Join us at The Ruby, a work and gathering space for women of all definitions, for dinner and conversation with bestselling author Julia Turshen, on tour in support of her new cookbook, Now & Again. Julia is also the author of Feed The Resistance: Recipes and Ideas for Getting Involved, a practical and inspiring handbook for political activism — with recipes. When people search for ways to resist injustice and express support for civil rights, environmental protections, and more, they begin by gathering around the table to talk and plan. Julia Turshen will be in conversation with Bay Area writer, educator, and community organizer Shakirah Simley, Chef Preeti Mistry, and Chef Rahanna Bisseret Martínez of Top Chef Junior to discuss food, activism, and more.
Food will be provided by Preeti Mistry of Juhu Beach Club. Wine will be provided by Laura Brennan Bissell of Inconnu Wine.
About Julia Turshen
JULIA TURSHEN is the bestselling author of Feed the Resistance, named the Best Cookbook of 2017 by Eater, and Small Victories, named one of the Best Cookbooks of 2016 by the New York Times and NPR. Her latest book, Now & Again, will be out in September 2018. She has coauthored numerous cookbooks and hosted the first two seasons of Radio Cherry Bombe. She has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Vogue,Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and Saveur. Epicurious has called her one of the 100 Greatest Home Cooks of All Time. She is the founder of Equity At The Table (EATT), an inclusive digital directory of women and non-binary individuals in food. Julia lives in the Hudson Valley with her wife and pets.
About Shakirah Simley
Shakirah Simley is a writer, educator, and community organizer in San Francisco. She earned her organizing chops with over a decade of working on food equity, labor and youth justice campaigns. The daughter of a social worker, and granddaughter of a Black Panther, she graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania and completed master’s at Italy’s University of Gastronomic Sciences as a Fulbright Fellow. In San Francisco, she served as the Community Director for famed local grocer, Bi-Rite and its Family of Businesses, directing $1.3 million dollars worth of support towards over 2,500 organizations within the San Francisco Bay Area, prioritizing initiatives that support a good, clean, and just food system. In 2016, she co-founded Nourish|Resist, a multiracial collaborative using food spaces and people as tools for collective resistance. Last year, she was a prestigious Fellow for the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. Her writing has appeared in Bon Appetit, Civil Eats, The Huffington Post, SF Chronicle, and Julia Turshen’s recently published cookbook for the revolution: Feed the Resistance. Shakirah sits on several boards, including CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) and Equity At the Table. In her day to day, she manages community benefits programs that prioritize environmental justice and equitable economic development for the city and county government of San Francisco.
About Preeti Mistry
Preeti Mistry is a chef, author and entrepreneur. She was the co-owner of now-closed Navi Kitchen and Juhu Beach Club restaurants in Oakland, California, where she served her own versions of the street food she enjoyed as a kid on family trips to Mumbai. The twice James Beard Nominated Chef is the author of The Juhu Beach Club Cookbook, was featured on CNN's Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain and was a contestant on Bravo's Top Chef Season 6.
About Chef Rahanna
Rahanna Bisseret Martínez is a fourteen-year-old aspiring California chef, who loves all things culinary. In 2017, She joined the cast of Top Chef Junior Season One, which culminated with Rahanna as the runner up. On that show, Rahanna featured California, Mexican, and Louisianan cuisines. One of her goals on the show was to present Mexican and Soul food as delicious, regal, and healthy. She was known for presenting elegant dishes with a depth of flavor. Since then, Rahanna has enjoyed cooking and creating recipes for large corporations like Samsung, NBC, Universal Kids, Chrysler, and the Television Critics Association. Highly influenced by the edible schoolyard movement, Rahanna loves to speak at schools, youth programs and religious organizations to promote youth cooking and eating fresh vegetables. Rahanna has been featured in Refinery 29, Food and Wine, New York Magazine, Parade, Today Show, Mercury News, and the Daily Californian. Rahanna has staged at Chez Panisse, Californicos, Dominique Ansel LA, Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air, Emeril’s, Merils, Compere Lapin and Broken Spanish. Recently, She was part of a team that cooked for King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain for the Tricentennial Celebration in New Orleans. Rahanna can be found visiting farmers markets and different types of grocery stores to explore and learn. Rahanna hopes to travel, study and share with others the culinary knowledge she has acquired. Currently, she has started a small business to finance her culinary education and travels.