Cooks with Books

Cooks with Books events take place at Bay Area restaurants. Attendees attend a meal that is prepared under the supervision of a local or celebrity chef (and since the Bay Area is one of the world's culinary capitals, that often means both!). Throughout the meal, the author-chef mingles with attendees and discusses his or her latest book. Coffee and conversation usually end about two hours later. These are happy, convivial events for any lover of fine food and wine. The ticket price includes the meal, wine, tax, tip & a signed copy of the author’s book.

Cooks with Books: Erin Gleeson - The Forest Feast Mediterranean (Left Bank Restaurant)

Sunday, September 22, 2019 - 12:30pm

Presented by Book Passage at Left Bank, Larkspur
Tickets: $115 per person; $185 per couple (includes meal & book)

Registration is now closed. Sold out event. 

Erin Gleeson, New York Times bestselling author, returns with a gorgeously illustrated cookbook that will transport readers to the Mediterranean coast.

For years, Forest Feast readers have been transported to Erin Gleeson’s picturesque cabin in the woods through her stunning photography of magical gatherings and vibrant vegetarian cooking. Now, Gleeson transports readers to Europe, with recipes inspired by her exploration of the cultures and cuisines of France, Portugal, Spain, and Italy during an extended family trip. Reimagining the flavors and signature dishes of this part of the Mediterranean, Gleeson presents 100 vegetarian recipes for creating effortless, unforgettable meals. Filled with atmospheric images of coastal villages, charming watercolor illustrations, and mouthwatering food photography, The Forest Feast Mediterranean is an irresistible escape from the everyday, no matter where you might live.

Erin Gleeson is the author, illustrator, and photographer behind the New York Times bestselling cookbook The Forest Feast, The Forest Feast for Kids, The Forest Feast Gatherings, and the popular blog by the same name. Gleeson lives in a cabin in the woods in Northern California.

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Our award-winning Cooks with Books events are held at outstanding Bay Area restaurants. The meal is inspired by the author/chefs who discuss their cookbooks with guests throughout the meal. These are happy, convivial events that often sell out quickly, so don’t wait to register! Event tickets include the meal, wine, tip, and a signed copy of the book.

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Left Bank Brasserie
507 Magnolia Ave
Larkspur, CA 94939

Cooks with Books: Sean Brock - South (Insalata's Restaurant)

Sunday, November 10, 2019 - 6:30pm

Please note: This event is currently at capacity
Presented by Book Passage at Insalata's, San Anselmo • Tickets: $125 per person; $200 per couple (includes meal & book)

Southern food is one of the most beloved and delicious cuisines in America. And who better to give us the key elements of Southern cuisine than Sean Brock, the award-winning chef and Southern-food crusader. In South, Brock shares his recipes for key components of the cuisine, from grits and fried chicken to collard greens and corn bread. Recipes can be mixed and matched to make a meal or eaten on their own. Taken together, they make up the essential elements of Southern cuisine, from fried green tomatoes to smoked baby back ribs and from tomato okra stew to biscuits. Regional differences are highlighted in recipes for shrimp and grits, corn bread, fried chicken, and more. Includes key Southern knowledge too: how to fry, how to care for cast iron, how to cook over a hearth, and more. This is the book fans of Sean Brock have been waiting for, and it’s the book Southern-food lovers the world over will use as their bible.

Sean Brock is the founding chef of the award-winning Husk restaurants and the chef/owner of a forthcoming to-be-named restaurant in Nashville. His first book, Heritage, was the winner of the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook and the IACP Julia Child First Book Award in 2015 and was called “the blue-ribbon chef cookbook of the year” by the New York Times. Brock won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southeast in 2010 and was a finalist for Outstanding Chef in 2013, 2014, and 2015. His TV résumé includes Chef’s Table and The Mind of a Chef, for which he was nominated for an Emmy. Raised in rural Virginia, Brock is passionate about preserving and restoring heirloom ingredients. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Find him on Instagram @hseanbrock.

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Our award-winning Cooks with Books events are held at outstanding Bay Area restaurants. The meal is inspired by the author/chefs who discuss their cookbooks with guests throughout the meal. These are happy, convivial events that often sell out quickly, so don’t wait to register! Event tickets include the meal, wine, tip, and a signed copy of the book.

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Insalata's Restaurant
120 Sir Francis Drake Blvd
San Anselmo, CA 94960

Cooks with Books: John Becker & Megan Scott - The Joy of Cooking (Left Bank Restaurant)

Saturday, December 7, 2019 - 12:30pm

Presented by Book Passage at Left Bank, Larkspur
Tickets: $125 per person; $200 per couple (includes meal & book)

Please Note: This event is now sold out.

One of the 150 most important and influential books of the twentieth century (The New York Public Library), The Joy of Cooking has taught tens of millions of people to cook. Since 1931, the Rombauer-Becker family has revised and updated their bestselling cookbook—a book Julia Child called the “fundamental resource for any American cook.” Eighty-eight years after Irma Rombauer self-published the first edition, her great-grandson, John Becker, and his wife Megan Scott, have translated this comprehensive culinary resource for a new generation of home cooks, bringing the latest version of The Joy of Cooking into the future while drawing on the best of its storied past.

In the 2019 edition of Joy, readers will find many beloved recipes from previous editions retested and updated, as well as over 600 new recipes geared to modern tastes and the way we cook today. From quick, weeknight-friendly recipes and meals you can cook ahead to show-stopping, celebratory dishes and DIY projects such as fermenting foods and making sausages, the new Joy has dishes for every occasion, whim, and skill level. Each chapter has been thoughtfully reconsidered and improved upon, always with an eye to what has made Joy a practical, approachable, indispensable companion in the kitchen.

The 2019 edition features:
—A large selection of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free recipes;
—Baking chapters that include weight measures for greater accuracy and easier clean-up;
—“Streamlined Cooking,” a new chapter devoted to saving time, effort, and money in the kitchen;
—Expanded coverage of new ingredients and cooking techniques;
—A thorough, up-to-date nutrition chapter and food safety guidelines;
—New illustrations and beautiful chapter-opening papercuts that harken back to the artwork in the original Joy.

Irma Rombauer self-published the first Joy of Cooking in 1931. In 1936, the first commercial edition was published by Bobbs-Merrill. Marion Rombauer Becker, Irma’s daughter, helped revise and update each subsequent edition until 1951. The 1963 edition was the first after Irma’s death and was completely Marion’s. Her son, Ethan Becker, helped Marion revise the 1975 edition, and then oversaw the 1997 and 75th Anniversary editions. Ethan’s son, John Becker and his wife, Megan Scott are the first of the family to be solely responsible for testing, revising, and updating the book since 1975, ensuring the latest edition is given the same love and attention to detail that made this culinary resource an American classic.

Ethan Becker is the son of Marion Rombauer Becker and the grandson of Irma S. Rombauer, the original author of The Joy of Cooking. He attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, but learned how to cook from his mom. An outdoors-man, he is a master of the grill and at cooking game. His outdoor gear and survival and combat knives are sold internationally under the brand Becker Knife and Tool. Ethan and his wife, Susan, a writer, editor, and artist, live in East Tennessee at their home, Half Moon Ridge. His website is TheJoyKitchen.com.

John Becker, great-grandson of Irma Rombauer, grew up surrounded by the natural splendor of the Pacific Northwest. Spending his childhood between Portland, Oregon and the Becker family home in Cincinnati, John learned to appreciate a range of approaches to cooking. Influenced by his father Ethan’s improvisational style, and his mother’s love of international foods and spices, John has an insatiable curiosity when it comes to food and cooking. After earning an English degree, he helped publish seventeen collections of literary essays before dedicating himself to the family business and updating Joy for a new generation. John currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Megan.

Megan Scott started worked for the Joy of Cooking in 2010, when she and John Becker met and immediately bonded over a shared love of blue cheese. Megan’s culinary education began in North Carolina, where she learned to cook from a long line of matriarchs. She grew up in a farming family, shucking corn and snapping green beans as far back as she can remember. She has been a cheesemaker’s apprentice, a baker, and an assistant pastry chef, and in addition to her work for Joy she is the culinary director for a marketing agency that specializes in food. Megan lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband John and their two cats, Loki and Kishu.

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Our award-winning Cooks with Books events are held at outstanding Bay Area restaurants. The meal is inspired by the author/chefs who discuss their cookbooks with guests throughout the meal. These are happy, convivial events that often sell out quickly, so don’t wait to register! Event tickets include the meal, wine, tip, and a signed copy of the book.

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Left Bank Brasserie
507 Magnolia Ave
Larkspur, CA 94939

CANCELLED: Cooks with Books: Fiorella Butron, John McReynolds, & Mike Emanuel - Stone Edge Farm Kitchen Larder Cookbook (Silver Cloud Vineyard)

Saturday, May 25, 2019 - 12:00pm

 

Presented by Book Passage at Silver Cloud Vineyard, Glen Ellen
Tickets: $155 per person; $250 per couple (includes meal & book)

Please note: This event has been cancelled. It will be rescheduled to an in-store event at a future date

Celebrating the bounty of the estate’s organic kitchen garden, groves, and olive orchard, The Stone Edge Farm Kitchen Larder Cookbook makes the ultimate gift for cooks looking for new creative and efficient means to make the most of abundance and is a thoughtful, practical inspiration for building one’s own repertoire of versatile staples and resourceful dishes combining delicious and dependable larder recipes with fresh, seasonal ingredients.

Divided into chapters around ten classic ingredients—Lemons and Citrus, Herbs, Garlic, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Peppers, Figs, Quince, Olives and Olive Oil, and Grapes—seventy-five delectable recipes show readers how to prepare pantry staples, such as preserves, infused oils, and conservas, and then how to use those same products and ingredients in fully composed seasonal cocktails, dishes, and desserts for family meals and entertaining. Recipes include: Warm Olives with Preserved Lemon, Stone Fruit Salad with Onions, Wild Pecans, and Black Garlic Dressing, Potato and Green Garlic Ravioli, Herb-Crusted Fillet of Beef with Red Wine Jus, and Honey Sage Whiskey Sour.

Step-by-step photographs guide the reader through preservation techniques and recipes and inspire with views of finished and composed dishes and scenery from wine country.

John McReynolds is the author of The Stone Edge Farm Cookbook (2013), winner of the 2014 Cookbook of the Year and Best First Book awards from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (a historic first for a self-published cookbook). He was the founding chef and co-owner of Café La Haye in Sonoma, CA for ten years and is the Executive Chef and Culinary Director of Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards and Winery. His recipes have appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, and cookbooks. Mike Emanuel and Fiorella Butron are both chefs at Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyards and Winery.

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Upon reservation, address and directions will be provided to this exclusive property.

Silver Cloud Vineyard
Glen Ellen, CA

Cooks with Books: Ruth Reichl - Save Me The Plums (Left Bank)

Monday, April 8, 2019 - 12:30pm

Left Bank, Larkspur
Tickets: $120 per person; $180 per couple

*Registration is now closed. 

When Condé Nast offered Ruth Reichl the top position at America’s oldest epicurean magazine, she declined. She was a writer, not a manager, and had no inclination to be anyone’s boss. And yet...Reichl had been reading Gourmet since she was eight; it had inspired her career. How could she say no?

This is the story of a former Berkeley hippie entering the corporate world and worrying about losing her soul. It is the story of the moment restaurants became an important part of popular culture, a time when the rise of the farm-to-table movement changed, forever, the way we eat. Readers will meet legendary chefs like David Chang and Eric Ripert, idiosyncratic writers like David Foster Wallace, and a colorful group of editors and art directors who, under Reichl’s leadership, transformed stately Gourmet into a cutting-edge publication. This was the golden age of print media—the last spendthrift gasp before the Internet turned the magazine world upside down.

Complete with recipes, Save Me the Plums is a personal journey of a woman coming to terms with being in charge and making a mark, following a passion and holding on to her dreams—even when she ends up in a place she never expected to be.

Ruth Reichl is the bestselling author of the memoirs Tender at the Bone, Comfort Me With Apples, Garlic and Sapphires, and For You, Mom, Finally; the novel Delicious!; and, most recently, the cookbook My Kitchen Year. She was editor in chief of Gourmet magazine for ten years. Previously she was the restaurant critic for The New York Times and served as the food editor and restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. She has been honored with six James Beard Awards for her journalism, magazine feature writing, and criticism. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and two cats.

 

Left Bank Brasserie
507 Magnolia Avenue
Larkspur, CA 94939

Cooks with Books: Janet Fletcher - Wine Country Table (Insalata's Restaurant)

Thursday, April 11, 2019 - 6:30pm

 

Presented by Insalata's Restaurant, San Anselmo 
Tickets: $125 per person; $200 per couple (includes meal & book)

Please note: This event is currently at capacity

A luxurious guided tour of breathtaking farms and wineries with a garden-to-table cooking class from a prominent Napa Valley chef -- Wine Country Table showcases the spirit and dishes that make wine country entertaining an evergreen trend from coast to coast. Fifteen renowned producers whose sustainable practices show the future of responsible farming and winegrowing are profiled, including Cakebread Cellars, Domaine Carneros, Handley Cellars, and Tablas Creek Vineyard, along with Lodi Farming (cherries), Hilltop & Canyon Farms (avocados and citrus), and Henderson Orchards (pears).

Award-winning author Janet Fletcher's recipes turn any gathering into a celebration. Wine pairings and recommendations add sophistication to everyday meals. Wine Country Table shows readers firsthand how responsible growing practices and careful technique result in delicious dishes you'll be proud to share with family and friends.

Janet Fletcher is the author or co-author of nearly 30 books on food and beverage, including Cheese & Wine, Cheese & Beer, Yogurt: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, and Sur la Table's Eating Local: Recipes Inspired by America's Farmers. She publishes the weekly Planet Cheese blog and is the cheese columnist for Specialty Food and Somm Journal magazines. Fletcher's journalism has received three James Beard Awards and the IACP Bert Greene Award, and her food writing has appeared in numerous national publications, including the New York Times, Saveur, Fine Cooking, and Food & Wine.

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Our award-winning Cooks with Books events are held at outstanding Bay Area restaurants. The meal is inspired by the author/chefs who discuss their cookbooks with guests throughout the meal. These are happy, convivial events that often sell out quickly, so don’t wait to register! Event tickets include the meal, wine, tip, and a signed copy of the book.

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Can’t make the event? Need a gift? Click below to purchase the book now.

Insalata's Restaurant
120 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
San Anselmo, CA 94960

Cooks with Books: Jamie Purviance - Weber's Ultimate Grilling (Left Bank Brasserie)

Sunday, June 2, 2019 - 6:30pm

 

Presented by Book Passage at Left Bank, Larkspur
Tickets: $115 per person; $175 per couple (includes meal & book)

Registration is now closed.*

This is your new go-to companion from the most trusted name in grilling. Much more than just a recipe collection, Weber’s Ultimate Grilling is an entirely new take on grilling today, with every recipe step visually depicted in full-color photography. With these extensively tested recipes, anyone—from amateur to ace—can be a barbecue genius. Foundational recipes for popular grilled foods—steak, burgers, pork chops, ribs, chicken breasts and wings, and salmon fillets—are masterfully explained in this keepsake classroom-in-a-book. “Flavor Bomb” spreads offer inspiring, weeknight-friendly recipe ideas for how to create wonderful variations of the most-loved grilled foods. And fun food science facts, along with infographics, illustrations, and tips, help you get the absolute best results every time.

Jamie Purviance is one of America’s top grilling experts and Weber’s master griller. He graduated from Stanford University and the Culinary Institute of America before launching a career as a food writer for publications such as Bon Appetit, Better Homes and Gardens, Fine Cooking, Town & Country, and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of numerous cookbooks including Weber’s Way to Grill, a James Beard Award nominee and New York Times best seller. Purviance has appeared as a grilling authority on numerous television shows including Today, The Early Show, Good Morning America, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He lives in Sacramento, California.

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Our award-winning Cooks with Books events are held at outstanding Bay Area restaurants. The meal is inspired by the author/chefs who discuss their cookbooks with guests throughout the meal. These are happy, convivial events that often sell out quickly, so don’t wait to register! Event tickets include the meal, wine, tip, and a signed copy of the book.

Left Bank Brasserie
507 Magnolia Avenue
Larkspur, CA 94939

Cooks with Books: Elizabeth Minchilli - The Italian Table (Left Bank Brasserie)

Sunday, May 5, 2019 - 6:30pm

 

Presented by Book Passage at Left Bank, Larkspur
Tickets: $115 per person; $175 per couple (includes meal & book)

Please note: This event is currently at capacity. If you would like to be added to our waitlist, please call (415) 927-0960x1

The Italian Table delivers both parts of the fantasy and reality of Italian meals as they would be eaten on location. Combining menus and recipes with visual experience and inspiration--as well as insight into the traditions of the food and celebrations--it serves as a practical resource that gives home cooks and hosts step-by-step guidance on how to re-create these fabulous meals at their own tables.

Menus and recipes include: Eating in the Market in Florence with Coward's Spaghetti, Pappa al Pomodoro, and Apple Cake; A Sunday Lunch in Emilia-Romagna with Ricotta and Swiss Chard Tortelli, Vegetable Pie, and Stuffed Pork Roast; and A Table by the Sea in Positano with Mozzarella on Grilled Lemon Leaves, Squid and Walnut Salad, and Jackie O's Spaghetti. With a resources section for Italian ingredients; headnotes brimming with interesting history, recipe shortcuts, and serving suggestions; and menu introductions detailing what to drink, how to set the table, and how to time the preparation and the party itself, this is an essential guide for home cooks and those who love to entertain.

Elizabeth Minchilli has written about food, style, and architecture from her home in Italy for the past 25 years. Her website, Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome won a Saveur Blog Award for Best Culinary Coverage, an Italy Magazine Best Food Blog Award, and was named The Culture Trip Local Favorite. Elizabeth is the author of eight books, including Eating My Way Through Italy. She is also the founder of the Eat Italy app. Her books, blogs, apps, and food tours have been praised by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Travel & Leisure, NPR, The Huffington Post, Condé Nast Traveler, and more.

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Our award-winning Cooks with Books events are held at outstanding Bay Area restaurants. The meal is inspired by the author/chefs who discuss their cookbooks with guests throughout the meal. These are happy, convivial events that often sell out quickly, so don’t wait to register! Event tickets include the meal, wine, tip, and a signed copy of the book.

 

Left Bank Brasserie
507 Magnolia Avenue
Larkspur, CA 94939

Cooks with Books: Martina McBride - Martina’s Kitchen Mix: My Recipe Playlist for Real Life (Calmére Estate Winery)

Saturday, March 30, 2019 - 12:00pm

 

Presented by Book Passage and Bank of Marin at Calmére Estate Winery, Napa
Tickets: $145 per person; $255 per couple (includes meal & book)

Please note: This event is now waitlist only. Please call (415) 927-0960x1 for more information.

To country music icon Martina McBride, cooking and singing aren't all that different. When she makes something delicious, she wants to share it, which is a lot like sharing her music with an audience. When she's not on stage or in the studio, Martina is most likely experimenting in the kitchen and cooking with family and friends. Growing up on a farm in Kansas, Martina began helping her mother in the kitchen at an early age, preparing fresh-from-the-field ingredients. Meals and stories were shared daily around the table. It's a tradition she continues with her own family as often as she can because real life is what's worth celebrating. In this gorgeously photographed cookbook, readers will find more than 100 simple and satisfying recipes filled with fresh, seasonal ingredients and down-home flavor.

In Martina's Kitchen Mix, Martina encourages cooking "outside the lines" and shows you how to make cooking fun with creative "ad-lib" tips for recipe riffs you might consider. Mix things up in the kitchen and create your own delicious memories with her inspired recipes to feed a handful or a houseful. Whip up Martina's family favorites like her mother-in-law Flavia's Deviled Eggs, husband John's Bacon-Wrapped Olives, or her go-to Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Sauce and Slaw. Plan a weekend brunch menu, serving Baked French Toast with Pecan Crumble and Blackberry-Maple Syrup and Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole with Tomato Gravy. Toast friends at happy hour with her Blackberry-Lemon Gin & Tonic while enjoying Grilled Sweet Peppers with Goat Cheese and Herbs. And when it's time to celebrate with family and indulge in dessert, try Martina's Fresh Apple Cake with Homemade Caramel Sauce or No-Bake Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cookies.

Martina McBride is a Kansas native and country music icon who made her debut on the charts in 1992. She has earned a string of hits across 13 albums and has sold over 14 million albums. She is the author of Around the Table: Recipes and Inspiration for Gatherings Throughout the Year. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and three daughters.

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Our award-winning Cooks with Books events are held at outstanding Bay Area restaurants. The meal is inspired by the author/chefs who discuss their cookbooks with guests throughout the meal. These are happy, convivial events that often sell out quickly, so don’t wait to register! Event tickets include the meal, wine, tip, and a signed copy of the book.

Calmére Estate Winery
2750 Las Amigas Rd.
Napa, CA 94559

Cooks with Books: Dorie Greenspan - Everyday Dorie (Left Bank Restaurant)

Thursday, November 8, 2018 - 6:30pm

Left Bank Restaurant, Larkspur
Tickets: $120 per person; $185 per couple (includes meal & book)

Online ticket sales have now closed. Please call (415) 927-0960 ext. 233 to inquire about waitlist availability.

To the hundreds of thousands who follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, Dorie Greenspan’s food is powerfully cookable—her recipes instant classics. In Everyday Dorie, she invites readers into her kitchen to savor the dishes that she makes all the time, from Miso-Glazed Salmon to Lemon Goop.

What makes a “Dorie recipe”?

Each one has a small surprise that makes it special. Mustard and walnuts in the cheese puffs. Cherry tomatoes stuffed into red bell peppers and oven-charred. Cannellini beans in cod en papillote. The dishes are practical, made with common ingredients from the supermarket, farmers’ market, or pantry, like Sweet Chili Chicken Thighs, which is both weeknight simple and fine enough for company, and Eton Mess, a beautifully casual dessert of crumbled meringue, fruit, and whipped cream. They are easygoing, providing swaps and substitutions. They invite mixing and matching. Many can be served as dinner, or as a side dish, or as an appetizer, or hot, cold, or room temperature. And every single one is like a best friend in the kitchen, full of Dorie’s infectious love of cooking and her trademark hand-holding directions.

Inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America, Dorie Greenspan is the author of Dorie's Cookies, a 2017 James Beard Award-winner for Best Baking and Dessert book; Around My French Table, a New York Times bestseller that wasnnamed Cookbook of the Year by the IACP; Baking Chez Moi, also a Times bestseller; and Baking: From My Home to Yours, a James Beard Award winner. She lives in New York City, Westbrook, Connecticut, and Paris.

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Our award-winning Cooks with Books events are held at outstanding Bay Area restaurants. The meal is inspired by the author/chefs who discuss their cookbooks with guests throughout the meal. These are happy, convivial events that often sell out quickly, so don’t wait to register! Event tickets include the meal, wine, tip, and a signed copy of the book.

 

Left Bank Restaurant
507 Magnolia Ave.
Larkspur, CA 94939

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