory Test Kitchen and the MSG Club’s dinner on November 4.PHOTOGRAPHS: BRE JOHNSON