The strength of women and so many cookies, Halloween cocktails, our critic\u2019s pick of some of L.A.\u2019s greatest Thai restaurants and Mt. Whitney hikers\u2019 Merry Go Round pitstop … I\u2019m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with Tasting Notes.<\/p>\n
Jubilee\u2019s L.A. debut <\/p>\n
Lara Adekoya, of the Los Angeles bakery Fleurs et Sel, speaking at the Cherry Bombe Jubilee food conference. <\/p>\n
(Laurie Ochoa \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
In a downtown loft building last Sunday morning, more than 300 women, many festively dressed in pink or red, picked up badges, coffee and HomeState<\/b> breakfast tacos before the opening session of the first Los Angeles edition of the Cherry Bombe Jubilee<\/b>. The magazine and media company Cherry Bombe<\/a> has been hosting annual conferences for women in the worlds of food and drink in New York since 2014. <\/p>\n At the sold-out L.A. Jubilee \u2014 which Courtney Storer,<\/b> culinary producer of \u201cThe Bear<\/b>,\u201d<\/a> affectionately likened to a food lover\u2019s Lilith Fair <\/b>\u2014 Cherry Bombe\u2019s founder and editor in chief Kerry Diamond<\/b> conducted a series of on-stage interviews, including one with Storer<\/b> and \u201cThe Bear\u2019s\u201d co-showrunner Joanna Calo<\/b> about the TV series that Diamond called \u201cas important to the industry as Anthony Bordain\u2019s<\/b> \u2018Kitchen Confidential<\/b>.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n Diamond also talked with cookbook author and creator Molly Baz<\/b> about moving to Los Angeles (\u201cI feel more able to be me and a little less like I had to conform to what was cool back in the New York days\u201d), her love for palm trees<\/a>, her inspiration for the Ayoh<\/b> sando sauce<\/a> brand she launched last year and how she almost got into a bar fight over her insistence that no aspiring chef should go into debt for culinary school \u2014 hard work and apprenticeship, she says, work best. <\/p>\n In addition, Baz, who talked with me earlier this year about losing her home<\/a> and dream butter-yellow kitchen in January\u2019s Eaton fire, spoke with Diamond about how the recovery process has enabled her to finally embrace the title of her next cookbook, \u201cLess Is More,\u201d which had been suggested by her publisher (as a companion to her \u201cMore Is More\u201d<\/b> cookbook<\/a>) but now has taken on real meaning for herself and her family.<\/p>\n When Diamond brought Mozza\u2019s<\/b> Nancy Silverton<\/b> to the stage, the chef, who is pictured on the most recent cover of Cherry Bombe, said, \u201cWhen people ask, \u2018When are you going to retire?\u2019 I say, \u2018Retire from what? Stop breathing?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Other speakers included Alyse Whitney<\/b> (interviewed earlier this year<\/a> by Jenn Harris<\/b> about her cookbook \u201cBig Dip Energy<\/b>\u201d), who talked about fatphobia and overcoming the bullying she endured for years because of her body size \u2014 \u201ca scale,\u201d she said, \u201cis not a moral compass.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Ahn<\/b>, co-author with her mother, Nam Soon Ahn<\/b>, of \u201cUmma: A Korean Mom\u2019s Kitchen Wisdom<\/b>,\u201d talked of watching her father\u2019s body suffer over time from his work as a painter \u2014 \u201cI don\u2019t mean painting on a canvas in an art studio. I mean under the desert sun.\u201d Creating her Ahnest Kitchen<\/b> blog<\/a> and social media feeds<\/a>, she said, helped put her complicated family feelings into words and led to her cookbook, which is now a bestseller. \u201cPlatforms like TikTok and Instagram reels gave us a chance,\u201d she said, \u201cwhere status, background or whether your kitchen was magazine-perfect or not didn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Melissa King<\/b>, 2020\u2019s \u201cTop Chef All Stars<\/b>\u201d champion and author of the new book \u201cCook Like a King<\/b>,\u201d talked with Hedley & Bennett<\/b> founder Ellen Bennett<\/b> about growing up in the San Gabriel Valley and overcoming the embarrassment she felt bringing homemade Chinese lunches to her predominantly white Christian school. Ultimately, it was her ability to pull inspiration from her family\u2019s heritage that helped her come up with some of the flavors that helped her win \u201cTop Chef.\u201d<\/p>\n During a panel discussion moderated by Diamond on the L.A. restaurant scene, A.O.C.\u2019s Suzanne Goin<\/b>, Guelaguetza\u2019s<\/b> Bricia Lopez<\/b>, Kwini Reed<\/b> of L.A.\u2019s Poppy and Rose<\/b> and Anaheim\u2019s Poppy and Seed<\/b>, plus Holly Fox<\/b>, of Last Word Hospitality, the restaurant group behind Found Oyster<\/b>, Barra Santos<\/b>, Rasarumah<\/b> and more, talked about how they started out, the economic challenges they\u2019re facing and why they love what they do. Lopez also talked about how miraculous McDonald\u2019s<\/b> seemed when she first came to Los Angeles from Oaxaca. \u201cThe ketchup, the jelly … c\u2019mon! People would tell me, \u2018It\u2019s been manufactured to make you feel good,\u2019 and I\u2019d go, \u2018great!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The day\u2019s best feel-good panel, however, may have been one of the break-out sessions, \u201cCakers & Bakers,\u201d moderated by Elisa Sunga<\/b><\/a>, who had just hosted a massive Cake Picnic<\/b> gathering<\/a> in Santa Monica the previous day, with 983 cakes brought to Tongva Park. (The basic rule: If you bring cake, you can eat cake.)<\/p>\n Author Aran Goyoaga<\/b>, whose newest book is \u201cThe Art of Gluten-Free Bread<\/b>,\u201d talked about how her gluten-free croissant might be her biggest discovery. Her experience as a professional pastry chef, she said, gave her a deep understanding of what a croissant needs to feel and taste like.<\/p>\n Lara Adekoya<\/b>, who runs the hugely popular Fleurs et Sel<\/b> bakery in L.A.\u2019s West Adams neighborhood said that although she is known for her \u201cthick, fluffy, doughy, delicious chocolate chip cookies,\u201d she\u2019s been experimenting with jams and lemon curd for thumbprint cookies as well as other flavor combinations, including her current favorite \u2014 Nutella with raspberry dark chocolate. That one drew a lot of oohs and mmmms.<\/p>\n More audible yums came from the audience when Lisa Donovan<\/b><\/a>, best known for her Southern classic recipes and the memoir \u201cOur Lady of Perpetual Hunger<\/b>,\u201d described the cake she hopes will be commemorated on her gravestone: a buttermilk tres leches cake. It\u2019s an homage of sorts to her parents: \u201cMy mother\u2019s Mexican and my father is Appalachian.\u201d<\/p>\n Red Bread <\/b>bakery founder Rose Wilde<\/b><\/a>, who said tiny cakes will be the subject of her follow up to the highly praised \u201cBread and Roses<\/b>\u201d cookbook she wrote on baking with grains from around the world, told the audience that sea buckthorn<\/a>, the Vitamin C-packed berry, is the flavor she\u2019s obsessed with. \u201cIt tastes like a musty passion fruit,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n All the sweet talk led me to Adekoya\u2019s Fleurs et Sel shop a few days later where I bought a sampling of the massive cookies that made her reputation \u2014 each could easily be shared by two to four people \u2014 plus some of her smaller bites for our next Food section meeting. We were especially taken with Adekoya\u2019s new three-flavored Neapolitan cookie, which had an intense strawberry center layer.<\/p>\n One of the most interesting aspects of the conference is that despite the fact that gender inequality remains an issue in restaurant kitchens \u2014 55% of restaurant and food service workers are women, but just 21% of chefs are female, according to statistics released this year by the National Restaurant Ass<\/b>n<\/b>.<\/b> \u2014 not a lot of time was spent complaining about sexism. Cherry Bombe\u2019s main focus is on telling women\u2019s stories \u2014 how they achieved their success and just got the job done.<\/p>\n Thai wonderland (Morain An \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n One of Los Angeles\u2019 many strengths as a dining destination is the breadth and depth of our Thai restaurants. As critic Bill Addison<\/b> wrote this week, \u201cThai is a pillar cuisine of Los Angeles\u201d with a multitude of \u201cmicro-regional cooking styles\u201d at our disposal. Addison recently surveyed many of L.A.\u2019s great Thai restaurants<\/a> and has come out with a list of his 15 favorite spots, with full knowledge that there are many more excellent regional Thai places to explore. Use his list as a starting point for your own explorations.<\/p>\n Exploring Maydan Maydan restaurant, within Maydan Market in West Adams, specializes in Middle Eastern cuisine.<\/p>\n (Stephanie Breijo \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n One of the year\u2019s most anticipated openings is Maydan Market<\/b>, a live-fire-centered food hall dreamed up by Rose Previte<\/b>, known for her D.C. restaurants, among them the acclaimed Maydan<\/b>. Reporter Stephanie Breijo<\/b> was on site for opening day \u2014 watch for her full story coming \u2014 and got a tour from Previte for the video linked here<\/a>. <\/p>\n Hanging at the Merry Go Round Outside the Merry Go Round restaurant in Lone Pine, owners Kuei Chu (second from left) and Dan Siegel (third from left), flanked by their son Michael Kwon and close family friend and worker Marrisa Watterson.<\/p>\n (Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Reporter Lila Seidman<\/b> and photographer Jason Armond <\/b>recently went to Lone Pine to talk with Mt. Whitney hikers and locals about their love for the neon-lit Chinese restaurant<\/a> the Merry Go Round<\/b>, which still retains much of its merry-go-round decor dreamed up by original owners Marjorie <\/b>and Roland McCain<\/b><\/a> \u2014 the name \u201cMargie\u201d remains on the neon sign. \u201cThe funky, carousel shape of the building,\u201d Seidman writes, \u201cis reminiscent of mimetic, or programmatic, architecture<\/a> that began cropping up in Los Angeles in the early 20th century.\u201d The restaurant, which served steaks and barbecue when it opened in 1958, is now best known for its orange chicken and other Chinese American specialties made by current owner Kuei Chu<\/b>, 75,and the banter dished out front by her husband Dan Siegel<\/b>, 81. The two bought the place in 2010 and are now thinking about retiring and looking for a buyer. \u201cIt would mark the end of an era,\u201d Seidman writes, \u201cfor customers \u2014 and servers \u2014 who have come to know and love the owners.\u201d<\/p>\n Also … Bamboo Club\u2019s Halloween-themed pop-up, called Tremble Club, serves spooky spins on the bar\u2019s tiki cocktails. The Fall of Romulus comes topped with a gory fresh-raspberry float.<\/p>\n (Stephanie Breijo \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n