The Dish
Stories and Bites from Five Notable Chefs

Featuring Tanya Holland, Luladey Moges, Mina Park and Kwang Uh, and Sonoko Sakai Curated by Leslie Jonath and moderated by Evan Kleinman
Sunday, Jul 17, 2022 | 3:00pm Skirball Cultural Center

ALOUD and The Skirball Cultural Center invite you to an afternoon of culinary storytelling and delicious bites!

Lifestyle producer and author of Feed Your People, Leslie Jonath, brings together a smorgasbord of top-tier California chefs to dish—serving up small food tastings paired with personal stories.

Featured chefs:

  • Tanya Holland—Executive chef and owner of the Michelin Bib Gourmand Award–winning restaurant Brown Sugar Kitchen, author of the forthcoming book Tanya Holland’s California Soul, A Culinary Journey West, and host of Tanya’s Kitchen Table on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

  • Luladey Moges—Cook and author of Enebla: Recipes from an Ethiopian Kitchen, which shares real-world recipes that deliver authentic, “mom-approved” fare in an hour or less

  • Mina Park and Kwang Uh—Chefs and owners of the Los Angeles restaurants Shiku, which serves Korean homestyle cooking in the historic Grand Central Market, and the James Beard Foundation recognized Baroo, an experimental Korean kitchen known for fermentation

  • Sonoko Sakai—Cooking teacher, food writer, and IACP International Cookbook Award–winning author of Japanese Home Cooking: Simple Meals, Authentic Flavors; Rice Craft; and the forthcoming Simply Wafu: The Art of Everyday Japanese Cooking

The stories and foods shared will illuminate how diverse culinary traditions are foundational to our personal and collective traditions, and how these cultural customs are shared over time.

Tanya Holland

Acclaimed for her inventive take on modern soul food, as well as comfort classics, Tanya Holland is the Executive Chef/Owner of the internationally renowned and beloved Brown Sugar Kitchen restaurant, in Oakland, California. The author of The Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook and New Soul Cooking, Holland competed on the 15th season of Top Chef on Bravo, was the host and soul food expert on Food Network’s Melting Pot, she appears on the new HBO Max show Selena + Chef featuring Selena Gomez, and is the host of “Tanya’s Kitchen Table” on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Luladey Moges

Born in Addis Ababa, Luladey “Lula” Moges moved to the United States with her family at the age of 12 and learned the art of Ethiopian cuisine from her grandmother, mother, and aunts. Her busy career in hospitality was initially an obstacle to home-cooking—as many recipes require several hours to develop a full-bodied flavour—so she has spent years developing real-world recipes that deliver authentic, mom-approved fare in an hour or less. Lula lives in Los Angeles.

Mina Park and Kwang Uh

Kwang Uh and Mina Park are chefs and owners of Shiku and Baroo restaurants in Los Angeles. Kwang was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Bra, Italy. Mina is Korean American, raised in the United States and graduated from Harvard University and New York University School of Law. Shiku serves Korean homestyle cooking at historic Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles. Baroo, which is expected to reopen later this year, earned accolades and recognition including from Bon Appetit, Eater and the James Beard Foundation.

Sonoko Sakai

Sonoko Sakai is a cooking teacher and food writer based in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of Japanese Home Cooking: Simple Meals, Authentic Flavors, and her cooking reflects her rich cultural upbringing. The book won IACP International Cookbook Award in 2020. Sakai was born in New York and moved to many cities throughout her youth, including San Francisco, Kamakura, Mexico City, and Tokyo. Sakai has been featured in publications such as New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Saveur, and many more for her dedicated work as a Cook, Storyteller, and Food Activist. Her name “Sonoko” means garden in Japanese. And for her, the cycle of cooking begins and ends in the garden. At its most fundamental level, her cooking philosophy is about respecting the ingredients and letting their natural flavors speak for themselves. 

Leslie Jonath

Leslie Jonath is a cookbook producer of many books on food and culture. She has written and edited over 100 books and is the curator of this program of food inspiration, bringing to light moments of joy, learning, and loss through a dish, a recipe, and a celebration of our memories. Before starting her own book production company Connected Dots Media, She was a Creative Director at Chronicle Books. Her most recent book is  Feed Your People Big-Hearted Big-Batch Food and Recipes to Gather Around. 

Evan Kleinman

Former chef/restaurateur Evan Kleiman is the longtime host of radio show and podcast Good Food on the Santa Monica NPR affiliate KCRW.

Photo Credit: Luladey “Lula” Moges © Acken; Kwang Uh and Mina Park © Jeff Newton

Frequently Asked Questions