Is food central or trivial to the formation of identity?

In our final episode of the season, hosts Jason and Yvonne Lee welcome Yvonne’s sister, Chef B.B. Huff to the show. Chef Huff left the corporate world to begin her own company, The Salted Parlor, which is a boutique catering firm specializing in storytelling through food. In this episode, these three bring food into the story of our lives. They ask questions like how do we use ingredients and dishes to tell a story? How does art and the story of food connect us to the past? What is food’s role in preserving culture?

This spirited culinary conversation will leave you wondering, if food is a conversation starter, what happens after they leave your table?

For more spirited discussions, make sure to subscribe to the podcast.

And if you’ve enjoyed thinking and mocktailing along with us, we’d love for you to leave us a review.

Cheers … and Please Drink Responsibly!

Links:

Guests:

Chef B.B. Huff - The Salted Parlor

https://www.thesaltedparlor.com/about

https://www.instagram.com/saltedparlor/

Cesar Chavez

https://ufw.org/research/history/story-cesar-chavez/

https://www.history.com/topics/mexico/cesar-chavez

Lower Depth Theatre

https://lower-depth.com/

Additional Links + Special thanks to:

Podcast Haven - https://thepodcasthaven.com/

Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97

Cocktail Recipe: Ala Ala*

*This cocktail was created by Jason Lee. “Alaala” translates from Tagalog to English as “Memory” or “Recollection.” It is also the name of Jason’s elementary school yearbook in Manila, which was an interesting inspiration for the cocktail. 

Muddle sliced peaches w/ dashes of Regan’s Orange Bitters; Peychauds; Bitters Lab Charred Cedar & Currant bitters; and Hella Bitters Smoked Chili bitters.

Then:

2 oz Pierre Ferrand Cognac

1/4 oz Lambanog

1/2 oz simple syrup

1/2 oz sparkling water 

Build in cocktail glass.

Serve on rocks.

Add Tangerine peel (or blood orange peel) garnish.

Why is film such an important medium for creating access? How can we use empathy to expand vision?

Hosts Jason and Yvonne Lee share a moment with Spirit Award nominated producer (Songs My Brothers Taught Me), Angela C. Lee who also is the Associtate Director of Artist Development at Film Independent. By examining the ecosystem of filmmaking and producing, these three discuss the larger notion that access to “Hollywood” doesn’t come just because we deserve it. They explore how we can find (or even create) traction within a film system by showing myopic gatekeepers the capability of success from projects that have stories, actors and production teams with whom these power-holders may not associate with viability. As a solution, these three discuss one real truth: diverse producers get diverse projects made.

How do we nurture empathy to gain equity? How do we create a pathway to ownership so that we can control and expand vision?

Listen and be inspired by Angela’s determined passion. LA based and a native Chicagoan, she understands that producing is about seeing and supporting a filmmaker's vision, and sticking with them for the long haul to create space where they can shine. Along with Jason and Yvonne, who are on a mission to provide opportunities for stories that may not otherwise be told, they ask, how can we explain that discovery is infinite?

For more spirited discussions, make sure to subscribe to the podcast.

And if you’ve enjoyed thinking and mocktailing along with us, we’d love for you to leave us a review.

Cheers … and Please Drink Responsibly!

Links:

Guests:

Angela C. Lee

https://www.filmindependent.org/talent/angela-c-lee/

Project Involve

https://www.filmindependent.org/blog/project-involve-is-back-meet-the-30-new-fellows-joining-us-in-2022-2/

Philiane Phang

https://www.filmindependent.org/talent/philiane-phang/

Chloe’ Zhao (Songs My Brother Taught Me, Nomadland)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlo%C3%A9_Zhao

Original source of NPR episode about the ABA:

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/dont-worry-be-tacky/

Kurtis Blow - “Basketball” song

https://youtu.be/_shxzlTRK44

Death & Company

https://www.deathandcompany.com/

Array Now

https://arraynow.com/

Byron Allen

https://entertainmentstudios.com/founder/

Robert Townsend

https://www.roberttownsend.com/

Shonda Rhimes

https://www.shondaland.com/

Sundance Institute

https://apply.sundance.org/

Ruth Ann Harnisch

https://thehf.org/about/

Additional Links + Special thanks to:

Podcast Haven - https://thepodcasthaven.com/

Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97

Drink Recipe:

A daiquiri variation created by bartender Alex Day for Death & Co in NYC, a company who has been a huge inspiration for Jason. 

Ingredients:

1oz Islay scotch - Lagavulin 

1oz blended scotch - Johnnie Walker red or black

3/4 oz lime juice 

3/4 oz simple syrup

4-6 mint leaves 

Absinthe spray 

Shake ingredients with ice. Finish with absinthe spray.

What does it mean to look at yourself through the eyes of the ‘other’? How do you maintain a sense of self in this process? How do you build social equity to match the room that you are in?

Hosts Jason and Yvonne Lee examine the pathways to equity in this season two debut of Lagralane Spirits. With guests Monique Marshall (anti-bias/anti-racist educator) and DeMille Halliburton (champion of access and equity), they discuss the historical perspectives of ‘Passing’ which is the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of an identity group that is different than their own.

This meaningful conversation is accompanied by the Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail, chosen purposefully for this episode due its unique appearance and complexity to prepare. 

The journey to access, or ‘getting in the room’ is different for each one of us, and usually includes self-exploration and self-acceptance.

Enjoy Monique and DeMille’s unique examples of how they work to provide pathways of access and equity to others whether through food banks, entertainment or education. They also share personal stories about passing and identity as they answer this episode’s Cocktail Confession question, “When it comes to establishing and maintaining equity, what have you had to do to get in the room?”

*This episode contains strong language. 

For more spirited discussions and cocktails, make sure to subscribe to the podcast.

And if you’ve enjoyed thinking (and drinking) along with us, we’d love for you to leave us a review.

Cheers … and Please Drink Responsibly!

Links:

Book: 

Passing by Nella Larsen

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/passing-nella-larsen/1001883168

Film: 

'Passing' filmmaker Rebecca Hall shares the personal story behind her movie

https://www.npr.org/2021/11/30/1059824073/passing-rebecca-hall-film

Guests:

Monique Marshall

https://mmscequity.com/about

SoCalPosis

https://socalpocis.org/team-instructor/monique-marshall/

DeMille Halliburton

SEE-LA

https://seela.org/portfolio-item/sola-food-co-op/

Blackhouse

https://theblackhouse.org/about-us/

Film 2 Future

https://www.film2future.org/

Additional Links + Special thanks to:

Podcast Haven - https://thepodcasthaven.com/

Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97

Cocktail Recipe:

Ramos Gin Fizz

2 oz  gin

1/2 oz lemon juice

1/2 oz lime juice

1 oz simple syrup

2 dashes of orange flower water*

1 oz cream**

1 egg white

2-3 oz of soda water 

*We swapped in Rose Water; it’s what we had on hand in the house

**For lactose intolerant drinkers, this can be swapped cream with oat milk

One of the most complicated and difficult cocktails to make. Famous for a big frothy, Meringue-like head because of the egg white and soda water.

Shake the ingredients with 3-5 ice cubes for 5-10 minutes to build up thick and creamy foam.

Pour into a glass and leave it in the refrigerator for 3-4 minutes to let the head of the cocktail rise up.

In this final episode of the first season, Jason and Yvonne spend valuable time with Oscar-nominated, “brother” Kemp Powers -- journalist, screenwriter, playwright, journalist and now, director. This grounded, yet uplifting conversation circles around this notion: to maintain truth and integrity in storytelling, we must bring ourselves into the story and we do so by holding steadfast to emotional honesty and by creating empathy. This way, we create a great story, and a great story brings us together.

This week:

• Jason asks, “How do we honor identity without exploiting it for the sake of a ‘good’ story?”
• Jason and Yvonne examine the book and 1977 television miniseries, Roots by Alex Haley as a way into the discussion about to honor or to exploit in storytelling
• Frederick Douglass: “What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July” (1852)
• One Night in Miami, stage play (Jason as Malcolm X), “How the Ending of ‘One Night in Miami’ Recreated a Long Lost Cultural Landmark” Los Angeles Times
• Yvonne asks, “Are you in service to yourself or to the greater good?”
• Episode 5 guest, Jacqueline Olive work is about filling in the gaps of narrative in history and her documentary, “Always in Season” which won the 2019 Sundance Special Jury Prize for Moral Urgency 
• Kemp Powers, Pixar’s first black director; “Do Black People Wear Belts? Kemp Powers on Creativity and Tackling Stereotypes at Pixar” WBEZ, Chicago 
• ‘Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse’ Sequel Reveals Directing Team, The Hollywood Reporter
• Kemp shares his career journey; the ups and downs and says, “It’s about finding the people who get you.”
• Kemp says, “I’m a storyteller.”
• Yvonne asks, “How do you maintain integrity in storytelling?”
• Kemp answers, “It’s about emotional honesty.”
• Kemp shares, “It took me my whole life to understand who I am,” … “I know me really, really, well.”

Cocktail: Sidecar

A gorgeous, savory drink that is cognac forward with a delightful citrus kick.

Recipe

• 2oz Cognac
• ¾ oz Cointreau*
• ¾ oz Lemon juice* (preferably freshly squeezed)
• Orange twist garnish
• Shaken

*Jason prefers to dial back (or ramp up!) on these two ingredients and uses ½ oz Cointreau and ½ oz lemon juice in his recipe as a perfect way to tell the Sidecar story

History & Meaning

The Sidecar:

Like many cocktails, the Sidecar’s history and origination is attributed to more than one story. Here at Lagralane Spirits, and for the emphasis of this episode’s title, we both honor and perhaps exploit the story of the sidecar by making it our own. 

In this episode, Jason and Yvonne sit down with Jacqueline Olive, a friend and a filmmaker. All three met through her documentary, “Always in Season” at the Sundance Film Festival. Here, they sit down and examine the meaning behind the question, “Who’s telling the story, and does that add or take away from the story?” Through the lens of storytellers and their own experiences as People of Color living in America, they respond. 

This week:

• Jason asks, “How do we author history?
• Jacqueline’s work is about filling in the gaps of narrative in history?
• Jackie’s documentary, “Always in Season” won the 2019 Sundance Special Jury Prize for Moral Urgency 
• Jackie asks, “Who’s telling the story, and does that add or take away from the story?"
• Quote originates from Greek poet, Dinos Christianopoulos “They tried to bury us but they didn’t know we were seeds.”
• Jackie talks about how acts of rebellion and resistance inspire her to create
• Jackie says that having a child is authoring history 
• Jackie described the racial tension that she and her family experienced in Mississippi  
• Jackie says authoring history is about going to school with questions, not answers
• Yvonne asks Jackie if she finds that some Black people do not want to talk about painful racial topics 
• Jackie responds that she is not about to judge them, but she will make space for the conversation to be had 
• Jason says that trauma can also stop us from exploring our ancestry 
• Jason explores why some people stop talking about their history 

Cocktail: Manhattan

Recipe

• 2 oz of Rye Whiskey
• 1 oz sweet vermouth
• Three teaspoons of simple syrup 
• Several dashes* of Angostura and orange bitters 
• Brandied cherry
• Stirred in a mixing tin

 *We love our bitters; “You can’t under-bitter a Manhattan”

History & Meaning

The Manhattan :

The Manhattan is one of David Embury’s six essential cocktails which he mentions in his 1948 book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. The six are the Manhattan, Martini, Old Fashioned, Daiquiri, Sidecar and the Jack Rose. It was important to us to include the Manhattan; no one really knows who created this classic  -- there are a lot of theories and stories. Enjoy!