Chloe Coscarelli with John Salley

Monday, March 12, 2018
8pm (Reception: 6:30-7:30pm)
 
Chloe Coscarelli 
in conversation with John Salley
 
discussing her book,
Chloe Flavor: Saucy, Crispy, Spicy, Vegan

Cross Campus – Santa Monica
929 Colorado Ave,
Santa Monica, CA 90401

PURCHASE TICKETS  
$45 Reserved Section Section + Book
$95 Reception (6:30-7:30pm) + Reserved Section Seat + Book
$20 General Admission Seat  
$30 Reserved Section Seat

Chloe Coscarelli made her mark into the culinary scene as the only vegan chef to capture the top prize on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. She has been recognized for bringing vegan cuisine to the mainstream as an award-winning chef, successful entrepreneur, and bestselling cookbook author. Debunking the myth that vegan cooking is bland and visually unenticing, Chloe shares her bright, colorful, and tasteful recipes using fresh, healthy ingredients. She has published three bestselling cookbooks, bringing healthy and satisfying vegan and plant-based dishes to the masses.

“As a Southern cook, the biggest challenge in making vegan dishes is trying to figure out how to leave out meat and dairy without sacrificing flavor and texture. Chloe is one of my favorite vegan chefs because she really understands that you have to maintain not only the great flavors of traditional dishes, but also preserve those great textures. Whether you are 100% vegan or just want to incorporate more whole food, plant-based dishes into your life, Chloe’s got the answers.” Trisha Yearwood
 
“Chloe has changed the way vegans are seen, she has transformed the vegan landscape, and she has stolen this vegan’s heart. Chloe Flavor is a must-have for anyone looking to expand their diet, their mind, and their palate as part of Chloe’s plant-based revolution.” —Mayim Bialik

Chloe Coscarelli has revolutionized vegan diets with exciting vegan recipes that are fun to cook and full of flavor. When she decided to become a vegan chef, she dreamed of changing the way the world ate. This was in the “pre-kale” days, when veggie burgers were frozen, tasteless patties loathed by the general public and if a vegan wanted to eat, well, then she had to cook! Today, corner stores stock their shelves with almond milk and mainstream restaurants pepper their menus with quinoa, tempeh, chia seeds, faro, ramps, and so many variations of avocado toast. There is truly no better time to love to eat than now—and no easier time to be a vegan. 

In Chloe Flavor, every recipe is bold in taste, loud in color, unabashedly unique, and, above all, easy to make. With dishes like Smoky Grits & Greens, Mango-Guacamole Crunch Burgers, and Sea Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies, this food is for fun, friends, and family—and it’s all about the flavor. Vegans will delight in Chloe’s creations and carnivores won’t miss the meat one bit. 

Most can achieve a goal and be pleasantly satisfied with their results but to continually create new tasks to accomplish and to reinvent your self is the mark of a versatile and motivated individual.  It is the definition of father, athlete, actor, entrepreneur, talk show host, philanthropist, wellness advocate, vegan and champion: John Salley. 

John Salley has adopted a plant based (raw vegan) lifestyle, and is a frequent speaker at VegFest’s across the USA. As a Wellness Advocate, one of John’s main missions in life is to continue to educate people on the benefits of living a healthier lifestyle thru better eating habits. With a passion for real food, wine and spirits, John is a partner in the label “Vegan Vine” in partnership with Clos LaChance Winery. John has contributed articles to Wine Spectator, Cigar Aficionado and LA Confidential.  He has spoke in Washington speaking to Congress about the Child Nutrition Act, asking Members to support legislation that would increase vegetarian options in meals served in public schools. 

John Salley played basketball at Georgia Tech and from there went on to become a 15-year NBA veteran and was the first NBA player to win four championships with three different teams — the Detoit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.  Since retiring from the NBA, he has worked in television, film and radio.  Film credits include Bad Boys 1 & 2, Eddie and Confession of a Shopaholic. John has served as host for numerous award shows and was also the host of The John Salley Block Party on 100.3 The Beat Morning Show in Los Angeles.  John recently hosted the Reunion Shows of VH-1’s #1 rated show, Basketball Wives. For 7 years he was co-host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period on Fox Sports Net.  He was also the host of the sports talk show Ballers on BET and Game On! airing on The Reelz Channel. Visit his website.

 

Alice Waters with Jonathan Gold

Wednesday, October 4, 2017
8pm (Reception, 6:30-7:30pm)
 
Alice Waters
in conversation with Jonathan Gold
 
discussing her upcoming memoir,
Coming to My Senses:
The Making of a Counterculture Cook

Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS  — SOLD OUT
Video from the event will be posted week of  Oct 9.
$45  General Admission Seat + book
$55  Reserved Section Seat +book
$95  Reception (6:30-7:30pm)* + Reserved Seat + book
$20  General Admission Seat (on sale Sep. 4)
*includes selections prepared from recipes by Alice Waters

Alice Waters on Sex, Drugs and Sustainable Agriculture, (New York Times, Aug 22, 2017)

“I feel that good food should be a right and not a privilege, and it needs to be without pesticides and herbicides.  And everybody deserves this food.”

Alice Waters is executive chef, founder, owner and of Chez Panisse Restaurant and Café in Berkeley, California. She also founded the Edible Schoolyard Project.  Waters has received the National Humanities Medal, the French Legion of Honor, the WSJ Magazine Humanitarian Innovator Award, and three James Beard Awards. Waters is the vice president of Slow Food International and the author of thirteen books.

“….every time you’re going to the grocery store, you’re voting with your dollars.  Support your farmers’ market.  Support local food.  Really learn to cook.”

Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People: Alice Waters on the Edible Schoolyard

Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook is the long-awaited memoir from cultural icon and culinary standard-bearer Alice Waters.  In it, she recalls the circuitous road and tumultuous times leading to the founding of what is arguably America’s most influential restaurant. Moving from a repressive suburban upbringing to Berkeley in 1964 at the height of the Free Speech Movement and campus unrest, she was drawn into a bohemian circle of charismatic (mostly male) figures whose views on design, politics, film, and food would ultimately inform the unique culture on which Chez Panisse was founded. 

Dotted with stories, recipes, photographs, and letters, Coming to My Senses is a quietly revealing look at one woman’s evolution from a rebellious yet impressionable follower to a respected activist, and how she established the iconic institution that redefined American cuisine for generations of chefs and food lovers alike.

Jonathan Gold is the restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. He won the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 2007 and was a finalist again in 2011. A Los Angeles native, he began writing the Counter Intelligence column for the L.A. Weekly in 1986, wrote about death metal and gangsta rap for Rolling Stone and Spin among other places, and is delighted that he has managed to forge a career out of the professional eating of tacos.

 

Charlie Palmer with Michael Voltaggio

Thursday, May 7, 2015
8:00pm (Reception 6:30-7:30pm)

Charlie Palmer
in conversation with Michael Voltaggio

discussing his cookbook
Charlie Palmer’s American Fare:
Everyday Recipes from My Kitchens to Yours

William Turner Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Avenue,
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS
$20 General Admission
$30 Reserved Seats
$50 Includes Palmer’s cookbook + Seat in reserved section
$95 Pre-event reception, the cookbook, Seat in reserved section

Since the beginning of his celebrated career, master Chef and hospitality entrepreneur Charlie Palmer has received critical acclaim for his signature Progressive American Cuisine, a style built on rambunctious flavors and unexpected combinations with a deep and lasting infusion of classical French technique. Influenced by his childhood experiences working in his family’s vegetable garden, Palmer was an early advocate of farm over factory food. In 1988, he made a landmark commitment to creating dishes featuring regional American ingredients at his sublime three-star Aureole, once situated in a historic town house off Manhattan’s Madison Avenue. Today Palmer’s flagship Aureole is strategically located within New York City mid-town’s dramatically modern Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park.
 
Over the years, Palmer combined his creative cooking spirit and flair for business to open eleven notable restaurants across the country, a growing collection of food-forward wine shops and award-winning boutique hotels. But even today, the chef still steps in the kitchen with reinvention on his mind. “Without a doubt, people eat with their eye long before they put fork to food, so I continue to look for a playful yet respectful way to create excitement on the plate.”
 
A frequent guest on NBC’s Today Show, Charlie Palmer is also the author of five cookbooks, Remington Camp Cooking (2013), Great American Food (1996), Charlie Palmer’s Casual Cooking (2001), The Art of Aureole, (2002), and Charlie Palmer’s Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen (2006).
 
From Publisher’s Weekly:
Chef and restaurateur Palmer pays homage to American cuisine in this vibrant and enticing collection. In his early days, Palmer was among the first wave of chefs to embrace ingredients native to the U.S. and recipes that had long been overlooked. Years later, his cooking still reflects that domestic influence in dishes such as corn chowder with shrimp; honey-smoked whole turkey; and striped bass stuffed with crab and mushrooms. While many dishes are restaurant quality, such as Florentine-roasted strip loin and the leg of lamb with herbs and roasted garlic, the recipes are well within a home cook’s grasp. The intriguing warm pork and lentil salad and a gorgeous Brussels sprout and ricotta gratin are recipes that both professional and amateur chefs will turn to again and again. While Palmer covers the basics, he also offers appealing quick and easy lunches, including croque monsieur with mornay sauce, and baked ratatouille. His standout chapter explores family favorites, which include chicken liver pâté, baked littleneck clams, lentil–butternut squash soup, and oatmeal cookies. Fans will delight in this exceptional, accessible cookbook.
 
Michael Voltaggio is the chef and owner of acclaimed restaurant Ink. and artisanal sandwich concept ink.sack – both in Los Angeles. Having called Los Angeles home since 2008, he is inspired by the city’s diverse ethnicities, cultures and industries, and has reinterpreted a new class of finer dining at Ink., dubbing the food and experience there as modern los angeles. Ink. was named “best new restaurant in america” by GQ magazine.

In 2013, Voltaggio received the distinction as one of Food & Wine magazine’s best new chefs in the award’s 25th anniversary year, joining an elite list of chefs in America. This was a career highlight for him, considering his humble beginnings nearly 20 years earlier when his first job at 15 was working for his older brother Bryan at a local hotel kitchen in their hometown of Frederick, MD. Following Bryan’s lead into the culinary world, Michael received his formal education by earning a prestigious position at the venerable Greenbrier apprenticeship program in West Virginia, graduating when he was 21(at the time the youngest to have done so).

Previously, Voltaggio spent time at the helm of numerous high-profile kitchens across the country. Some include Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg, CA, where he earned a Michelin Star, and The Bazaar by Jose Andres at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills where he earned a 4-star review from the Los Angeles Times and finalist nomination for “best new restaurant” from the James Beard Foundation. Additional accolades include being named Angeleno magazine’s best new chef in 2010 and selected by star chefs as a rising star chef that same year.

He is the author, with his brother, of their first cookbook, aptly titled Volt Ink. – named after their flagship restaurants. 

Voltaggio may best be known for his win on Bravo TV’s Emmy award-winning season of Top Chef. He has since made many returns to television with guest appearances on various cooking and food shows. Soon he will be back on the small screen with a new series for Travel Channel currently titled Breaking Borders, slated to air in early 2015.

 

Food events at Live Talks LA: Mark Bittman (Oct 16); Yotam Ottolenghi (Oct 23) & Marcus Samuelsson (Oct 28)

Mark Bittman, Yotam Ottolenghi and Marcus Samuelsson speak at Live Talks LA, October 2014

Mark Bittman, Yotam Ottolenghi and Marcus Samuelsson speak at Live Talks LA, October 2014

We are excited about a series of food events at Live Talks Los Angeles this fall.  All three are held at All Saints Church, Beverly Hills and are preceded by a reception with selections prepared from each of the cookbooks featured.  We feature Mark Bittman on October 16, Yotam Ottolenghi on October 23 and Marcus Samuelsson on October 28.

October 16, Mark Bittman — one of America’s best-known and most widely respected food writers. He covers food policy, cooking, and eating as an Opinion columnist for The New York Times and the paper’s Sunday Magazine. He produced “The Minimalist” column for 13 years and has starred in several popular Public Television cooking series. Now a frequent public speaker, he appears regularly on the Today Show and is a guest on a wide range of television and radio shows. Bittman has authored more than a dozen cookbooks, including How to Cook Everything® The Basics, How to Cook Everything®, How to Cook Everything® Vegetarian (all available as apps), Food Matters and The Food Matters Cookbook, and the new VB6™: Eat Vegan Before 6:00. Visit his website.  In How to Cook Everything Fast, Bittman provides a game plan for becoming a better, more intuitive cook while you wake up your weekly meal routine with 2,000 main dishes and accompaniments that are simple to make, globally inspired, and bursting with flavor.

October 23, Yotam Ottolenghi who owns an eponymous group of four restaurants, plus the high-end restaurant, Nopi, in London. His previous cookbooks—Plenty, Jerusalem, and Ottolenghi—have all been on the New York Times bestseller list. He writes for The Guardian, and appears on BBC.  Plenty More is the much anticipated follow-up to Ottolenghi’s bestselling and award-winning cookbook Plenty, featuring 120 vegetarian dishes organized by cooking method. Plenty influenced the way people cook and eat vegetables. Its focus on flavorful, vegetable-centric dishes that emphasize spices and fresh ingredients caused a produce-cooking craze in the UK, the US, and the world over. Plenty More continues in the spirit of Plenty, with dazzling dishes, prepared raw, grilled, baked, simmered, cracked, or braised. It features recipes for main dishes, sides, salads, and sweets including Membrillo and Stilton Quiche, Buttermilk-Crusted Okra, Candy Beets with Lentils, Roasted Rhubarb with Sweet Labneh, and Quince Poached in Pomegranate Juice.

October 28, Marcus Samuelsson, owner of Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem and former Executive Chef and co-owner of New York’s Restaurant Aquavit, AQ Cafe at Scandinavia House, and Riingo. The youngest chef ever to receive two three-star ratings from The New York Times, he starred on Discovery Home Channel’s Inner Chef.  His cookbooks include Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine, The Soul of a New Cuisine, which won the 2007 James Beard Foundation Award for best international cookbook, and New American Table.  He is winner of Top Chef Masters, and a judge on Chopped. In 2009, he was chosen by President Obama to cook the first state dinner.  In his latest cook book, Marcus Off Duty, Samuelsson shows how he cooks at home for family and friends. Born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, and trained in European kitchens, he is a world citizen turned American success story.  The recipes blend a rainbow of the flavors he experienced in his travels—Ethiopian, Swedish, Mexican, Caribbean, Italian, and Southern soul. His eclectic, casual food includes dill-spiced salmon; coconut-lime curried chicken; mac, cheese, and greens; chocolate pie spiced with Indian garam masala; and for kids, peanut noodles with slaw.

Previous food events at Live Talks Los Angeles include: Marcus Samuelsson in 2012 discussing his memoir; Daniel Boulud with Jonathan Gold and Suzanne Goin with Russ Parsons.  Videos to each are in the links.