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Turning Lemons Into Lemonade and Fighting Childhood Cancer at L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

They say that “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” That is exactly what Alex’s Lemonade Stand does, both literally and figuratively, raising money with the goal of ending childhood cancer.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand was created in 2000 by then-4-year-old Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004).

Alex was a neuroblastoma patient who decided to help raise money to help other children with cancer and held a charity lemonade stand in front of her home. In just one day, she raised $2,000, which she gave to her doctors. By the time she passed away in 2004, at the age of 8, she had raised, with the help of others, more than $1 million.

More than 10 years later, Alex’s Lemonade Stand has raised more than $127 million with the money going to funding more than 650 cutting-edge research projects, creating a travel program to help support families of children receiving treatment and developing resources to help people everywhere affected by childhood cancer.

One of the events created to raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade. Inspired by The Great Chefs Event in Philadelphia that has been benefiting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for more than a decade, James Beard winner Suzanne Goin, Caroline Styne (Lucques, AOC, Tavern) and David Lentz (The Hungry Cat) brought the event to their home city of Los Angeles in 2009.

To date, the Los Angeles event has raised more than $3.2 million to fund childhood cancer research. And, on Saturday, Sept. 10, the seventh annual L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade took place at UCLA’s Royce Quad

16 September, 2016

A Great Grape Experience in Greece

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

In the Northern Hemisphere, harvest is well underway. In many places, the grapes have already been picked and pressed, and the juice is fermenting. As the wine is being made, what happens to the skins?

In most cases, it is used as compost and in some cases it is turned into grappa. But there are so many other uses for grapes and skins as I recently experienced during my stay at the Kinsterna Hotel and Spa in Greece.

Kinsterna Hotel and Spa is located in Monemvasia in the region of Laconia in the south of the Peloponnese. The hotel, a fortified manor that dates to the 12th century, sits on a hillside covered with olive trees and vineyards.

14 September, 2016

The New FIG Restaurant at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows

FIG Restaurant has been serving up California Cuisine inside the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica for years. But some changes have taken place and now there is the NEW FIG Restaurant.

The space is still the same and the covered patio is flush with natural light. The decor now has a warmer feel to it with hanging plants adding life to the space. And there is a wood burning oven that has been added that you can see when you first walk into the restaurant.

At the helm of the new FIG Restaurant is the personable Chef Yousef Ghalaini. A native of Lebanon, Chef Ghalaini grew up in his grandfather's bakery where he first learned the art of the wood-burning oven. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley and worked in Napa, Florida, Connecticut and New York before coming to FIG Restaurant at The Fairmont Miramar. At FIG Restaurant, Chef Ghalaini works with local farmers and fresh California ingredients to create his Mediterranean inspired menu that integrates the warm spices and legumes of Lebanese cuisine.

12 September, 2016