Dining out as entertainment? The chef as the main attraction? Eating local and an emphasis on distinctly American cuisine? Who is responsible for all of this? A name you may not even know: Chef Jeremiah Tower. At the Four Seasons in Los Angeles, I dish with Chef Tower, who is the subject of the film, Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent which was released on April 21 2017. If you aren’t familiar with Chef Tower, his story plays like a modern drama. In the late 70s and early 80s, Tower was a revolutionary and regaled chef at Chez Panisse. In 1985, he left to launch his legendary Stars restaurant in San Francisco.
Stars was the birthplace of the chef as celebrity and the excitement of the kitchen as an evening on the town's main event, not to mention the invention of distinctly American ‘nouvelle cuisine.’ Years later, Tower abruptly closed Stars and left the culinary scene all together for an extended self-imposed exile. No one knew where he was until he popped up 15 years later in NYC at the seemingly obviously mismatched establishment of the very rocky Tavern on the Green.
The just released movie of Tower's life, executive produced by Anthony Bourdain and directed by Lydia Tenaglia, might as well have been called, 'The Rise and Fall of Jeremiah Tower: Will a Third Act Prevail?' Drama to say the least!
So, sit tight. Grab a glass of champagne and listen in to my interview with the one and only, the man who started it all and put America on the map for culinary excellence, Chef Jeremiah Tower. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
Imagine: you are a street busker, playing your original songs, hoping people throw some loose change into your guitar case, and then, one day, one of your tunes sells millions!
On the most recent episode of The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano, songwriter/musician Mike Rosenberg, better known as Passenger, joins me to from the green room of The Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Mike’s song “Let Her Go”, which was released in 2012, has recently gone six times platinum, and his current album, "Young as the Morning, Old as the Sea", with its hit single, "Anywhere", debuted in England, New Zealand and Australia at number one. Not too bad for a street busker!
Mike was born in England, and I figured I should bring along my very favorite beer to help welcome him to Los Angeles for yet another sold out show. So grab your own favorite drink and listen in to my intimate chat with Mike Rosenberg of Passenger.
For the full video interview, visit, http://thedinnerparty.tv/mike-rosenberg-of-the-one-man-band-passenger/ .
Gideon Raff (Writer, Producer of Homeland) and Ariel Vromen (Director of The Iceman) join for a quick conversation at the gala event supporting the Let the Animals Live-Israel Organization. For more information, visit http://LetLive.org.il/eng and http://TheDinnerParty.tv . We ask the question, "What do you stand for?" Gideon and Ariel discuss why the support animal welfare and being vegan.