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Food talks at Live Talks LA this fall — Emeril Lagasse, Nigella Lawson & Madhur Jaffrey
We’re excited about our fall line up of food events in our Live Talks Food & Wine series. All three events are preceded by a reception with selections prepared from each of the cookbooks featured and accompanied by California wines. We feature Emeril Lagasse on October 8, Nigella Lawson on November 12 and Madhur Jaffrey on December 10.
Emeril Lagasse, Roy Choi
October 8
Emeril Lagasse in conversation with Roy Choi discussing his new cookbook, Essential Emeril: Favorite Recipes and Hard-Won Wisdom from My Life in the Kitchen at The Crest Theatre in Westwood.
Emeril Lagasse is the chef-proprietor of 12 restaurants across the country. He has received numerous Best Restaurant, Best Chef, and Best Service awards. He is the author of 18 cookbooks, and hosts Emeril Live! on the Food Network. In 2014, Lagasse participated in his third consecutive season as a main guest chef on Bravo’s Top Chef, and co-hosts On the Menu for TNT.
Nigella Lawson
November 12
Nigella Lawson discussing her new cookbook, Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food at The Crest Theatre in Westwood
Nigella Lawson, food enthusiast, television personality, and journalist, is the author of nine bestselling books including Nigellissima, Nigella Kitchen, Nigella Fresh, Nigella Christmas, Nigella Express, Feast, Nigella Bites, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, and How to Eat. She hosts The Taste with Anthony Bourdain, Ludo Lefebvre, and Brian Malarkey. Visit her website.
Simply Nigella is a practical cookbook sharing delicious foods that make everyone feel better, in body and mind. There are everyday recipes that are light and easy to prepare, and indulgent dishes for special occasions.
With 150 recipes, Simply Nigella includes breakfasts and brunches; fast, easy, and light suppers; a feasting chapter for entertaining a group; and a section dedicated to “Bowlfoods.” There is also a wide array of sweet treats, including fabulous dairy-free and gluten-free recipes.
Madhur Jaffrey
December 10
Madhur Jaffrey discussing Vegetarian India: A Journey Through the Best of Indian Home Cooking at William Turner Gallery at Bergamot Arts Station, Santa Monica.
Madhur Jaffrey is the author of many previous cookbooks—seven of which have won James Beard Awards—and was named to the Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America by the James Beard Foundation. She is the recipient of an honorary CBE from Queen Elizabeth II for her services to drama and promoting the appreciation of Indian food and culture. She is also an award-winning actress, having won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, with numerous major motion pictures to her credit.
No one knows Indian food like Madhur Jaffrey. For more than forty years, the “godmother of Indian cooking” (The Independent on Sunday) has introduced Western home cooks to the vibrant cuisines of her homeland. In Vegetarian India she shares the delectable, healthful, vegetable- and grain-based foods enjoyed around the Indian subcontinent.
Jaffrey travels from north to south, and from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, collecting recipes for the very tastiest dishes along the way. She visits the homes and businesses of shopkeepers, writers, designers, farmers, doctors, weavers, and more, gathering their stories and uncovering the secrets of their most delicious family specialties. With more than 250 recipes, beautifully illustrated throughout, and including personal photographs from Jaffrey’s own travels, Vegetarian India is a kitchen essential for vegetable enthusiasts and home cooks everywhere.
Previous food events at Live Talks Los Angeles include: Marcus Samuelsson in 2012 discussing his memoir; Daniel Boulud with Jonathan Gold; Suzanne Goin with Russ Parsons; Yotam Ottolenghi with Russ Parsons; Mark Bittman with Evan Kleiman; Marcus Samuelsson with Jonathan Gold; Charlie Palmer with Michael Voltaggio. Videos in the links.
Terry Gilliam to appear at Live Talks LA, Oct 19
Terry Gilliam ©Jay Brooks
We’re excited to announce that Terry Gilliam, the screenwriter, innovative animator, acclaimed visionary film director, and member of Monty Python appears at Live Talks Los Angeles on October 19, 2015 at the Alex Theatre.
We’re honored to host the launch event for Gilliam’s memoir that goes on sale the next day. Tickets on sale to the public on Tuesday, August 4 at 8am. Ticket info.
This event is a wonderful follow up to our event last season featuring fellow Pythons, John Cleese interviewed by Eric Idle. See the video.
In Gilliamesque, his “pre-posthumous memoir,” he offers an intimate glimpse into his world in this fascinating book illustrated with hand-drawn sketches, notes, and memorabilia from his personal archive.
From his no-frills childhood in the icy wastes of Minnesota, to some of the hottest water Hollywood had to offer, via the cutting edge of 1960s and ’70s counter-culture in New York, L.A. and London, Terry Gilliam’s life has been as vivid, entertaining and unorthodox as one of his films.
Packed with never-before-seen artwork, photographs and commentary, Gilliamesque blends the visual and the verbal with scabrous wit and fascinating insight. Gilliam’s memoir also features a cast of amazing supporting characters—George Harrison, Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Uma Thurman, Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger and all of the fellow Pythons—as well as cameo appearances from some of the heaviest cultural hitters of modern times, from Woody Allen to Frank Zappa, Gloria Steinem to Robert Crumb, Richard Nixon to Hunter S. Thompson. Gilliam’s encounters with the great and the not-so-good are revealing, funny, and hugely entertaining. The book is an unrestrained look into a unique creative mind and an incomparable portrait of late twentieth-century popular culture.
LA Weekly picks both Norman Lear (March 2) and Kim Gordon (March 5) events as “14 fun things to do in LA this week.”
We are thrilled both our events next week made the LA Weekly “14 fun things to do in L.A. this week.” Visit our website for tickets and more information on these events. Here’s what the LA Weekly had to say about both events.
Monday 3/2
The lovable bigot, the women’s libber, the blue-collar African-American family — the 1970s belonged to Norman Lear, thanks to All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons and Good Times. In his new book,Even This I Get to Experience, Lear writes about growing up in the Great Depression and fighting in World War II before he became one of the biggest sitcom producers in TV history. He helped create more than 100 shows, nine of which aired simultaneously. As part of Live Talks Los Angeles, Lear discusses his memoir with another comedic heavyweight, Emmy-winning actress Jane Lynch (Glee). (More on Lear’s impact on diversity in Hollywood on page 11.) Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Mon., March 2, 8 p.m.; $25-$50. livetalksla.org. —Siran Babayan
Thursday 3/5
Singer, artist and designer Kim Gordon talks about her new book, Girl in a Band, which chronicles the history of her band, Sonic Youth, and the evolution of alternative music. Gordon traces her roots back to her childhood in L.A. with a father who taught for UCLA, plus her move to New York, the city’s no-wave scene and stints in early bands. Gordon also opens up about motherhood, ex-husband Thurston Moore and other alt-music royalty, namely — and to no one’s surprise — Courtney Love. Part of Live Talks Los Angeles, the event is moderated by singer Aimee Mann. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Thu., March 5, 8 p.m.; $20-$43 (top price includes Gordon’s book). livetalksla.org. —Siran Babayan
Kim Gordon in the news; with Aimee Mann at Live Talks LA on March 5
We host Kim Gordon in conversation with Aimee Mann at Live Talks Los Angeles on March 5, 2015, 8pm at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Ticket info here.
Gordon’s new memoir is Girl in a Band, and is getting much attention in the press. Here’s a summary of some reviews and features on Kim Gordon and her upcoming book.
— Feature in The New York Times, Feb. 18, “Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth’s Antifrontwoman, on the Band and Breakups”
— Review in Los Angeles Times, Feb 19, “Girl in a Band’ is Kim Gordon’s unconventional self-creation tale”
— On All things Considered, NPR, Feb. 22, “Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon On Marriage, Music And Moving On”
— ABC News, Feb. 23, “Book Review: Kim Gordon Is More Than Just a ‘Girl in a Band’
— Excerpt in Vogue, Feb .19
— In The Guardian, Feb. 6, ‘Kim Gordon: ‘Women aren’t allowed to be kick-ass. I refused to play the game’
— In Spin, Feb.6, “Kim Gordon Writes About Nirvana’s ‘Charismatic’ Live Shows in New Memoir”
— Interview in GQ, Feb, “Kim Gordon: Queen of the Underground”
— New York Post, Feb. 21, on the beak up of her marriage and Sonic Youth
— New Republic, Feb 4, “Even Kim Gordon Doesn’t Have It All”
— Art News, Feb. 10, “How to Kill Your Idols: Kim Gordon Takes No Prisoners in New Memoir”
— NME, Feb. 6, “Thurston gets a kicking, but it’s the Sonic Youth icon’s vivid documentation of US subcultures that impresses”
— New York Magazine, Feb. 24, Excerpt, “Kim Gordon on the Pain and Anger of Performing With Her Ex”
— The New Yorker, Feb. 24, “Kim Gordon, Kurt Cobain, and the Mythology of Punk”
Peter Thiel in the news…appears at Live Talks LA Oct. 2 in conversation with Peter Guber
Next Thursday, October 2, we host Peter Thiel in conversation with Peter Guber at the Moss Theatre in Santa Monica. Ticket info here.
Thiel is co-founder of PayPal, a technology entrepreneur and investor and is author of the just released, Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future.
We welcome back Peter Guber to Live Talks Los Angeles. Guber is Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group, and an owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Previously, he interviewed Jerry West at Live Talks Los Angeles, and Google’s Eric Schmidt and Whole Foods CEO John Mackey at our Live Talks Business Forum. Watch videos of the interviews: Eric Schmidt, Jerry West, John Mackey.
Who is Peter Thiel?
Peter Thiel pursued a conventional path to success, studying philosophy and then law at Stanford, until he applied for a Supreme Court clerkship–and was turned down. He has ever since proudly worn the mantle of contrarian and maverick, and encouraged others to do the same. Thiel co-founded PayPal in 1998, sold the company to eBay just over three years later, and used his share of the proceeds to fashion a career as one of Silicon Valley’s most successful and outspoken venture capitalists. Zero to One distills his conviction that visionary start-ups, technological innovation and “good monopolies” are the keys to economic growth.
Peter Thiel in the news…
— Twitter is “horribly mismanaged,” Uber “ethically challenged.” Thiel doesn’t hold back in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
— So, a libertarian and an anarchist walk into a bar… Thiel and professor David Graeber debate technology, monopolies, and more… See story in The New York Times and in Inc. magazine on America’s Innovation Failures.
— In a wide-ranging interview in The Telegraph, Thiel discusses cryogenics, the so-called ‘PayPal Mafia,’ and how two of his businesses reference J.R.R. Tolkien.
— Thiel on flying cars, disruption, and paying students to drop out of school, in The Guradian.
— NPR’s Wade Goodwyn talks to Thiel about why capitalism and competition are antonyms and not synonyms, and how every moment in the history of business happens only once.
— Fortune chats with Thiel about “tech stagnation,” Seasteading, and the perils of imitation.
— What do the Unabomber and hipsters have in common? Thiel explains in a story in The Week.
Live Talks LA launches “newer voices” series with Michael Cho and Chip Kidd
Michael Cho and Chip Kidd
For our four years of existence, Live Talks Los Angeles has largely focused on established authors and personalities packing larger venues. That doesn’t mean we aren’t sympathetic to how difficult it is for the lesser-known writers out there. This Fall, we’re proud to be launching a series of events that celebrate debut authors and ‘newer voices.’
Periodically, we’ll feature a debut author, or someone who has flown under the radar, who we feel deserves a little more attention. We’ll pair them in conversation with more established authors or storytellers. These events will be free, but for the price of the book we’ll offer two reserved seats. Our goal is to be able to host these monthly.
Our first event in the Live Talks Los Angeles Newer Voices Series features Michael Cho and his debut graphic novel, Shoplifter, about a young woman’s search for happiness and self-fulfillment in the big city. He will be interviewed by a man who admires Cho’s work, and whose work you likely know: the estimable Chip Kidd, the four-time Eisner Award–winning designer and author of Batman: Animated, Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz, and Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross. As an editor of graphic novels for Pantheon Books, he has worked with some of the very best talents in the medium, including Chris Ware, Dan Clowes, Art Spiegelman, Charles Burns, and David Mazzucchelli.
> on Michael Cho in The Los Angeles Times, Sept. 3, 2014