Cuisine & Couture

Executive Pastry Chef Thomas Henzi and Emily Men

At The Beverly Hilton, Executive Pastry Chef Thomas Henzi welcomes Emily Men to the hotel’s pastry kitchen. Since opening their doors in 1955, The Beverly Hilton has remained an iconic landmark and host to legendary events and celebrity galas, including the Golden Globes, for over 60 years. Chef Henzi teaches Emily the art of pastry-making, walking her through the hotel’s Star Dusted Beignets recipe, filled with cream cheese and topped with powdered sugar, mango chutney, peppered strawberry, pistachio crumbs and a strawberry sorbet. The dessert evokes a red-carpet aesthetic, with pops of red and toppings nodding to stars’ accessories and adornments. While sipping on the hotel’s signature awards season Glitz and Glam cocktail, the duo also discusses Chef Henzi’s history at The Beverly Hilton and some of the showstopping sweets he has created for Hollywood’s greatest legends since joining the team in November 2011.

Beverage Director and expert sommelier Max Goldberg and Emily Men

During the second video, The Peninsula Beverly Hills’ Beverage Director and expert sommelier Max Goldberg meets Emily Men at the hotel’s famous Club Bar to create his Golden Sbagliato cocktail. The libation is crafted with Cocchi Americano, Yellow Chartreuse and Moët & Chandon, the official champagne of the Golden Globes. The refreshing beverage is topped with a luxurious gold leaf garnish symbolic of the statuettes themselves – awards season’s most coveted accessory. Known as a rendezvous destination for Hollywood stars, The Club Bar is no stranger to VIP guests, especially during the Golden Globes, the GRAMMY Awards and the Oscars when it fills up to standing room only.

Beverly Hills visitors and locals can get a taste of awards season for themselves when ordering the following dishes and cocktails that will be featured across the city’s top restaurants through March 15:

• THEBlvd at The Beverly Wilshire’s Awards Season Croissant: The braided effect on Executive Pastry Chef Riccardo Menicucci’s delicacy is inspired by the film reel imprinted on Oscars statuettes and represents the intertwining of the Academy’s five original branches (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers). The croissant is filled with dulce de leche and almonds and topped with 24-carat gold symbolizing the gold-plated statuette.
• MR CHOW’s Ma Mignon and aka MR CHOW Cocktail: The namesake cocktail celebrates the release of Michael Chow’s HBO documentary with an artful stamped Highball ice cube hugged by a blend of tequila, Aperol, elderflower syrup, fresh lemon juice and Laurent Perrier Rosé champagne. The drink is paired with Ma Mignon, a marinated, thinly sliced filet topped with a tangy savory sauce.
• Ocean Prime Beverly Hills’ Red Carpet Carpaccio: Lightly cured in a bonito-infused soy sauce, Executive Chef Jonathan Milan’s Beef Carpaccio is rolled out on the center of the plate like the red carpet itself. The dish is topped with lobster croutons, Kilo caviar, burnt blood orange, winter vegetables and dressed with a yuzu-truffle vinaigrette.
• The Hideaway’s Pink Margarita: This stylized version of the classic margarita, drawing from this past year’s widely nominated Barbie movie and beloved looks from stars like Marilyn Monroe and Timothée Chalamet, plays with floral notes, tequila, the brightness of citrus and more.
• Tatel’s ‘Halle Berry’ Cocktail: Paying homage to the award-winning actress’ forever iconic Oscars moment, the elaborate beverage features muddled blueberries, expressed sage leaves, Casa Del Sol Añejo, Catalina Apero, citrus, house-made ‘habanero shrub,’ FeeBros ‘Fee Foam’ and house-made agave nectar. The cocktail is topped with two atomized sprays of ‘Valdespino Contrabandista Amontillado’ dry sherry and garnished with skewered blueberries, sage leaves and an edible flower.
• Crustacean’s Red Carpet Cocktail: With a red-carpet glow, the celebratory cocktail is crafted with Cognac, champagne and Doladira – a rhubarb apéritif with notes of plum, gentian and rosemary.
• The Beverly Hilton’s Star Dusted Beignets and Glitz and Glam Cocktail: This cream cheese filled pastry topped with powdered sugar, mango chutney, peppered strawberry, pistachio crumbs and a strawberry sorbet evokes a red-carpet aesthetic, with pops of red and toppings nodding to stars’ accessories and adornments and pairs with the hotel’s signature awards season Glitz and Glam cocktail.
• The Peninsula Beverly Hills Club Bar's Golden Sbagliato Cocktail: The libation is crafted with Cocchi Americano, Yellow Chartreuse and Moët & Chandon, the official champagne of the Golden Globes. The refreshing beverage is topped with a luxurious gold leaf garnish symbolic of the statuettes themselves.

Michelin-starred Chef Phillip Frankland Lee and Caitlyn Chase

Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel welcomes Michelin-starred Chef Phillip Frankland Lee of the immersive Sushi by Scratch Restaurants pop-up through October 31, 2023. Inspired by fall fashion trends, Chef Lee gives Chase an inside look into the award-winning, 17-course nigiri tasting menu. Likening the omakase experience to putting together the perfect ensemble – where each piece is so thoughtfully curated – Chef Lee teaches Chase how to make three courses: the Hamachi with pops of yellow, predicted to be a big color for fall; the Akami, topped with caviar evocative of pearls set to trend this season; and Japanese Eel fried in torched bone marrow, reminiscent of fall textures like herringbone. At the end of the episode, Executive Pastry Chef Margarita Kallas-Lee – Sushi by Scratch Restaurants’ Co-Owner and Chef Phillip’s wife – recruits Chase to plate her Makrut Lime Ice Cream and Rice & Sesame Shortbread with coconut and matcha. Just like the final touches on an outfit, Chef Kallas-Lee’s treat offers a refreshing finish to the omakase tasting.

Chef Steve Benjamin and Caitlyn Chase

Acclaimed Chef Steve Benjamin, Culinary Director at Espelette at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, welcomes Chase to the kitchen, presenting Langoustine Papillote with frisée salad and basil. The langoustine and basil, wrapped in brick dough, is deep fried until it reaches a translucent, light golden brown. The act of making the dish resembles the process of dressing for the runway in an alluring, statement silhouette. Eye-catching elements include playful dots of orange Espelette pepper powder and basil aioli drops, which play off the bold colors anticipated for this year’s fall collections. Chef Benjamin also prepares Chocolate Profiteroles with chocolate sauce, chantilly and chocolate ice cream, contrasting black and white to be emblematic of Fashion Week icon Karl Lagerfeld. Hailing from Paris, Chef Benjamin discusses with Chase how food and fashion have always intertwined throughout his career. The duo ends their time together with a toast of Diet Coke served in a Lalique glass, which was the same way that Karl Lagerfeld enjoyed drinking his favorite beverage.

BHCVB launched 'Cuisine & Couture' on May 1, 2023, with an homage to The Met Gala and the year’s theme, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. 

Executive Chef Dameon Evers and Rini Jain

Newly welcomed Executive Chef Dameon Evers of THEBlvd at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel presents a Pastrami Smoked Beet with Barbecue Tomatoes, Watercress, Beet Vinaigrette and Roasted Hazelnuts. The hearty beet dish celebrates Karl Lagerfeld’s penchant for a pop of red, which would become even more significant in his career as countless muses, models and actresses walked the red carpet in his designs. Digital creator Rini Jain of @rinisphere accompanied Chef Evers to create the bold dish together, where they discussed how Beverly Wilshire’s setting along Rodeo Drive continually inspires his work.

Michelin-Starred Pastry Chef Nick Muncy and Caitlyn Chase

At L’Restaurant of L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, Michelin-starred pastry chef Nick Muncy introduces Whipped Coconut, featuring coconut whipped into a marshmallow ring – resembling Karl Lagerfeld's tall white shirt collar – with coconut tapioca pudding at the center, seasoned with citrus zest and layered with blackberries and mint. Blackberry sorbet will finish the dish, topped with a dehydrated meringue disc spotlighting an airbrushed image of Karl's iconic sunglasses. Chef Muncy joined Caitlyn Chase of @caitlynchase – Caviar & Cashmere founder and long-time admirer of L’Ermitage – to prepare the delicacy and share fond memories in Beverly Hills, finding high design and gastronomic moments in all directions.