BROKEN CUISINE LAUNCHES IN TWO WEEKS!!
Angelenos: come celebrate at our Tofu Release Banquet!!
Have you ever been years into a project when it hit you – this probably won’t work out? When you had already gone too far, made commitments you couldn’t break, had to somehow pay the bills? To be honest, I still can’t believe we made it through.
September 26 is the big day.
For the Angelenos in the room, we’ve got a tofu banquet in the works. Chef David Lespron is hosting us at his restaurant, MELROSEPLACE LA, and we’re renting out the entire 2nd floor. Celebrants will get to taste six sublime tofus cooked into my favorite dishes from the book. I hope you can join us.
If you’re not in the city, you can still order a copy of Broken Cuisine come launch day. We’ll be up then on Amazon. If you need more guidance, shoot me an email, and I’ll show you how and where to look for it.
By now you know a lot about me but perhaps have no clue who Chef David is! Or anyone else on the team, for that matter! So before you see the book, here's a brief taste of the humans who created it.
Vanessa Lauren was my original cookbook co-conspirator. A forager and culinary artist, Vanessa honed her skills under Anthony Bourdain, who she competed with on the reality cooking show The Taste, and later joined the team of acclaimed chef Ludo Lefebvre at Trois Mec. She now curates one-of-a-kind dinner experiences with her team at Explore Secret Garden, expanding (and moving!) last year to Costa Rica. When we first met, Vanessa couldn’t stand tofu.
So she called her friend, David Lespron, for advice. David, the then Executive Chef at Katsuya, had been refining a fresh tofu pudding and was eager to explore other sides of the ingredient. After joining the cookbook squad, he tag-teamed with Vanessa to produce some stunningly creative and wild foods. Like his Fermented Durian Yuba Crisps: a fried tofu stick dipped in a fermented tofu-spiked cashew cream and durian puree… How does one even think of that??
Ryan Tanaka is a longtime friend of Vanessa’s and a talented food & hospitality photographer. Our time together felt like a claymation project. Set the scene. Shoot. Rotate the plate 2 degrees. Shoot. Another 2 degrees… You start to appreciate how much patience and thought goes into just a single photo. That’s Ryan.
Even though neither Elisa Leone nor Vanessa are vegan, they long dreamed of writing a plant-based cookbook. Vanessa’s bold, foraged and flowery plates, mashed with Elisa’s Bon Appetit-trained eye for art direction and graphic design… it was a match made in heaven. Elisa’s a proud cat momma, squash blossom gardener, and can recite from memory Hollywood gossip going back decades. She’s excited to design more books, if you see anyone looking…
Phyllis Hansen has written everything there is to write! An author, copywriter, advertising specialist… She's also a fond foodie and helped edit my writing to make it more salivating. Phyllis has a rescue parrot of 36 years, named bird, who has a habit of singing “I love you” when she needs to get her way.
I hope you can ge to know these wonderful humans at our launch party and through our book. Heck, send them a hello or thank you on Instagram, if you feel so inspired!
Once the launch craziness subsides, we’ll get back to soy food controversies. I’m halfway through a post on allergies and sensitivities, and frankly I’m confused! Which is good – it means there’s something to be learned.
Oh, and if you need help identifying a tofu, don’t hesitate to ask!
Stay well,
George