The logos of the Los Angeles Times and The Real Deal.

Top Industry Professionals Explore the Interconnection of Food and Design

Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times Hot Property and Gaggenau welcomed some of the biggest names in Southern California’s architect, developer, and real estate spheres, including top LA real estate brokers Sally Forster Jones (Sally Forster Jones Group), David Kramer (Hilton & Hyland) and Drew Fenton (Carolwood Estates), to an evening of cuisine and conversation. The subject of the evening was exploring the interconnection of food, art, architecture and design. Chef Jordan Kahn’s (of MICHELIN-Two Starred Vespertine ) high-concept restaurant Meteora provided the ultimate experiential venue for the intimate dining experience featuring a five-course meal and wine pairing.

A collage showing the evening's beef dish being drizzled with sauce; Sally Forster Jones shaking hands with other guests.
Chef Jordan Kahn addressing his staff before guests arrive.

Draped in live greenery and decorative pieces made from natural materials, Meteora’s incensed space is almost like stepping back in time. Chef Kahn’s concept for both the space and the food represents “ancestral eating”— an approach to cuisine returning guests to a time before the industrialization of the food chain. Utilizing diverse, minimally-processed ingredients and live-fire cooking techniques, he creates delectable dishes reflecting the past, present, and future of food.

The logos of the Los Angeles Times and The Real Deal.

After a reception with hors d’oeuvres, guests were brought together at thoughtfully curated tables supporting engaging conversation and building connections. The evening’s multi-course meal began with an appetizer of prawns and green peppercorn, roasted to perfection atop a bed of hot stones. On a bed of grilled asparagus beans came the main: tender, grass-fed wagyu, complimented by heirloom sesame cream and tamarind. The meal concluded with a stunning dessert of whipped brown butter with berries, served under an ornate cage of caramelized birch sap.

Collage featuring Craig Knizek and Andrew Manning laughing over a joke, as well as the steaming prawn appetizer.
David Kramer, Paul Ingegneri, Sally Forster Jones, and Myra Nourmand sitting together.

Among the guests were Matt Epstein and Andrew Manning, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services; Craig Knizek of The Agency; Jade Mills, Tom Dunlap, and Sasha Kapland of Coldwell Banker; Michael Libow, COMPASS Real Estate; Ryan Hilley, MICHELIN North America; Christofer von Nagel, BSH Home Appliances Corporation – North America; and Charles Cote, Skyler Stevenson, and John McDonough of the Gaggenau team.

Collage featuring Drew Fenton, Meteora's distinctive round windows, and guests taking a selfie together.
The logos of the Los Angeles Times and The Real Deal.

Photography: Adahlia Cole