5 food/art events: Florentine lunch, history of sweets, more

Whether you are food-obsessed and like to marvel at still life paintings of fruits and vegetables or if lectures on food history and culture are your thing, here are some upcoming art-related food events around Los Angeles:

FLORENTINE FAMILY LUNCH: On Sunday, the Getty Center will host a four-course luncheon at 12:30 p.m., fashioned after the traditional Italian family meal with platters of food to be shared. The lunch will feature Prosecco, music from Renaissance Florence and a tour of the “Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance” exhibition. For those who cannot attend the lunch on Sunday, there will be another lunch on Dec. 16. $65 per person. For reservations, call (310) 440-6212. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, (310) 440-7300, www.getty.edu.

PERSIAN JEWISH FARE: On Dec. 2, mother and daughter Manijeh and Saba Soomekh will present a talk at the Fowler Museum at UCLA on Persian Jewish food. The pair will take participants on a tour of Elat Market, a Persian Jewish food emporium on Pico Boulevard, to learn about ingredients and recipes. Following the tour will be a cooking demonstration and kosher-style Persian food tasting. $20 per person for Fowler members and $25 per person for the general public. To register, email fowlerprograms@arts.ucla.edu. 308 Charles E. Young Drive North, L.A., (310) 825-4361, www.fowler.ucla.edu.

A MOVEABLE FEAST: The Norton Simon in Pasadena hosts spotlight talks every Saturday. Join a museum educator for a 20-minute discussion of “The Still Life: A Moveable Feast” on Nov. 24 at 1:30 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. While at the museum, check out the “Significant Objects: The Spell of Still Life” exhibition currently on view featuring more food-related works of art. $10 per person (and free for students). 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 449-6840, www.nortonsimon.org.

THE HISTORY OF SWEETS: ArtBites will lead a tour of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art‘s collection of Latin American, French and Italian paintings and decorative arts on Dec. 16 from 1 to 5 p.m. The afternoon tour will explore the history of sugar and desserts at LACMA followed by a workshop at Surfas where participants will learn how to bake various pastries. $100 per person, includes museum admission, tour, recipes, ingredients and wine. Register online; also see www.artbites.com.

EARLY RENAISSANCE ART AND GASTRONOMY: See the works of early Renaissance artists in Florence, Siena and the surrounding region of Tuscany on Dec. 8 at the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles. Museum educator Nancy DeLucia Real will lead a tour of an exhibition on view at the institute followed by a cooking class focused on 14th and 15th century cuisine. $80 for IIC members and $85 for non-members. To register, call (310) 824-7408. 1023 Hilgard Ave., L.A., (310) 443-3250, www.iiclosangeles.esteri.it.

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