Food lovers and cooks will have plenty to explore at this year’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books April 20 and 21 on the USC campus. Here’s what we have cooking:
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Panels and Interviews
Saturday, April 20
Joan Nathan, author of “My Life in Recipes,” is appearing Saturday at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
Her stories and recipes from the Jewish diaspora set the template for other food writers seeking their own identity.
Sunday, April 21
Programming note: The Ideas Exchange event with José Andrés scheduled for Sunday, April 21, has been canceled. Unfortunately, Andrés is unable to appear as planned, as he is focusing on supporting the World Central Kitchen team and their families through this difficult time. We apologize for any inconvenience this cancellation may cause.
José Andrés spends much of his time contemplating the unifying nature of food, both in and out of the world’s most dangerous conflict and disaster zones.
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Ask me anything about ... cookbooks
At the L.A. Times Food x Now Serving Booth
L.A.’s world-famous cookbook store Now Serving is joining with L.A. Times Food for meetups and signings with chefs and authors of recent and forthcoming cookbooks. We’ll also have L.A. Times Food merch, including a new apron from Hedley & Bennett and a new batch of our California Heat spice from Burlap & Barrel. Meet L.A. Times Food staff writers and editors too!
Saturday, April 20
Sara Kramer, left, and Sarah Hymanson outside Kramer’s Echo Park home.
Learn to cook vegetables in all the best possible ways from the new cookbook “Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes” by Sarah Hymanson and Sara Kramer, the chefs of Kismet and Kismet Rotisserie.
“The SalviSoul Cookbook” author Karla Vasquez in the L.A. Times Test Kitchen.
At last, after nearly 10 years, Karla Vasquez’s “The SalviSoul Cookbook” is being published by Ten Speed Press with terrific Salvadoran recipes you’ll want to make and stories of the women who shared them.
Chef Michael Twitty with his food memoir “Koshersoul” in the L.A. Times Test Kitchen.
(Andrea D’Agosto / For The Times)
11 a.m. to noon: Ask recipe developer, food stylist and “Salad Freak” author Jess Damuck anything about working with Martha Stewart and about her new book “Health Nut.”
2 to 3 p.m.: Ask culinary historian and author Michael Twitty anything about his Afroculinaria website, winning the James Beard Book of the Award for “The Cooking Gene” or his subsequent book “Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew.”
Michael Twitty’s second book “Koshersoul” explores the links between Black and Jewish culinary traditions with conversations, personal essays and recipes, including a matzoh ball gumbo.
3 to 4 p.m.: Ask Michelin-star chef Iliana Regan about running a restaurant in the Michigan forest or her latest memoir “Fieldwork.”
Author and former restaurant critic and magazine editor Ruth Reichl.
( Michael Singer)
4 to 5 p.m.: Ask Ruth Reichl anything about being a restaurant critic, editor of Gourmet and author of memoirs and fiction. Plus, get bookplates signed for her forthcoming “The Paris Novel.”
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On the L.A. Times Cooking Stage
Saturday, April 20
TikTok star and cookbook author Jenny Martinez making birria tacos at her home kitchen in Norwalk.
On TikTok, there’s no one stopping a teenager from Indonesia or a grandmother in Nigeria from pressing “post” — and millions of users are hungry for the recipes they share.
Sunday, April 21
11 a.m.: Cooking demo by Jing Gao, “The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp”
The flavors of Sichuan spice up Thanksgiving when Fly by Jing founder Jing Gao makes jiaoyan turkey, mala stuffing, chili crisp mac ‘n’ cheese and more. ‘Thanksgiving, to me, is the most personal meal.’
The ‘Saved by the Bell’ icon’s food crawl began with Southern-fried frickles and ended with Michelin chocolate cake. No wonder her new cookbook levels up leftovers.
3:30 p.m.: Cooking demo by Nancy Silverton, “The Cookie That Changed My Life: And More Than 100 Other Classic Cakes, Cookies, Muffins and Pies That Will Change Yours”
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