Dive In
The Culture Series
Food and culture are intersectional.
We dive into different cuisines from around the world with diverse voices who are making an impact in the food and wellness space.
A cooking show turned interview to uncover the meaningful connections between food, culture, and our humanity.
Chef Charisse Ledres from
LAMISA EVENTS
“My inspiration is to be able to bring people closer together through food. It sounds stereotypical and this statement is often overused. However, I really mean it. I want people to discover how food can heal relationships, make strangers become friends, and strengthen family dynamics. I want people to feel how I felt when I spent summers at my aunts’ houses eating simple meals that they prepared with love and passion for pure enjoyment.”
Lazarus Lynch
Lazarus Lynch (he/him), a.k.a. The Son of a Southern Chef, is a Black gay multidisciplinary artist, intellectual, creative director, and author of the cookbook Son of a Southern Chef: Cook with Soul (Avery 2019). An artist of many mediums, he is also a two-time Chopped Champion winner, host of Snapchat’s first-ever cooking show, Chopped U, and Food Network Digital's Comfort Nation.
Elizabeth Yeampierre
from U.P.R.O.S.E
Elizabeth is a national leader in the Climate Justice Movement and the co-chair of the Climate Justice Alliance. She is a long-time advocate and trailblazer for community organizing around just, sustainable development, environmental justice, and community-led climate adaptation, and community resiliency in Sunset Park.
Wendy Lopez from
Food Heaven
As a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes Educator, Wendy is passionate about accessible and inclusive nutrition education. She is the co-host of the Food Heaven Podcast, and the co-founder of Food Heaven, an online platform that provides resources on cooking, intuitive eating, and wellness. She’s been featured in a number of publications, including Oprah Magazine, Women’s Health, The Food Network Magazine, and more. When not working on creative projects, Wendy also provides nutritional counseling to people with diabetes.
Moonlynn Tsai from HEART OF DINNER
Moonlynn Tsai is a Taiwanese-American restaurateur and spent her childhood helping out at her parents’ Chinese-American restaurants in California. Before committing to a career in hospitality, Moonlynn dabbled in various odd jobs, including buying and selling snuggies and shake weights on eBay. Over the past decade, she has combined her passion for community building and bringing restaurant concepts to life such as Original Gravity, San Jose’s first craft beer bar, Michelin Bib restaurant Pine & Crane in Los Angeles and was the investor and former co-owner/operator of the critically acclaimed restaurant Kopitiam on East Broadway in New York City. She now focuses on food insecurity within the homebound Asian and Asian-American elderly communities through Heart of Dinner while building story and community-driven food concepts and has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Vogue, and The Wall Street Journal.