Spoon & Stable's 2025 guest chef series will feature Emeril Lagasse and others
The restaurant and chef Gavin Kaysen will bring in five chefs for four dinners, continuing a series of food and conversations that began in 2015.
This series will feature Chef Stefano Secchi of Rezdôra in New York, Emeril Lagasse and his son EJ Lagasse of Emeril's in New Orleans, Gregory Gourdet of KANN in Portland, and Claudette Zepeda of Chispa Hospitality in San Diego.
The series services a collaboration between guest chefs and the culinary team at Spoon and Stable as they work on a menu that embodies the vision of the guest chef.
The dinners are, on a separate night, accompanied by a discussion of stories that shaped each guest's journey in food. The first three dialogues in this year's series will take place at the American Swedish Institute.
The Synergy Series will also celebrate the release of a self-published book from Kaysen about the history of the series.
'When we created this series, I never thought it would take on the life that it has,' Kaysen said in a statement. 'What I have come to understand is that we are all students in life and learning. Staying curious and humble are keys towards success. I am so grateful to work alongside these chefs, all of whom I look up to and respect. Cooking with Chef Emeril and his son will be a full circle moment for me, as I have known him and his family for 15 years.'
These are the dates for each event in the 2025 Synergy Series.
April 10-11: Chef Stefano Secchi, Rezdôra (New York, NY)
July 17-18: Chefs Emeril Lagasse & EJ Lagasse, Emeril's (New Orleans, LA)
September 11-12: Chef Gregory Gourdet, KANN (Portland, OR)
December 4-5: Chef Claudette Zepeda, Chispa Hospitality (San Diego, CA)
Individual dinner reservations, which cost $495 per person, are available on the first of the month prior to each event.
A season pass will become available on Feb. 17 and costs $2,500 per person and includes access to all four dinners as well as the chef dialogue events. That ticket also comes with the full tasting menu, beverage pairings, and a gift at each dinner. Bar and lounge seating, available two weeks in advance of each event, costs $195 per person.
Tickets to the dialogues are available on the same day as individual dinner reservations and cost $10 per event.
Kaysen is also hosting Michelin-starred guest chefs throughout the year in the North Star Series at Demi, which features appearances from the chefs at San Francisco's Mister Jiu's, New York's Saga, and Healdsburg's SingleThread.
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Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Buzz Feed
75 Extremely Rare And Fascinating Pictures I Found Last Month That Will Completely And Totally Change Your Perspective On The World
Michelangelo's David is VERY, VERY big: Very big, indeed. And even the statue of Honest Abe at the Lincoln Memorial's ears need to be cleaned now and then. Here's what that looks like: I bet it feels so good. The Michelin Man not only used to be absolutely terrifying, but he used to run with a gang of several other musically inclined Michelin men: Chet Baker is shaking. During World War II, the USS Trigger got close enough to Japan on patrol to take a picture through its periscope of Mount Fuji: This is from 1943. Fascinating stuff! This is the cross-section of the 1,300 year-old Mark Twain sequoia tree, cut down in 1892 for display in New York: The unfortunately maimed tree measured 16 feet across. Here's that same cross-section with some important dates in the tree's life: Would love to hear the tree's thoughts on Leif Ericson. And, for good measure, here's what the stump of old Mark Twain looks like: RIP. Last month, a container ship ran aground and almost crashed into a random house in Norway: THIS is how close it came: I don't know what's worse: someone honking the horn really loud outside your home or this. The Pacific Ocean is covers a HUGE portion of the Earth: Over 30% of Earth is covered in that salty spew. Tourists in Egypt used to be able to climb on top of the Great Pyramid all willy-nilly: Let's be thankful there are some stricter rules about visiting the landmark. This thing is a "road printer," a machine that quite literally PRINTS roads: So satisfying. This is how much it cost to give birth at an Indiana hospital in 1956: Fun fact: It does not cost that little in 2025. On June 17, 1939, France held its last public execution via guillotine. Here's what the "hysterical" scene looked like: Apparently, actor Christopher Lee, who you might know as Saruman from The Lord Of The Rings, was in the crowd. 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This is a replica of what was apparently the world's largest polar bear, standing tall at 12 feet and weighing over 2,200 pounds: That, and I don't say this lightly, is one big bear. This is the crew of the USS Hunchback, taken in Virginia at the end of the Civil War. Unlike the army, the Union's navy was actually integrated: I think I would have also been the banjo player during the Civil War. This is a list of the causes of death of everyone who died in London in 1632: Me, personally? I'm dying from "Planet." This is what one gram of gold looks like. As of today, this little thing is worth over $109: Imagine swallowing that. Would feel great. This awe-inspiring sight is a potato storage facility. That's a five-foot shovel, for reference: Nature is so beautiful. This is Robert Wadlow, the tallest man who ever lived, towering above everyone else at 8'11'': Can you tell which one is him? This is Dr. James Naismith, the man who invented basketball at the age of 32: He was a graduate student at Springfield College, tasked with getting young men to be active. Let this be a lesson to you: if you don't invent a sports by the age of 32, you are BLOWING IT. And here's what is apparently the first EVER basketball team: Dr. Naismith is there in the suit. Surrounding him is John G. Thompson, Eugene S. Libby, Edwin P. Ruggles, William R. Chase, T. Duncan Patton, Frank Mahan, Finlay G. MacDonald, William H. Davis and Lyman W. Archibald. Now THOSE are some old-timey names. I think the Raptors would hang 1200 on them. And this picture, from the early 1900s, shows an early basketball game, kneepads and all: Josh Hart would make that man CRY. This is a detailed map showing just how far the Mars Opportunity Rover traveled in its 15 years on the planet: While we're on the subject, this is the first picture Opportunity took on the surface of Mars... And this is the last: Well, one of the final few. Goodnight, sweet prince. This is how some scientists tested the effectiveness football helmets in the 1950s — by banging themselves in the head with a heavy object: I'd imagine it's always a long, long day at the heavy-object-head-banging factory. This is what an elephant's tail looks like up-close: Would love to floss my teeth with one of those strands. Right folks? This is Diane Stopky, winner of International Posture Queen in 1957, posing with her award-winning spine: Diane — congrats on the spine. This is what 1000 shirts stacked on top of each other looks like: This was the scene aboard the ship The Queen Elizabeth as it brought soldiers back home to New York after World War II ended: I hate to say it... but imagine having to use the bathroom? Nightmare. In case you didn't know, braces can do some incredible things: This post is NOT sponsored by any orthodontists. Chile is very, very long: Over 2600 miles, to be exactish. 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San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
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S.F.'s window onto the world has three must-visit eateries
Perhaps we've been taking food too seriously. It's become a form of art, an obsession: California cuisine, celebrity chefs, rising stars, Michelin stars, the good life in Wine Country. Maybe we forget sometimes about ordinary American food, like what they serve at Frankie's Java House eatery and bar on the waterfront next to the ballpark. The featured dish is a smashburger, and you can get a hot dog and beer for $10 and a shot for $5. California cuisine? How about a fish taco? Unlike the French Laundry, reservations are not required, especially on slow days when the Giants are not playing down the block. On game days, customers are three deep at the bar. No Michelin stars, but 3.7 on Yelp. 'It's really a little oasis,' said Pat Belding, the manager and sometime bartender. 'And it's been here forever.' Frankie's is one of a string of three small eateries on the waterside of the Embarcadero between the Ferry Building and Oracle Park. One is the Hi Dive at Pier 28, where Bryant Street runs into the bay, the second is Red's Java House, not far away at Pier 30-32. Frankie's, a few blocks south, is the third. There are other, better, classier places in the neighborhood, but these three stand out, mostly because they have a San Francisco style to them, hard to define, part salt water and fog and inexpensive food and a sense of the city 'reminding people of what San Francisco was and is,' Belding said. Of all the places in San Francisco that have changed, the waterfront has changed the most. In its prime, the Embarcadero was the city's window onto the world, the piers lined with ships. The customers in the little waterfront joints were longshoremen and sailors interested in beer and cheap eats. The oldest of the waterfront places was the Java House at Pier 40, opened in 1912. Tom McGarvey and his brother Mike owned it for a while. They also owned the better known Red's Java House, not far away. Eventually, Philip Papadopolous bought the Pier 40 Java House. That was in 1984 and the waterfront was in decline; the ships had all moved to Oakland, the warehouses that filled the neighborhood had shut down and the Embarcadero was lined with rusty railroad tracks. The Java House was just a waterfront shack in the middle of nowhere. When Sotiria, Papadopolous' wife, saw the place, she burst into tears. But the family, including Philip's wife and daughters, made it work, especially after the baseball park opened in 2000 and changed everything. A new day. But things change. After a run of 33 years, the Papadopolous family sold the business to Michael Heffernan, an insurance executive who is a member of an old San Francisco family. The place was a bit rundown, colorful but grungy. Heffernan put in a new bar, beefed up the menu and opened up more outdoor seating. It was newer and better — and it was renamed for Mike's father, Francis Michael Heffernan. Everybody called him 'Frankie,' a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan and an admirer of martinis. I dropped by the other afternoon to have a look around. A quiet summer day, a touch of fog but warm by the bay. The Giants were on the road, and the grounds crew at Oracle Park were cleaning up after a big concert a couple of days earlier. The concert, featuring the Colombian pop superstar Shakira, is a reminder that history is still being made on the old waterfront. The Chronicle said she was the first Hispanic artist to draw a sellout crowd of over 35,000 to Oracle Park. 'A cultural milestone,' the paper called it. Good for business, too. Frankie's was packed. Frankie's is in the food and drink business, and Belding describes the menu as 'Simple bar food.' Every restaurant has a signature dish. Frankie's is the smashburger, which is different from the conventional hamburger, which is usually larger. A smashburger is thinner; the meat has been pressed down, or 'smashed,'' with a spatula or press which gives it a unique flavor. Smashburger historians say the dish was invented in Colorado in 1975, and caught on slowly. Now, they are all the rage. 'Smashburgers are having a moment,' Martha Stewart wrote the other day. Frankie's uses a taco press to do the smashing but Belding says the secret is grilled onions, good quality meat 'and our own special sauce.' He also admires the clam chowder. 'My wife's from Boston and she likes it,' he said. The bar offers 15 or so beers on tap. The biggest seller: 805 brewed in Paso Robles. Also, Barebottle: a craft beer brewed in San Francisco. Baseball and concerts last only in spring and summer; the rest of the time waterfront places have to depend on the South Beach neighborhood of about 5,000 people who live nearby, people out for runs on the Embarcadero and weekend sailors with boats in the South Beach Harbor — regulars who keep these places alive. One of them is Jason Lalley, who lives not far away. 'I like it here,' he said. 'I like the food and the company,'' he said. A simple answer.


Eater
4 days ago
- Eater
Meet the Fine Dining Vet Dishing $20 Stunners at Wine Bars
Private chef Shawn Phillips says he came to the work like a fish far, far from any body of water: just focusing on survival. He'd originally left Michelin star-holding kitchens to take care of his daughter, starting to cook more and cash bigger checks with each stint in a different Bay Area restaurant scene. Now, when he's not working his 9-to-5, he's running his debut pop-up Tartufino. He rolled up to Hayes Valley's Birba in October 2024. Once a month, he takes over the patio. Some summer Saturdays, he takes over his buddy's Tal Palo in Los Altos. But Phillips is no 20-year-old elbowing around the city's powerful pop-up scene. He's cooked at Napa's La Taberna, Yountville's the French Laundry, and in San Francisco at Saison under Joshua Skenes and Atelier Crenn where he worked as sous chef. He even pulled a stint at Chicago's Alinea. Tartufino is his shot at re-entering the fray. 'I haven't been in a professional kitchen in a very, very, very long time,' Phillips says. 'But it's kind of like riding a bike, once you kind of get back into it, it kind of all just falls into place.' And for diners, Phillips's food is the quality his Michelin-star pedigree might imply — but at a dramatically lower price and with zero pretension. The filthy risotto and red beans and rice dishes are luxurious, creamy, but nuanced in presentation. There's a delightful hint of sweetness in the Jamaican banana curry gastrique he lathers on quail. It's a bit of a cliche: Haute cuisine, but for the people. Yet Phillips finds a way to pull that off with a big smile and even a few primo nods to Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West (the old Kanye). The former in dish names, such as the Blacker the Berry, which is an end-of-season mulberry and mushroom medley over creme fraiche. The latter serves as design inspiration, the Chicago rapper's teddy bear traipsing across Phillips's menus. The dishes on his menus come from his myriad personal and professional backgrounds. There's French cuisine from his chef jobs. Then there's Southern food from how he grew up, his roots. Next Mexican food, or Latin food he adds, thanks to his daughter's half-Mexican identity. Spanish food and Italian food hail from his career, too. The jamon toast — tomato jam with bread soaked in jamon fat before loading it up with cured meat itself — is a play on a dish he served at Saison. The San Francisco Chronicle 's write-up in February of his homemade tortellini with lamb neck and uni with fondant potatoes and chicken drippings helped vault his work further into the posh dining conversation. But that doesn't mean he's going to turn over an open sign to his own place any time soon. The pandemic, and the rippling cataclysm that hit the restaurant industry, shifted how Phillips views restaurants. Unless some wealthy benefactor cut him a blank check, he isn't so sure he'll look for backers. A few cooks at Birba and Tal Palo pitch in, but Tartufino is fully a one-man operation. Twice a month works for him. 'At heart, I'm a kitchen rat,' Phillips says with a laugh. 'I love seeing people with smiles on their faces. Now, it's about having my little girl watch daddy do something he's always loved to do.' Tartufino has pop ups at Birba Sunday, July 6 and at Merkado for a Notorious P.I.G. on Sunday, July 20. Then he'll work at 11 a.m. on Sunday, August 10 for the Dandelion Chocolate summer Sunday brunch before returning in September.