How do you say ‘rice’ in your language?
What is a cherished memory of a dish from your childhood?
Describe a kitchen object that’s passed on in your family, or your dining space.
Any hand-written recipe from your loved ones?
Join multidisciplinary artist and food storyteller Shuba (Shubalakshmi) Shekar for an evening of conversation inspired by Kitchen Table, her anthology of recipes and personal stories from residents of Metro Detroit. Bringing together more than 50 recipes alongside memories of childhood, migration, and family kitchens, the project explores how food becomes a way of preserving identity, culture, and belonging.
For this special Bay Area edition, Shuba will open the evening with a reading before moderating a conversation with local food writers and cookbook authors Anna Voloshyna, Asha Loupy, and Viola Buitoni, who will share their own stories about food, memory, and the many ways we create a sense of home.
Audience participation is encouraged. Guests are invited to bring a favorite recipe, a photograph, a kitchen object, or simply a story that connects food to memory. Together, we’ll build a conversation that celebrates the people, places, and meals that stay with us long after we’ve left the table.
Shubalakshmi (Shuba) Shekar is a multidisciplinary artist, food storyteller, and creative researcher whose work explores food, memory, and ideas of home. Kitchen Table is her first publication. Based in the Bay Area, she is currently developing her creative practice, annam&friends, around food, storytelling, and community.
Anna Voloshyna is a Ukrainian-American culinary storyteller, activist, and the award-winning author of BUDMO! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen. Her work celebrates Ukrainian culinary traditions through recipes, writing, classes, and public events, and has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, and more. Her latest book, Ukraïne: Recipes and Stories from Kyiv to the Black Sea, will be relased on Oct. 13.
Asha Loupy is an Oakland-based recipe developer, writer, and co-author of The Diaspora Spice Co Cookbook. She's contributed to multiple cookbooks, including Dan Pashman's Anything's Pastable and Joe Yonan's Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking, as well as publications like Bon Appétit, Food52, The Washington Post, and Epicurious. You can find her recipes on her substack From Head to Table and in her forthcoming debut cookbook Dinner Season (out summer 2027!).
Viola Buitoni - Born in Rome and raised in Umbria, Viola Buitoni is a chef, teacher, and food writer whose work bridges Italian culinary traditions with California ingredients. She teaches at Milk Street, 18 Reasons, and The Civic Kitchen, leads food tours throughout Italy, and is the author of Italy by Ingredient. In 2020, she was named a Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia by the President of Italy for her contributions to Italian food culture.
