An Evening On The Beach

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of cooking for 550 people at Evening On The Beach, a fundraiser benefiting St. Vincent Meals On Wheels.  Sponsored by Audi, the annual event is held at The Jonathan Club in Santa Monica.  And what a better way to spend an evening than serving my vegan food on the sand as the sun set into the ocean?

(and don’t make fun of my hair… it was very windy!)  I served a new invention of mine!  A Watercress and Watermelon Spring Roll with a Vegan Peruvian Aji Sauce.  I love the idea of making something that looked a little like tuna and a sauce that is typically not vegan.  Of course I did veganize it with a little help from my friends at Vegenaise To my delight, my dish and I were warmly embraced by the crowd.

Chefs participating included: Jacqueline Buchanan of Laura Chenel Chevre, and Urbani Truffles, Sally Camacho of WP24, Jeff Cerciello of Farmshop Brentwood, Brendan Collins of Waterloo & City, Mark Gold of Eva Restaurant, Michael Fiorelli of Mar’sel at Terranea Resort, John-Carlos Kuramoto with Michael McCarty of Michael’s Restaurant, Joe Miller of Joe’s Restaurant, Kris Morningstar of Ray’s and Stark Bar, Dahlia Narvaez of Pizzeria and Osteria Mozza, Mark Peel of Campanile, Paul Shoemaker of Savory, Kerry Simon and Nona Sivley of LA Market Restaurant, Clark Staub of Full of Life Flatbread, and Mako Tanaka of Robata-Ya.  There were also a lot of wineries pouring, most notably of course my good friend and genius winemaker George Pitsironis with his Inception wine.

I have to thank Core Bamboo for supplying these goooorgeous bamboo appetizer plates to serve my spring rolls on AND Bella Beach for my darling dress and jewelry!  AND of course Brian Leahy for these fabulous photos!  And a personal thanks to Joan Wrede, who did a spectacular job organizing the event and assembling LA’s Best culinary talent on one beach!

It was a huge honor to be a part of the event!  Mark your calendars and make sure not to miss next year!

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