Athleisure Mag APR ISSUE #88

ISSUE #88

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PUBLISHER

Paul Farkas

EDITORIAL

Kimmie Smith

Co-Founder, Creative + Style Director

Paul Farkas

Co-Founder, Artistic Director + Tech Director

FASHION CONTRIBUTIONS

PHOTOGRAPHERS | The Creator and Blake Silva | Cooper Doe |

Paul Farkas | Andrew Ho | Rocky Holloway | Eliesa Johnson |

Yoshifumi Shimizu | Emilie Ann Szabo | Tomorrowland |

Michael Tulipan | TJ Turner |

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EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

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HOST

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MIXING

Athleisure Studio Team

ATHLEISURE STUDIO

PODCAST NETWORK SHOWS

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table of contents

issue #88

apr 2023

123

STYLE FEATURES

THE PICK ME UP

138

102

IN OUR BAG

147 ROCK THIS FOR YOUR

QUIET LUXURY ERA

BEAUTY FEATURES

BEET BEAUTY

Feel the Music

John Newman

This month, we head into the Spring and Festival Season with EDM DJ/producer,

singer/songwriter, and composer, John Newman. We talk about how he got into the

industry, how he creates and what we can look out for this year!

16

151

ATHLEISURE BEAUTY

Being the Echo

Chef Yia Vang

We caught up with multi James Beard Award nominee, restaurateur, and TV Personality/host,

Chef Yia Vang. We found out how he came to the food industry, his focus

on showcasing Hmong culture and people as well as maintaining his parent’s legacy.

30

124

LIFESTYLE FEATURES

ATHLEISURE LIST

JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT

9LIST STORI3S

®

62

Celeb Fashion Stylist/Alette designer,

Jason Rembert shares his must-haves.

The Impact

66

We talk with guitarist, rapper, singer/

songrwiter and producer, Jesse McFaddin

about his music and projects.

126

ATHLEISURE LIST

MIMI CHENG’S

AthleisureMag.com - 10 - Issue #88 | Apr 2023

Sustainability is Key

Danielle Lombard

We sat down with Danielle Lombard who competed in Season 21 of The Bachelor

and was also in Bachelor in Paradise. She talks about why sustainability is important,

how we can do our part in a number of ways big and small, and how her partnership

with Astral Tequila is building homes in Jalisco, Mexico.

78

The Climb

Case Walker

92

We catch up with Case Walker who is

back for Season 3 of HBO Max’s The Other

Two in May. We talk about his career,

projects and passion for rock climbing.

Art of the Snack

Luthun

108

We head to Luthun in NYC to experience

an epic evening and their tasting menu.

63MIX ROUTIN3S

Leah Van Dale

TM

128

This month, Leah Van Dale who wrestles

under the name Carmella in WWE, shares

her must-haves routines for Morning,

Afternoon and Night.

BINGELY

STREAMING

168

Here’s what we’re streaming this

month as we already have our weekend

planned for what’re watching!

Issue #88 | Apr 2023

- 11 - AthleisureMag.com

This month, our cover is Tomorrowland

artist, EDM DJ/Producer, Singer/Songwriter

and Composer, John Newman. Coming

off of his recent Tomorrowland Winter

performance when he debuted his latest

song, Hold On To My Love which has been

added to our playlist, we wanted to know

more about how he came to the music industry,

his sound, how he approaches his

projects, his collaborations and of course

what we can keep on eye out for as we

continue into the Spring and the Summer.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you first fall

in love with music?

JOHN NEWMAN: I grew up with music

around me as a kid. I was introduced to

Motown and soul by my family and once I

hit my teens I was obsessed with hard-hitting

house and Clubland productions.

AM: When did you realize that you wanted

to work in the industry?

JN: I had a pretty tough upbringing to

be honest mainly from social issues and

fitting in and being totally different to

others in the town I grew up in. I didn’t

come from money in any way at all either

so, yeah, music was my escape, creativity

was a way of releasing everything.

AM: You have an amazing background as

you are a singer/songwriter, composer, DJ

and producer! Musically, where do your

inspirations come from and how did you

hone your skills for each one?

JN: Thanks! DJing and producing dance

music was something that I had spent a

lot of time practicing as a teenager, so it

was almost like revisiting that younger

version of myself and just brushing up on

my skills.

Inspiration varies, but I’ve always admired

the 90s rave sound, with a touch of soul,

which I think came through on Holy Love.

AM: How would you describe the John

Newman sound?

JN: My sound is always evolving but,

right now, I want creative emotively

charged dance bangers. I want people

to hear a track and feel a surge of

energy and euphoria where they can’t

help but move their body.

AM: How do you approach your projects

in terms of seeking inspiration for

your solo projects?

JN: These days I have a new set up, my

at-home studio is tailored to electronic

music production and it’s somewhere I

can lock myself away to for hours kinda

just see what happens. Inspiration can

hit anywhere really. I try not to stick to

the sitting at a piano vibe, funny fact I

wrote Love Me Again and If You Really

Love Me both whilst having a shower.

AM: You have collaborated with Calvin

Harris, Kygo, David Guetta, Nile Rodgers,

and more, how do you approach

collaborations?

JN: Each collaboration comes about

differently. The link-up with David

Guetta and MistaJam on If You Really

Love Me (How Will I Know) was particularly

crazy as Guetta himself reached

out to make the first move for us to

work together, I had been a fan of his

work since being a little kid! He’d wanted

to collaborate on something for a

while, so I sent him the early version

of the track, he loved it, and the rest is

history.

AM: You just performed and released

your latest single, Hold On To My Love

at Tomorrowland Winter where you DJ

and have live vocals. Tell me about this

song and what was it like to perform

there?

JN: Hold On To My Love came about

backstage at Ushuaïa Ibiza. I sang the

melody and some lyrics into a voice

note on my phone as a rough idea, so

to see the track go full circle and perform

the final version at Tomorrowland

Winter was incredible. It was an



unforgettable weekend.

AM: This song was released on Tomorrowland

Music and you have already confirmed

that you will be at Tomorrowland

Brasil later this year on the mainstage.

What does this mean to you to be on such

a platform?

JN: I’m incredibly grateful to be starting

this journey with the Tomorrowland Music

team. They have so many talented DJs

and producers on the roster so I can’t wait

to see what the future holds.

To then also have the opportunity to perform

at their world-renowned events is

huge.

AM: With the summer around the corner,

what other festivals or clubs are you excited

to be performing?

JN: This summer is going to be so much

fun. In July, I make my Tomorrowland

mainstage debut in Belgium alongside

the biggest names in dance music which is

surreal but very exciting. It’s the holy-grail

of festivals so I plan on bringing my absolute

A-game to the stage.

AM: We’re based in NY, but will you be

performing in the US this year?

JN: You’ll have to stay tuned for that one!

I really do love the US and the amazing

crowds over there so hopefully I’ll be back

soon.

AM: When it comes to touring and being

on the road, are there any routines that

you do prior to a show when you’re a few

hours or moments ahead of hitting the

stage?

JN: There is a routine, I don’t eat one and

a half hours previous to a show so that

I don’t throw up whilst on stage, hah!

The next big one is I generally like to chill

and stretch and listen to classical music,

then get hyped to Limp Bizkit and Rage

Against the Machine about 15 minutes before

show time.

AM: When you have finished your set,

are there any routines that you do to

come down from all of the energy and

adrenaline from performing?

JN: Hmmm not really, I do struggle with

the silence after being full of that adrenaline,

usually a beer takes the edge off.

AM: Are there additional projects that

you have that we should keep an eye out

for?

JN: My focus right now is on really immersing

myself in the dance music

sphere, continuing to work on new

tunes and honing my live hybrid set of

DJing and vocals to make it bigger and

better with every show.

AM: Are there 3 artists on your bucket

list that you are interested in collaborating

with that you can share?

JN: Honestly my interest is totally varied,

Florence Welch would be amazing, Fred

Again, Swedish House Mafia, another

Calvin Harris collar, just throwing ideas

out there really.

AM: What do you want your legacy to be

in the industry?

JN: I guess, as an artist who made music

on my own terms. For the pure joy

of making people feel good, feel elevated,

and be able to escape reality for just

a moment. Whether that’s through my

tracks, or the energy people absorb at a

live show.

AM: When you’re not on stage or in the

studio, what do you do to take time for

yourself as self-care and mental health is

something that we prioritize here at Athleisure

Mag?

JN: It’s different for everyone, but I find

taking a break from social media to be

a big help for mental wellness. We consume

so much information, a lot of it

pointless, so it’s no wonder it can leave

you feeling overwhelmed.

I now work closely with a therapist on a

weekly basis which I cannot recommend

enough and my main thing is getting in

cold water.

Also spending time with my wife and

family helps to keep me grounded and

makes it all worthwhile.

AM: In terms of working out, what are

3 workouts that you do that we can consider

to include in our routines?

JN: Each to their own I guess and I’m not

really the picture of the pinnacle of fitness,

however, for me personally I like

to get out with music in my ears and do

whatever I can. Whether that be hiking,

running or cycling. I also used to love

that Shaun T exercise video, I used to do

it before every show!

@johnnewmanmusic

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | COVERS

Front/Back, INTERVIEW + PG PG 26

9DRIP Tomorrowland

There is something about a great meal

that allows you to enjoy the flavors, the

ambiance and so much more. When the

food becomes a gateway to a deeper understanding

about the people and culture,

it's truly an immersive experience that

leaves you with a bigger takeaway.

This month, we're pleased to sit down and

chat with Chef Yia Vang, who infuses his

passion for food by sharing his love for

Hmong food, his parents as well as the

people that it comes from. This multi-nominated

James Beard Award chef whose

restaurant is up for Best Chef: Midwest for

a 2nd year in a row, has two restaurants

in Minnesota, Union Hmong Kitchen and

Vinai. He is also the host of Feral, competed

on Iron Chef: Quest for An Iron Legend,

hosts his podcast Hmonglish and more.

He tells us about the food, his philosphy

and the importance of representation.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you first fall

in love with food?

CHEF YIA VANG: You know, food and I

have a really weird relationship. If you say

food in terms of kitchen cooking, I would

say that kind of for me, it’s kind of like that

high school sweetheart that you started

dating and then said, “I don’t know man,

I’m going to college and we’re kind of like

different people right now.” So I did some

other things and then we went through

this really weird break up thing where we

were together, broke up, and got back together

and then like 15 years into it, I said,

“I think that I kind of love you!” I might

as well put a ring on it! Then, when I got

into that mode where it’s like, “hey man,

we’re each other’s kind of ride or die right

now, huh?”

I always say that about 10 years ago, what

happened for me was that I re-fell in love

with my first love. I always knew that there

was something about working in kitchens.

It made sense to me and there was

this thing inside of me that it made sense,

I just didn’t know why. It took me awhile

to figure out my why and once I figured

out my why, everything connected and

through the hard, the bad, the good, the

ugly, and whatever, I knew that this thing

made sense.

AM: At what point did you realize that

you wanted to be a chef?

CHEF YV: I never – I don’t think that, see

I was the dude that grew up saying, I

don’t want to do this. I’m not trying to

be you the guy who says, don’t give me

that title. I really believe that titles are

something that you earn and it’s something

that is given to you, so I never

went out claiming that I wanted to be

a chef you know? I knew that I loved to

cook, but again, it had to be more than

just food and cooking for me. So for me,

it was this idea of storytelling. My father

is a great storyteller. We always as kids

growing up – when he put us to bed or

you know, when we would sit down, he

would tell us Hmong legends and myths

and he was really good at telling stories.

So, I found myself as a kid, have you ever

seen the movie Big Fish?

AM: I have!

CHEF YV: Yeah, you know how the whole

movie, Billy Crudup’s (Jackie, Watchman,

Almost Famous) character has

weird issues with his father because of

the stories that he tells and he doesn’t

understand him. That was me growing

up because I didn’t understand my father.

As I got older, I realized that I am

my father and as much as he is a primal

storyteller, he can captivate an audience,

that was also a part of me. Instead

of using pen and paper, a typewriter or

a computer, we get to use food as a canvas

to tell stories.

AM: What was your journey in terms of

where you trained or kitchens that you

came up in to get to where you are today?

CHEF YV: I never knew that culinary

school was a thing. I didn’t do that and

I’m so glad that I didn’t do that. For

some people it works! We have chefs

that work with us who came from culinary

school and they’re incredible you

know? I’m one of those people that if

my hand touches it, then I can understand

it. If I understand how the concept

works, then I will be able to do it.

My dad, he doesn’t understand English

but if you give him a table, he can look at

it and reverse engineer it in his brain and

he can build it. So for me, that's how I

work also. It was just me working in kitchens

and I was so young when I started that

I was too dumb to realize that what I was

doing here, that was very hard. I was just

working on my feet for 12 hours and felt

that that was what everyone did. I know

that I had a sense of what was “kitchen

culture,” when I first started, 20 years ago

it was like, “hey kid, you just go and you

just earn your spot.” Because, that’s just

what you do. Don’t try to talk about how

you feel. I worked in a lot of kitchens and

again, while I was doing it, I never thought

that I would actually be doing this. I felt

that that was a job, I was doing it at that

point to get to the next bigger and better

thing.

AM: In preparation in speaking with you,

I like reading that you said, that for you,

cooking is about intention and interpretation

and that that came from your background

as a communications major at

University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. That

struck a chord with me as I was a Telecommunications

major at Indiana University

and I got that! Can you tell me what you

meant by that?

CHEF YV: Again, my first goal in college

when I got in, all I cared about and I was

kind of a gym rat. I wanted to play football

and I wanted to play college football.

That meant that you had to be an Exercise

& Sports major or you had to be a Science

Teacher. Right when I got into Biochem, I

was like, “dang this is too hard!” So, I literally

changed majors a couple of times

and I ended up with communications. In

my first class, the professor asked, “what

is more important? The interpretation of

the message or the intention of the message?”

We had this big discussion and she

gave us this study and we read that 70% of

the people based on this qualitative and

quantitative study said that the interpretation

of the message is more important

than the intention of the message. So as

cooks, when we’re cooking food, I can

say, “oh yeah, this is what my intention

is and this and this.” I want to do it this

way, because it should be eaten this way.

But if the interpretation of the message

isn’t interpreted like that, I think that as

cooks, we need to readjust ourselves.

That doesn’t mean that we’re changing

our values and beliefs in what we’re doing,

but we have to say, how do we get

the message across? In communication,

communication is not a monologue. It's

a dialogue between 2 people. So, if I am

trying to explain something to someone

and they’re not getting it. I have to ask

myself, “what do I need to adjust on my

end?” I think that we live now and the

pendulum swings right? It started with

the customer is always right. I think that

the pendulum swung to that side and

then there’s a whole group of chefs who

are like, “F- you! The customer is not always

right, and we need to explain our

intentionality.” Now, it has swung to the

other side and what we’re doing is we’re

having guests who are dining with us

and they don’t get the food. They pretend

that they do because you have to

look good in social media. So that’s why

for us, that’s why I say, “hey, there’s a

happy medium over here.” I want to

talk about Hmong food. What makes

Hmong food, Hmong food? Even Hmong

people, we can’t make a decision and be

consistent on what is Hmong food. If

our own people can’t figure out what it

is, how are cultures from the outside going

to be able to figure it out? So for the

last 7 years, we have had the pleasure –

I call it the pleasure, the pain, and the

everything to try to say how do we create

guard rails, not rules and guidelines

around Hmong food. So yeah, it’s been

a pleasure in being able to do that.

AM: It’s great that you said it like that

because when I interview chefs that are

known for Mediterranean cuisine, Italian,

French etc. I will ask questions that

focus on foods, ingredients and tastes

that are indicative of those culinary

styles. But again, in watching your videos

and hearing you talk about this food and

how you see it, you say that Hmong food

is a philosophy, and it involves the people

that are woven into the food. That is

such a great concept. How important are

the people to the food in your opinion?

CHEF YV: It is the most important thing.

Our food is our people and our people

is our food! When you get a group of

people that doesn’t have a home and

doesn’t have a country of their own, and

they don’t have any kind of “marks of

identity,” what they do is gather around

food.

Because if you think about food, food is

so core to survival right? It’s that thing

that keeps us alive. Well of course what

keeps us alive and is so core to our survival

is the closest things to our hearts. It is

for us, the way that we think about food,

it’s the same way that some people think

about their family. They think about the

people that are the closest to them.

You know, when my parents came to

America, they had to change the way

that they cooked because cooking in the

mountains of Laos over woodfire, pots

and pans in huts made out of tree barks

and bamboo, is different than cooking

in a duplex apartment in Wisconsin, you

know?

AM: Right!

CHEF YV: They had to change and they had

to adapt and to survive the way they did

things. The reason why is that they had to

raise and take care of their kids! As a kid

who’s 5 years old who comes to America

and then I eat the food that my mom and

dad cooks here in the United States and

of course it’s going to be different than

where they’re from and have a different

flavor and taste! But the heart of it is still

the same! What we love talking about is

the food that we grew up with is Hmong

food because it’s made by Hmong people.

It’s Hmong food because it’s touched by

Hmong hands. Our people if you can see

back from generation to generation, it’s

about survival and for the first time, my

generation, my group of people as I’m 38,

those of us that are here now, all the millennials

that are the Hmong kids, this is

the first time in a long long time in our history,

that we don’t have to worry about

uprooting and constantly having to move.

We don’t have to worry about war and we

don’t have to worry about death. When

you have a civilization that doesn’t have

to worry about that, they have the ability

to grow, to dream and to imagine. They

have the ability to wonder. I was just joking

with a friend this morning and I told

him that I felt like Moana from Disney! I

can wonder beyond the reef! I feel like I

can ask those questions like mom and

dad, what’s beyond the reef? Because everything

that I have known is in the reef,

but now we’re one of the first generations

like myself and my nieces and nephews

and those that are younger, they can

wonder and talk to themselves and think

about this idea of wanting to be an archi

wonder and talk to themselves and think

about this idea of wanting to be an architect

– what’s an architect? I want to go

into finance, what's finance? All of these

things are completely different and it's

a whole new world! The reason that we

can do that is off the backs of mom and

dad who cooked this food for us. I’ll be

damned if I look at that and say, “well,

I’m going to make a twist on it.” How

dare I make a twist on anything? I get to

add on to what they do. So that’s the way

that I think of Hmong food and that’s

the way that we can challenge the way

that people think of it. We get a lot of

push back here and there. But the truth

of the matter is, I think that that is food

generally. Isn’t that what it’s about?

We have a big family! So there is that

thing of wanting to have something better

and being able to sacrifice for it. It’s

the same thing that our parents did for

us. It’s great that we pay an homage to

the old school stuff. I think it’s amazing

and I do that all of the time. But to say

that this is how we have to be – no, that’s

how a civilization or a group of people

remain stagnant. We live in a world of

advancing forward. For our food company,

we always say that our core DNA,

our core functional values are 3 words

are “moving forward together.”

We got those words and are inspired

by them because of my mom and dad’s

journey escaping Laos after the war.

My dad always said that as a group of

people that lived in the jungle for months

and months to escape the murders, the

genocide as a group, we always had to

keep moving forward together. Move

forward together.

The question of why are there melting

pots all through the Midwest?

AM: Yup!

CHEF YV: Like go to Dearborn, Michigan.

There is a huge Muslim population

there. Like Dearborn? Dude, they didn’t

go to Dearborn, Michigan because of

the weather. St. Paul, Minneapolis, has

the largest Hmong population. We didn’t

come here because we love the winter.

We’re from the hills where it’s sunny

and muggy, here it’s -30˚ for 5 months!

We didn’t do that, it was survival! In that

connection of survival, especially with

food, it connects our humanity together.

As much as we are different, we’re not

that different. That’s what we choose to

tap into. In a society and a world that’s

all about the pendulum’s swing where

it’s let’s all the be the same or we can’t all

be the same – that pendulum continues

to swing back and forth to create that dichotomy

in this country. I say, “hey, we are

different, but we’re not that different.”

We can share that with Hmong food. We

don’t have to wait for a culture to dub us

worthy or to hear our stories. No, we have

our stories and if you allow us a little corner

of the stage, allow us a little corner of

a soapbox, we want to tell you that story.

AM: We have spent the last 2 years trying

to get an interview with you because of everything

we've seen about you on TV and

although we have yet to go to your corner

of the world to eat at your restaurants personally,

We love the messaging and awareness

that you do through your food. It’s an

honor to be talking with you right now.

CHEF YV: Thank you so much! That means

so much! At the end of the day, I have

these college buddies of mine and we’re

so tight and they always ask, how do

you keep it together and I’m like, “I don’t

know, I hang out with you idiots!” I tell

them that they keep reminding me that

I’m just a Wisconsin boy that still doesn’t

really know what he’s doing. I love that

you know? I love going home and my

mom – I remember the first year that we

got our first James Beard Award nomination

and I was so excited and told her. She

was like, “that’s nice honey. Just take the

trash out when you leave.”

AM: Haha well that’s the Midwest in us!

CHEF YV: Oh yeah, that is! I remember

last year when we were finalists and I was

explaining to my mom what it is and she

was like, “oh, does everyone in Minnesota

get one of these?” And I’m like, yeah,

yeah mom sure haha! It’s like bless her

heart you know? I feel very very honored

to be here and to be able to do all of these

things, the TV and it’s such an honor to be

part of all of these things.

AM: You’re the chef/owner of Union Hmong

Kitchen. Like you said, it was a James Beard

Award nominated semifinalist, tell me

about this restaurant and what are 3

dishes that we should try on our next visit?

CHEF YV: For sure, we have all of these

things going on and we’re very blessed

that Union Hmong Kitchen started as

this tiny little pop up tent thing at Farmer’s

Markets. We always say that Hmong

food consists of 4 elements. We don’t

say that Union Hmong Kitchen is authentic

Hmong food. We don’t say that.

It’s a gateway to understanding our people

and our food. So we always have the

following. Think of meats and three. We

always talk about that. It’s the best way

to communicate with people especially

Southerners when you’re talking about

meats and three.

So Hmong food consists of 4 elements.

There’s a protein, there’s some kind of

rice – it’s either jasmine rice, sticky rice

and then you have some kind of vegetable.

Sometimes our vegetable is in a

broth or sometimes it’s just a vegetable.

The 4th element is a hot sauce and

there has to be a hot sauce. So when

you come to Union Hmong Kitchen,

that’s what you’re going to get. You get

to pick your meat – your protein and you

have your sticky rice – we have purple

sticky rice which is historically connected

to Hmong people and then you pick

a vegetable side. Sometimes it’s a noodle

or straight up right now it’s Brussel

Sprouts or something and we’ll change

it up since Spring is coming. Then we

have a couple of different hot sauces

that we traditionally grew up eating. So

it’s meat and threes, it’s dealers choice.

What we’re very proud of is the Hmong

sausage that we created. It is a recipe

that my dad showed me growing up. It

wasn’t like he taught it to me. He made

it and I watched. As I grew older, I would

say, “hey dad, can we try that?” We won

a couple of awards with it and it’s funny.

Again, I told my dad, I mean we’re from

the Midwest so you have all of these

sausages since it’s sausage central and I

said we won it with the Hmong sausage

that he created. I brought the trophy to

my dad and he was like, “really they liked

that silly recipe?” I was like, well this is in

your honor I guess! To me, that’s a very

very special thing. It’s part of dad’s legacy.

We’re to the point with that where

a really great Eastern European sausage

company, they now make this for us with

our recipe. It’s the coolest thing ever to see

a Hmong recipe being made in a Ukrainian

family which is almost a 70 years old company

here.

AM: Oh wow!

CHEF YV: Yeah, you know what I’m saying?

How amazing is that?

Nick, the son who is the owner, he’s just

like, this is one of our best sellers here. A

Ukrainian family making a Hmong sausage

which they love themselves using and

now it’s in Twin Stadium and now we’re

trying to get it out to local shops and stuff

like that.

AM: That’s really cool.

CHEF YV: Exactly, so me and Nick are

talking together and with everything

going on in Ukraine – all the refugees in

Ukraine and all the war in Ukraine. I’m

talking to him and I understand that as a

kid who is a refugee and comes from war

too. It’s different parts of the world and

yet again, we’re very different, but we’re

not different.

That was a tangent but yes, we have

Hmong sausage and we worked very hard

on our pork belly. Obviously, we have

the chicken, and our tofu is good as well!

Again, I don’t want to say, these are our

3 dishes, just come in – but we do have

what we call the Graze Feast! For me, it

came from when we were very poor in

college. But when all of the dudes scraped

all of our money together, we would pitch

in and we would go to Famous Dave’s and

we would get the Trash Can Lid BBQ. Do

you know what I’m talking about?

AM: Yeah I have had friends who went

there!

CHEF YV: Yeah so basically, you get the

highlights of the menu on a trash can lid

and Famous Dave’s still has that. So this

is an homage to that and we call it the

Graze Feast. It’s served on a bamboo rice

basket. We lay it out on a banana leaf and

we put everything on it and it’s like the

best of both worlds. If you’re 4 people, I

tell them to get it because it is the bang

for the buck. You get the whole tour and

secondly, you also get a whole fried fish

on there too. We have a fried Bronzino

fish that we throw on there and that’s

another mom and dad classic. My mom

loves cooking a whole fish and deep frying

and grilling it for dad. Dad just sits

there and lives his best life now. His favorite

thing that he loves to do when he

has the whole fish and all of the sauces

on it, if his grandkids are around, he

likes to pick off all the meat and to put

it on their plates so that they don’t have

to fuss with it.

AM: That’s really cute!

CHEF YV: It is. Apparently for King Crab

as my nieces and nephews love it, he

takes them out of their shell and for

shrimp, he peels it for them. I look at

them and I stare at them in their eyes

and I say, “you don’t know what struggle

is kid!” We used to have to pick our

own meat and now they’re living it up,

those Gen Z kids!

AM: True, but that’s a food memory!

They’ll be 20/30 years old and every time

they eat that, they will remember what

their grandfather would do for them.

CHEF YV: Yup and Kimmie, they’re going

to all be soft! They’ll complain that they

have to pick it off themselves.

AM: You also opened up Vinai. What does

that name mean and I love this residency

concept and we’d love to know more

about it.

CHEF YV: Over the last summer, we had

the chance to run this residency. Vinai

again has been that problem child. I love

it so much, but they don’t sleep and it

cries all of the time. We struggled a lot

with the financing to get that building

going. So the last 6 months has been

an exciting time for us as we can now

visually see that this is coming together

the way that we thought. My parents

always taught me this idea. You don’t

just sit there and sulk when there is a

problem. My dad always says that you

work the problem and you keep moving

forward. My mom said that when they

were in the refugee camp, it wasn't with

us. They had to live everyday and just

continue to move forward.

So we said that Vinai wasn’t really about

a building. It’s about the people, it’s about

the food. So what we have been able to

do with Vinai, is to do this residency. After

COVID, there were spaces that were

open and they were looking for partnerships

– a lot of bars, cocktail rooms, etc.

They were like, frick, we have to figure

something out to get people back and to

get butts in seats. So we connected with

some of our friends that had these places

and partnered up. So we started these

residencies so that we could give people a

glimmer of what Vinai would be.

Vinai Is the name of the refugee camp that

my parents met in ’77, they got married in

’78, I was born in ’84 and as a family, we

left there in ’88.

AM: Oh wow!

CHEF YV: Oh yeah, they were there for 10

years. So Vinai from 1975 to 1992, hosted

about 90,000 refugees. Out of those

90,000 refugees, 90% of them were

Hmong people. And all of those Hmong

people who came through Vinai, ended

up in the Midwest – all over from Ohio to

Wisconsin, Kansas City and Minnesota. So

mom said to us, Vinai is not where our story

ended, but is where our story started.

So Vinai, the current brick and mortar that

we are working on right now, is a love letter

to my mom and dad. It is their legacy

captivated in a menu, in a building that has

a specific design. Vinai is also one of those

things that as we were growing up, as

Hmong kids, we would talk to each other

and ask which camp you were in. It was a

way that we would identify with each other.

To the white kids that heard us, they

didn’t get it that we were born in a camp

somewhere that was a summer camp.

We’re like, “yeah it’s a summer camp, but

not really – you don’t know when you’re

going and you don’t get letters.” I just

wanted to be able to make these names

that we grew up with to become very normal

just like if someone says Washington,

D.C., Seattle, and NYC. In American culture,

we know those names. I wanted to

take the name Vinai outside of the Hmong

vernacular and conversation so that it becomes

part of majority culture. So when

people talk about Vinai, I get to talk about

mom and dad. I get to talk about the war

and how they suffered for 10 years and

not knowing as it was a stop gap for all of

these Hmong people – 90,000 refugees.

The Thai government didn’t want anything

to do with them. The US government

didn’t want them to come in because

of issues regarding refugees. To

claim these refugees would be claiming

that the US was at war and there was a

secret war in Laos that the US had won,

but people didn’t know and there was a

deal that was made with all of the people

that fought. Fought like my father that

regardless of what happened, that he

would be able to come to America and

get free citizenship because he fought

for the US government. Then that conversation

became one that people said

that that didn't happen.

So there was denial in that. So all of that

was going on during those years and just

a little name, we can talk about that.

So that’s what it means and the dishes

that we get to do in there, it comes

from mom and dad’s table. Now is it going

to be exactly like there’s? Absolutely

not. I don’t think that our mom and dad

would want us to do that. I know that

they don’t want us to do that. My mom

has said don’t make it like this, add your

touch to it, but this will always be a part

of you. We get to showcase our chefs

and we have some incredible chefs. The

majority of our chefs aren’t Hmong. We

always talk about that and I’m very clear.

Hilltribe, our mother company, is not

about Hmong people just for Hmong

people. If you look at the history of the

word Hilltribe, those were the tribes of

the people that lived in the mountains.

It was the people that nobody wanted,

the people that they said were the

low people and they were not wanted

by others. I couldn’t imagine living off

of the mountains. I told all of our staff

that we were the people that when people

said that we were cooks or working

in kitchens that we weren’t going to

amount to much. It’s where a lot of the

troubled kids go to right? It’s that culture

mentality, the never will – so I tell them,

we need to prove them wrong. What

happens when a group of people come

together and say we’re going to change

the way that we live. We're going to deal

with mental health issues, we’re going

to deal with substance abuse and deal

with all of this stuff. We’re not going to

run away anymore from this. That’s why

our company is called Hilltribe and we always

say, cook from who you are. I don't

expect you to be a Hmong cook. But I do

want you to love your background, your

culture and to love all of that as much as I

love being Hmong. To my Mexican brothers

and sisters who work with us, I want

them to dig into that. To my Ecuadorian

brothers and sisters, I want you to dig into

that. To Tony who is Chinese, I want you

to dig into that Tony. So Hilltribe isn’t just

Hmong for everyone, it’s a place where

the people can come – the outcasts and

the broken can come in and show people

what a group of broken people as they

come together can go and reach out for

more broken people and to create a place

of refuge.

That’s why at Hilltribe, our restaurants

have to be out more than just the food.

If we're only all about food, then all we're

going to do is just have pats on the back

and accolades so that magazines can

write about us. But it has to be more than

just that.

So that’s the culture of what we’re driving,

but everything comes from mom and

dad. Our kitchen table was always open

to anybody. If mom was making dinner,

she didn’t care what color you were, what

you were socioeconomically, or your background.

You always had a place at that table.

I learned that watching them. I want

to be able to continue to do that for all of

our restaurants.

AM: That sounds amazing and just doing

that is a lot. Yet, you are constantly on so

many different TV shows. You have Relish

the PBS show which is a great look at the

culinary cultural heritage of a number of

people who are in the Twin Cities. Such a

great concept and are you working on another

season of this?

CHEF YV: Yeah we actually are next week!

This time instead of doing these 10mins

vignettes where we stitch together all of

those 10 mins to create an entire show,

we’re going to do full episodes. So we’re

starting on Mon and it’s Relish but they

call it a Relish 2.0. I think that the show is

so much fun especially being in the Twin

Cities. It's great to engage with people

and the show is so much fun. We’ve been

super blessed to be on so many different

media outlets and many different shows.

I can always tell because I will get

stopped you know in public once in

awhile and they’ll say, “I love your

show!” I can always tell by the age of

the person who’s saying it, what show

they are talking about. It’s like, are you

talking about the Outdoor one, are you

talking about Netflix or our feature on

Bon Appetit or whatever? It’s always

that age group that’s at 62 or above

you know it – it’s PBS, public television.

Prime time on public television is Sun at

2pm. So when they’re saying it, I know

you’re talking about Relish. They’re so

funny. They always think that we filmed

it last week and we just put it on. So

they’ll say, that I was talking about a

certain restaurant and they’ll describe

it to me and I know it was 2 years ago.

They'll say that it sounds good and

they should go visit it and I have to tell

themthat with the pandemic, they had

to close.

AM: Right!

CHEF YV: Yeah and they’re like, “but

the episode was last week!” So I have

to explain to them how TV works and

how production works. It’s always fun

and that one I really love. My agent is

always really funny about it. She’s LA

and she’s always focused on getting

the best deal. I love her and I get what

her job is. She’s like, there’s no pay in

that and she doesn’t want me to do

things where she feels that I am not

getting my worth. I’m like, Lauren, I

love this and the producers Amy and

Brittany they’re always great to work

with and initially the concept was that

my mom and I would cook together,

but when the idea was pitched, they let

me know that they wanted me to host

this show for 6 episodes. People ask

me where I went for my media training

and I tell them that I learned at PBS. I

was very blessed and the producers

and directors are amazing. I love them

and now with this other season coming

up, we’re growing it and it’s going

to be really big.

AM: That’s awesome! Last summer I enjoyed

seeing you on Netflix’s Iron Chef:

Quest for an Iron Legend. I’m a huge

Iron Chef fan so seeing you on Quest, I

was like, what?

CHEF YV: That show was incredible!

You know, first of all, I was just dumbfounded

that Gabriela Cámara was standing

next to me. Dude, in my mind, I was

like, don’t fanboy man. Act like you have

been here before, be professional. In my

head, I was like, “I love you!” She’s the

sweetest lady ever. Very small and petit,

but huge personality! She gives me a big

hug and after we were done, she hugs

me and whispers in my ear, “yeah, I didn’t

want to cook against you, I wanted to

cook with you.”

AM: Nice!

CHEF YV: I thought oh wow, could we record

that for everyone so that everyone

can understand that she said that to me

and I didn’t make it up? It was amazing

and it was a great time! We filmed it in the

midst of the pandemic.

So as a group, and as a restaurant, we

were like, we need this win. Not like to actually

win it, but to be there and to do this

for fun and to celebrate together. It was

incredible and the response from it globally,

was incredible. Hmong people from

all over the country and there’s a group

of Hmong people that ended up in France

because of French colonization in Southeast

Asia. One of my favorite things is that

I got a DM from a young Hmong lady who

lives outside of Paris.

She said, “hi I want you to know that I’m

Hmong. We watched the show because

my boyfriend is a huge Dominique Crenn

fan and she was on there. When I was

scrolling through there, I saw you and

your name and I thought to myself, I think

he’s Hmong. When I watched that episode

and that first introduction, by no means

of me doing anything, I cried because it

was the first time that I saw our people

on this global level.” She continued by

saying, “my boyfriend’s French, I’m disconnected

from my culture and I felt so

proud being Hmong at that time. I looked

at my boyfriend and I said to him that’s

our people, that’s our story. She told me

that being in France, they don’t talk about

Hmong people.”

It was a global thing. There were Hmong

people in Australia that DM’d us letting

us know that they loved sharing the episode

with their friends to let them know

about our people. That to me, I’m not a

huge competition TV person. I knew

that when Netflix came and they had

that offer, we had to do it and we were

doing it, we would do it the Hmong

way. We were going to do Hmong food

on there. Even though some of the

producers wanted us to be more global,

we told them that we were sticking

with Hmong food. I knew going in that

we probably wouldn’t win. I didn’t care,

just being on there was a win for us! As

chefs, we were like, “dude, if we beat

Gabriela Cámara then we know that

this was rigged!” That was amazing

and it was fun to be part of that and to

be in that Iron Chef family.

AM: You also have Feral! Congratulations

on the 1st season and I know

you’re renewed for the 2nd season as

well which drops later this year.

CHEF YV: I don’t mean to interject, but

we’re actually just shooting season 3.

AM: What?

CHEF YV: Yeah, I leave in 10 days to start

shooting season 3!

Season 2 was all filmed this fall right

before the beginning of winter. But

I’m leaving in a couple of weeks here

to shoot season 3. The 3rd season was

renewed about a month and a half ago.

I think that they have all the creatures

down and the locations down. They

just need to clear up a couple of them.

I’m really excited about that.

I tell my team that filming wise, I need

about 8 weeks a year to do filming

projects. 10 months out of the year, I’m

there, I’m a restaurant guy. We train

and we have an incredible team that

takes care of business. They take care

of everything while I’m gone which is

the equivalent of 8 or 9 weeks.

There are some creatures coming up

where I’m like, ok holy crap. I have no

idea how I’m going to handle that, but

I will just have to get it done. There’s

some freaky stuff where I’m like –

frick!!! Season 2 was pretty crazy, we

had some freaky moments where I

was like, what the hell am I doing here?

It was amazing and season 1 was awesome.

I learned a lot from season 1 to

season 2 and heading into season 3. Sometimes

you learn that nature doesn’t go

along with filming production crews. You

just have to say, ok, I'm trapping a beaver

right now. The beaver literally looks like

an overgrown rat and I have to skin and

cook it up. It has some weird teeth looking

at me, it’s 40lbs and it’s heavy, and it

smells like wet dog. You gotta do it!

AM: What drew you to the show? It’s an

interesting concept, you have these animals

that are invasive in the environments

that they are in. You learn how to trap

them and then you cook them. What was

it about this that made you want to host

this show for all these seasons?

CHEF YV: So, here’s a couple of things. Before

I get into anything, I always ask myself,

what am I doing? First of all, I will be

very very honest. I have been very honest

about this. When you think of Outdoor,

you think of white dudes, hillbilly hicks,

hunters that lean towards the right. When

you think of the Outdoor Channel, you

know the persons that you’re thinking of,

right?

AM: Yes.

CHEF YV: I get that. To be completely honest,

some of the media stuff that we did

for Outdoor - this is a media outlet. We live

in a world and a country where it’s ok to

have different perspectives. Right away

I knew that this was different. Most of

them have never heard of Hmong people.

They have never heard of the Hmong story.

They never heard about the fact that

if you want to talk about patriotism, the

Hmong people like my dad at a young age,

was contracted out by the US government

and trained by the CIA and Special Forces

to fight in the mountains of Laos for

American interests. They were patriots

before ever being guaranteed any citizenship

to the US. So when you have people

who are saying, true citizenship and patriotism,

my father is one of those. He loved

America so much that he risked his life to

fight for America not even knowing if he

would ever come to America. I get to talk

about that, the whole intro of our show is

about that.

At the end of the day, the idea that going

out into the woods, the jungle to some

waterway and finding whatever invasive

creature is out there to harvest and to

hunt them, and cooking them – that is

what they do in the mountains of Laos.

Lizards, bats, sparrows, weird looking

eels, and fish. That’s what my parents

did. That’s what my dad did as a boy. I

get to do what our people have been

doing for thousands and thousands of

years. I get to do that and there is a show

about it. While others might think that

it’s weird or gross, eating an iguana or

a lizard for Hmong people in the mountains

of Laos, it’s not eww or gross, it’s

actually a Tuesday. That’s the protein

that they can get. Having pork and beef,

that’s a luxury. Saying you have pork to

us, that’s amazing that’s a celebration!

AM: Like you said, it’s about survival and

what you have that is in abundance to

you. There are dishes that can support

this if this is what you have in order to

nourish your body. It’s important to juxtapose

that and let people know that

this is not just something that happens

in other parts of the world, but in various

parts of the US as well. Either by necessity

or people simply enjoying it.

CHEF YV: I also think that what I am trying

to say to the audience is this, look at

home, you may make Chicken Dumpling

Soup, but now, we’re making Squirrel

Dumpling Soup. You’re just changing

the protein out. Again, we’re different,

but we’re not that different. Because

the base to both of these things is still

the base. The reason why you use chicken

is because it’s easier to get chicken at

your store. Why is Darrel from Southern

Illinois using squirrels? Because that is

in his backyard and the closest grocery

store is an hour away. This isn’t him trying

to be cool and to use it as a shock

factor, he’s using that squirrel because

there are plenty of squirrels that have

been gnawing on those frickin’ acorns

and they have that extra thick hind quarters,

you know what I’m talking about?

Like 3c’s kind of thick.

AM: Squirrels are vicious!

CHEF YV: Yeah like if that squirrel had

yoga pants on its ass would be turning

heads kind of thing. That’s delicious!

We’re still talking about squirrels right?

AM: So in addition to your work in TV,

you also have your podcast Hmonglish. It

focuses on people, culture and Asian excellence.

How does it feel to use your platform

in this way, but also to talk about people

that you also want to highlight?

CHEF YV: Prior to Hmonglish, we had this

little podcast called White on Rice. We

were interviewing all these people from

Minneapolis and it was kind of our way

to counter not being able to hang out

and be with people during COVID. So,

we thought, we’d bring people in a room

that were 6' away from us so that people

could hear what they were doing. It was

cool because people enjoyed and felt that

they were getting to meet all all of these

people because of our longform podcast.

We weren’t really smart about anything.

But then when we really started thinking

about it, Hmonglish came from when we

were growing up, we would speak to our

parents in Hmong but then there would

be these English words. So if I was asking

for a computer, I would say it in Hmong

but then would say computer in English.

So the Hmong kids, we just started calling

in Hmonglish. I noticed that what Hmonglish

really meant was this beautiful collision

of 2 cultures. When you have 2 cultures

collide, you’ve created a 3rd culture

and in that culture, you’re trying to make

sense of what it means. When you create

a new culture, you’re trying to figure out

what the norms are. You’re trying to figure

out how to speak another language

like for example you do fashion and all of

that stuff, so when like Hip-Hop culture

struck mainstream culture, there was this

3rd culture that was created right? Because

mainstream had this culture where

everything was formal and you enunciate

very clearly and then you have Hip-Hop

culture that hit it and that was more of a

go with the flow and you had this different

flowage and then it’s like does mainstream

culture become Hip-Hop culture?

Is Hip-Hop culture mainstream culture?

Or how does mainstream culture affect

Hip-Hop culture or does Hip-Hop culture

become more diluted? There’s all these

questions and all of these conversations.

The same thing with Hmong people or

Hmong Millennials who either came to

this country really young like I did or was

born in this country. The Hmong Gen Z. I

was born, I’m an American, but man, I’m

still Hmong. How does this work? So we

just had all of these Hmong guests come

in who straddle these different cultures

and who talk about their experiences.

Like Xee Reiter is a good friend of mine

and is an incredible, incredible artist.

Water painting, water color – all of that

stuff. Her husband is white and they

have been married for 15 years and she’s

talking through that. We’re talking to

another friend of mine, Pahoua Yang

Hoffman who is the Senior Vice President

of Government & Community Relations

of one of the largest healthcare

provider here. She’s an executive and

she's Hmong. What does it mean to be

an executive and you're rolling with all

of the big boys that make the decisions

that are billions of dollars. How do you

do that not only as a woman but as

Hmong? There are all of these expectations

like Hmong women are docile and

submissive – how do you navigate that?

It’s such an incredible podcast and we

dig deep into that.

We have these incredible guests such

as Lee Pao Xiong who is the foremost

and knowledgeable Hmong historian of

our people. He traced our people back

to 7,000 years in China. So, talking to

him and listening to what he has to talk

about in the Hmong stories and in our

culture. It helped me understand that

this is where we come from. We get to

share that with a huge audience group.

And again, we have gotten some really

incredible responses. People DM our

producer and it’s one of those things

that I want to be able to put some really

good production value on it so we

spent a few good pennies on it to make

the production value really well. We believe

that in doing something beautiful,

we want to make it great. We also know

that for Hmong people sometimes, it’s

just about getting the product out there,

it’ll be good. We were like, no, we’re in

a world where looks matter, the way it

sounds and how it’s put together strategically

– it’s been really cool!

AM: That is amazing and just looking

at the accolades, the restaurants, the

awards, being a TV personality, being a

host, having your podcast and I’m sure

you have a ton of other things that you

have coming up as well, what do you

want your legacy to be seen as?

CHEF YV: Honestly and I mean this with

all of my heart, I actually don’t want to be

seen in terms of a legacy. There is no legacy

here. It’s mom and dad’s legacy. I am

merely a mirror that reflects them. I want

people to look at what we do and then I

want them to be driven by these 2 people.

My mom and my dad who are in their

70s, who are grandparents, who live in

the suburbs, they have a little plot of land

where they have a small farm where all of

their produce comes to our restaurant –

no money asked, no money put down.

AM: Wow!

CHEF YV: All they want to do is that they

want us to live a life where they knew that

they could never have. But they want us

want us to live it. So that’s all it is. I want

people to look at what we do and I want

to direct them back to my mom and dad.

So the reason why is this. Last year I won

when I was a nominee and then a finalist,

my sister is a therapist. She’s the family

therapist. But she always therapizes the

whole family and I don’t even know if

that’s a real word, but I always say that.

I’m pretty sure she called my mom and

explained to her what the James Beard

is and what that honor meant. Because

my mom wouldn’t know that by herself.

When mom called me randomly that night

after it was announced, to say that I was

so proud of you, I was like, oh my sister

called you.

I’m driving home from work and I’m pretty

drained and tired. She congratulated

me and said that she was so proud of me.

She told me that she wanted to tell me a

story that she felt a little ashamed to tell

me. She said her plan was not to tell us

kids about it until she was on her death

bed as she felt ashamed about it. She

said that when she was younger, she was

caught and put in this war prison. She said

that they were in there for a year. It was

the worst time ever. There was no food.

Communist propaganda would come in

and say, just leave your family and marry

a Communist man and forget your life.

There was not enough food for the children,

kids were dying and her first husband

was killed. Her babies were all taken

away and she said that it was the worst

thing possible. We grew up in a Christian

household, so when she was there, she

told me that every morning she woke up

in that camp and she would pray to God

that he would let her die as an act of mer-

cy. She felt that life was so tough, that

the only way that she thought that she

could escape is to die. She wanted to

die, every morning she wanted to die.

She said that one morning she woke up

and she had that same prayer asking for

God to let her die that day. She said that

what was different in that morning was

that there was a voice inside her heart

and that that little voice said to her that,

“I’m not going to let you die, because I

have great plans for your children. They

are going to change the world. They will

do big things so I’m going to need you

to survive a little longer and I’m going

to need you to push forward a little longer.”

She said that when she heard that

my name is among the names of all of

these great people in the country and

you were one of the best, and they were

looking to you for leadership, “I knew

in that moment that it made sense.

That moment 50 years ago made sense.

That’s why God didn’t let me die in that

camp and I can hear that today.”

I don’t know Kimmie, when you hear

things like that, for me, everything

changed. For me, it was no longer about

this legacy that I was going to leave, it’s

them. Somebody suffered, somebody

went through pain, somebody went

through a war camp – talk about trauma.

To live on a glimmer of a hope that

one day your children, to know that

there is a special plan for your children

and I need you to go through all of this

to take all of this and one day you’re going

to see it.

AM: Wow.

CHEF YV: That’s it, I don’t give a shit

about my legacy. I don’t want to be

known. I love these interviews. I get to

talk about them. Do you know why I do

this TV stuff? I don’t want to be a TV star,

it’s too much bullshit in it. I do that so

that people can look at it and say wow,

we have to go to this restaurant, wow

we want to know more about his mom

and dad, we want to know more about

their story. I’m just an echo. If there is a

word about legacy, I want to be an echo

of them. That’s it, hands down. The rest

of the stuff is just little details.

AM: I have never talked to someone

where in every facet of everything that

you do, is paying homage to your par-

ents, your people and how it is ingrained

in every single thing. I’ve never talked to

someone who has just been so authentically

that.

"That's it, I don't give a shit

about my legacy. I don't

want to be known. I love

these interviews. I do that

so that people can look at it

and say wow, we have to go

to this restaurant, wow we

want to know more about

his mom and dad, we want

to know more about their

story. I'm just an echo. If

there is a word about legacy,

I want to be an echo of

them."

CHEF YV: We were interviewing PR groups

and one of them said, “yeah the whole

family thing and culture – that’s your

schtick.” I was very angry and I wanted to

say F- you dude. If you think that this is a

schtick, I don’t think that you're the right

people for me to work with. This isn’t a

schtick man, this is life. There’s going to

be chefs that come out and out cook

us, great - awesome - good for you. But

they’re not going to tell our story better

then us. I live this and I will die this, you

know? I don’t give a crap. I will live in the

basement of wherever to keep everything

at low cost so that we can put all of

our funding into making this work. I want

you to know that I am the first to make all

of the sacrifices. I’m the first to inject my

own personal money when we can’t get

pay roll going for last month. We’re going

to do that and there’s no amount of cost

that I wouldn’t do and we’re going to do

this.

That’s the thing that I want to be able to

teach our chefs on our team. Find something

in your life that you’re that passion-

ate about. I don’t care what it is. Find it

and work for it, fight for it in the same

way just like mom and dad. To this day,

they still do that. They’re retired, we’re

all adults. They don’t have to do that.

We have our own lives and we do our

own thing. They still on my frickin’ birthday

gives me $100 and he’s like, this is for

gas. I’m like, what and he tells me that he

wants to make sure I have enough in my

car. They’re still warring for us! It never

stops and I think that they’re heart has

this go go nature. I look at my father and

I don’t give a crap, I had a great example

of what a man is, what a good father is,

what a good man is and I tell people.

How do you know what it means to be a

good man? Look at my father. If I can be

quarter of who he is, how he takes care

of us, how he loves us, how he fought a

war to get us here – if I can be a quarter

of that, if I can be a good husband one

day and hopefully to be a good dad one

day – that’s who I’m looking to!

My mom ferociously loves us. She never

gives up on us. When I visit her, she

always tells me that she’s praying for

me and the restaurant. She says it constantly

and even when I want to give up

on myself and say that I’m done, she’ll

pull me aside and say, “hey, this too

shall pass. It’s ok.” This is coming from

someone who sat in a war camp as prisoners

and tells me that it will pass. She

has seen it all, she has seen hell, she has

seen evil. She still says that it will will

pass. In COVID, they looked at us and

said it was ok and it would pass. She said

that they had been through things like

this before. They never panicked about

COVID. I love it, that’s my parents. Like

I said before, the food is just the tip of

the iceberg. There is something deeper

and richer here.

I really appreciate media outlets like

yours that want to dig into that. Like we

have the easy and low hanging fruit like

culture, being all about family and if you

want to do a 500 word piece on that,

that’s great and we can do that too.

But for those that sit there and say that

they’re going to sit down for 2 hours and

hear about this, I’ll go deep man! I’ll go

deep deep into this!

AM: We have a lot of stories and we love

sharing them!

CHEF YV: It’s awesome to see the different

kinds of groups of people that are there.

There’s also people there that I admire

myself and I’m like oh that’s awesome! So

I felt all fanboy like yeah!

@yiavang70

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 30, 52, 55,

56 + PG 132 63MIX ROUTIN3S Eliesa Johnson

| PG 33 - 34 + PG 132 3MIX ROUTIN3S

Courtesy of Chef Yia Vang | PG 38 - 44 Netflix

| PG 48 Outdoor Channel/Feral | PG 51

TJ Turner Photograpahy PG 58 Emilie Ann

Szabo |

This month, we caught up with Japanese-American

rock and Hip-Hop singer/

songwriter, rapper, guitarist, philanthropist

and entreprenuer, Jesse McFaddin.

In addition to his solo career, he is also

in RIZE as well as The BONEZ which have

been bands that he has been in for a number

of years and he recently started another

band, E.D.O. For Jesse, music is the way

that he communicates and shares his message

as well as his love for fashion which

includes a number of brands that he has

created. We take a moment to talk with

him about how he started in the industry

as his father Char is a known rock legend,

how Jesse made his music and journey his

own, how he creates new music whether

solo or collaboratively and his latest album

with The Bonez - Yours.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you fall in

love with music?

JESSE MCFADDIN: As long as I can remember,

since I was born quite naturally.

Some examples include my mother singing

her favorite tunes, such as Lovin’ You

by Minnie Riperton, every night as a sort

of lullaby. My father is a professional rock

guitarist, my mother creates lyrics for

his songs, so I had frequently sung those

songs under these circumstance, such as

Rock Band Way, I have been falling love

with music for m entire life.

AM: When did you realize that you wanted

to make music?

JM: Pretty late, I guess. It was probably

around 15, 16 years old, when I realized

it. Until then, Hip-Hop was my first influence,

records included both acappella &

instrumentals, so using those materials,

I had created my original lyrics of some

songs, singing on top of those. Gradually,

I noticed, that I could make a track with

my guitar phrases!

AM: How has your father influenced you in

your music career?

JM: I have been realizing more these days,

as I grow older and have matured. But

when I started in music, my direction

was quite the opposite of my father's

music genre, because I didn’t want to

be in his shadow. So, I became more

Hip-Hop centric rather than Rock Music.

However, I have 2 rock bands now. One

band is RIZE. Last year marked the 25th

anniversary after our debut. The other

band, The BONEZ, has our 10th anniversary

this year. By continuing to do what

we started and then increasing a little by

little, I see what we have created for the

past 26 years! I have to say that my father

has influenced me a lot. This is why

I am able to make a living with music.

AM: At what point did you realize that

this was something that you wanted to

do as a career?

JM: It was during my high school days

when Sony Music asked us for our contract,

I was 18, my partner Nobuaki

Kaneko, drummer of RIZE was 17. But

we replied to Sony saying, “Can you wait

until we graduate from high school?

And if you still want us, let’s sign our

contract.” Signing a contract wasn’t our

goal. Rather, our goal was just to have

fun - just like going to a skatepark. But

we finally reached the deal, even though

we were sort of a jerk (lol) at that time!

We wondered why they wanted us but

Sony emphasized that wanted to be

part of us.

AM: When you're creating new music

whether solo or your groups, how do you

get inspiration for your next project?

JM: It is very hard to find out the root

of art, or seeds in any types of projects.

I get my influences through my personal

stories, my friend's episodes, bumping

into some news info, although that

is fake or true, those are my triggers to

plan for new projects or creating new

songs. I guess, this is the hardest aspect

for us as artists. For me, creating from

0 to 1 is totally harder than from 1 to 10.

But the bottom line is, believeing in myself

is a crucial part for any creation, I

guess.

AM: You're a singer, rapper, guitarist, music

producer and composer how do you

juggle all of these roles and do you have a

preference of one over others?

JM: In thinking about this, my theory is the

same. I mean, having same stances, or attitude

to various things, not only in music,

but when communicating, either with my

wife, with my kids, with my friends, you,

and others - this is important. But surely

as a member in a band, or solo, the reactions

are slightly different. The only way

to express oneself is just to be naturally

aligned, I guess. I used to draw boundaries

around those, but I finally realized that

simplicity is best.

AM: Tell me about RIZE. How did this group

come together and what are you working

on now in terms of new music, tours etc?

JM: We are friends from our childhoods.

We have our own pace. We feel that when

the time is ripe, we're gonna restart again.

AM: You're also in The BONEZ. How is this

group different than RIZE and what are

working on with them musically and are

you touring?

JM: Forming this band is very different

from RIZE. Quite accidentally, The BONEZ

was born, I guess. That was 12 years ago.

I initiated the launch of this new project

with COZY, on 11th, Nov, 2011 = 2011/11/11,

as a new type of project where we had a

series of opportunities for my fans to participate

in, by creating with this project.

We were prioritizing Mash Up with my

fan. Through those processes, the album

called Stand Up was released on 11th, Nov,

2012 as the credit JESSE & The BONEZ.

Along that flow, we organized The 1st and

The Final Gig as sort of a memorable liveon

11th, Jan, Nov. In order to do this show,

I needed band members so I asked T$UY-

O$Hito to play bass and ZAX from Pay

Money to My Pain (PTP) to play drums.

They were meant to be supporting members.

Unfortunately, due to a tragedy of

one of my closest friends and amazing

singer, K who was the vocalist of PTP, he

passed away suddenly. So even looking

back, The BONEZ was fortuitously

formed.

AM: It's interesting how you enjoy various

genres of music and you have another

group that you created, E.D.O. - tell me

about this group and why you wanted to

create it?

JM: These members are also high school

friends, like RIZE. Just keep on doing,

that’s what I want to.

AM: You also have solo projects musically,

is there anything that you can share

with us?

JM: Quite randomly, upon some timing.

Sure, I am always writing songs. But,

one epic thing I can share here, is I am

planning for releasing a new solo single,

title called Never Mind. This song is so

dope! Once I can disclose, for sure, sharing

immediately. Looking forward to it!!

AM: You're known for your fashion sense

and even have your own line, S&Co's and

Cloudland 33. Why is it important to you

to have this in your portfolio and are

there any interesting collaborations and

projects that we should keep an eye out

for?

JM: I love clothes, including vintage, but

Price doesn’t matter. Individuality, Identity

matter. Fashion is the sure way to

express who you are. I love T-shirts. It is

the reason why I own my clothing fabric

printing company called JESSE’s Shop &

Factory.

AM: As a philanthropist, you created

Bring the Hope. Tell me about this organization

and what it does.

JM: I launched my philanthropic activity

due to the natural disaster that

happened in Haiti in 2010. My local

hometown, TOGOSHI, in Japanese pronunciation,

“TO” same pronunciation

with 10, “GO” = 5, “SHI” = 4. Based upon

some instinctive inspiration from here, I

decided to start our free concert at the

park in Togoshi, in 20”10”/”5”/”4”. 1 year

after Haiti's disaster, we had another big

earthquake in Tohoku, Japan on Mar, 2011.

Since then, I have organized these free

concerts with a number of my musical

friends at the same park in Togoshi, every

4th, May. During COVID-19, I organized

these events online. Through our free

lives where anyone can join without fees,

I want attendants to feel happy, gratefulness

for our ordinal life, peace, and hope.

AM: As someone who is involved in a number

of projects what are you working on

that you would like to share that we should

keep an eye out for?

JM: As I initially mentioned, This year in

2023 is The BONEZ’s 10th anniversary after

we officially formed. We are gonna

kick off our nationwide live tour this May,

where we will visit 47 prefectures with our

new album, Yours which has been our first

release in 5 years. I'm looking forward to

meeting with our fans “BONER” all over

Japan. I surely promise, we will pump you

up! Please check out our tour info.

AM: Because of the work that you do, what

is your process when you decide whether

you're partnering with someone or doing

a collaboration? Are there certain things

that you look for in deciding to go forward

on those?

JM: Every time I collaborate with other

artists, and/or create songs with others,

I often try to explore their ideas at first.

If they don’t have ideas, or imagination

out of stocks, then I give them my ideas.

I tend to prioritize opportunities for my

collaborative partners to expand their

creativities.

AM: How do you take time for yourself so

when you're not on stage or working on

your next project?

JM: Mostly spending time with wonderful,

beautiful family.

AM: You're in great shape, what are 3

workouts that you do that we should

consider adding to our routines?

JM: Ab Roller - Squat - SEX

AM: With the summer around the corner,

what are your looking forward to

personally and/or professionally?

JM: Personally: Going to beach resort

with my family. Professionally: Joining

in the following major Rock Fes.

@jesse_mcfaddin_original

@the____bonez

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT | INTERVIEW +

PG 106 9PLAYLIST Yoshifumi Shimizu

It's always great to enjoy something that

has added benefits to help others! With

Earth Day being this month and an ongoing

focus on sustainability, we connected with

Danielle Lombard who we were first introduced

to on the 21st season of The Bachelor

and again when she was on season 4 and 5

of Bachelor in Paradise. In addition to being

on the show, Danielle is focused on sustainability

and doing what is necessary to

benefit the Earth in a number of ways. We

talk about how we can be sustainable in

a number of ways as well as her partnership

with Astral Tequila through their This

Round's For The House which supports the

Adobe Brick Project. She shares how we

can participate and how it benefits Jalisco,

Mexico.

ATHLEISURE MAG: You’re very passionate

about sustainability. How have you incorporated

that into your life and why is that

so important to you?

DANIELLE LOMBARD: I’m really passionate

about sustainability just because, I

have a very deep appreciation for nature

and I think that over the last few years,

I have become really aware of the negative

impact that we have on it. Especially

during the lockdown and COVID, I bought

a National Park pass and I was driving

around to all of the National Parks. I just

realized that this is something that I love

so much and that I don’t want to lose it.

So what are the things that I could do

at home to help diminish my footprint. I

think that I do that because I compost all

my food waste now, I shop consignment

and vintage as much as possible, I upcycle

when I can and I just try to join a lot of

neighborhood recycling programs – recycling

my empty beauty products and supporting

sustainable brands such as Astral.

AM: We love that. For someone who has

not started their journey and may be overwhelmed

as there are so many things to do

and ways to go about it, they may be looking

for easy or simple ways that they can

get to the starting line. What would you

suggest to them?

DL: I mean I always tell my friends just

"re"as much as you can in recycle as possible

– as much as you can! I mean, I bring

my reusable bags to the grocery store as

opposed to getting a plastic bag. I can

just use my reusable shopping totes. I

always carry around my refillable water

bottle instead of buying a plastic water

bottle. And if you’re out and about, you

can always ask for your bartender to

make you a cocktail with Astral so that

you’re supporting a good cause.

AM: Tell us about the Adobe Brick Project.

I think that it’s really interesting and

that they are building homes in Jalisco,

Mexico. In addition to tell us about this,

why did you want to partner on this with

them?

DL: As you know, I love sustainability

and I try to implement those practices as

much as possible. Astral asked me to be

part of their Earth Day initiative which

is promoting the This Round's For The

House, which is all the bottles that are

being purchased are going towards the

Adobe Brick Project. With that, they are

using all of the upcycled adobe bricks to

create homes is Jalisco, Mexico which is

where their tequila is produced. So, I like

that they are giving back to their community.

This Earth Day, Astral is going to

announce that they have 10 homes being

built right now.

AM: That’s amazing and it’s really cool to

see that by enjoying your favorite tequila

shot or cocktail you can assist in this

initiative. I’m assuming that you have a

favorite recipe as well!

DL: I do! I did a trip with them in Joshua

Tree which was wonderful! We had a

mixologist help us create cocktails based

on our signs. So, I’m a Capricorn and I’ve

been addicted to this cocktail ever since.

It’s called the Saturn Moon. It’s with Astral

Tequila Blanco, fresh lime juice, agave,

ginger beer which is one of my favorite

mixers and then we also muddled a

handful of fresh blueberries!

AM: That sounds really refreshing!

DL: It’s amazing and one of the favorite

drinks that we had!

AM: I’m a Virgo and even I would want to

drink that one!

DL: Ok, I’m a Virgo Moon! The blueberries

were really a nice touch.

AM: We enjoyed seeing you on The Bachelor

and The Bachelor in Paradise. What was

your biggest takeaway from your time on

the show?

DL: Oh wow, I think that for me, going

into it, I had recently gotten out of a very

unhealthy relationship where I was very

codependent on this person and spent

several years building up their career and

life. When I left, it was just this process of

rediscovering myself. I validated the fact

that I was glad to leave the relationship

and that it was a good decision. I left with

a new sense of independence and who I

was as a person and what my values were.

I also left with some of the most amazing

friends that I now talk to every single day!

AM: That’s amazing. We always love when

we interview people whether they were

competing or they were The Bachelor/

Bachelorette, we just had Michelle Young a

few months ago and we always like talking

about the group chats and who’s in it. Who

are the people you talk to?

DL: Oh yeah! It’s pretty wild because after

you get off this show, it’s such a unique

experience. It’s really nice to have those

group chats to share what you’re going

through right now, because no one else

really knows. Even in past seasons, everything

from each house there is always

some tea that happens, but I talk to Raven,

Alexis and Jasmine. Those are my

core girls that I’m still friends with every

day. I just had a canceled flight in Dallas

and I went over to Alexis’ house and spent

the night.

We're always on a mission to find our next

favorite cocktail and Danielle's Saturn

Moon, sounded refreshing. We're going

to share with you the recipe for Saturn

Moon and whatever your horiscope is,

Astral has a series of Astralogical recipes

for you that's in line with your sign

or your tastebuds.

SATURN MOON

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

1.5oz Astral Tequila Blanco

.5oz Fresh Lime Juice

.5oz Agave Nectar

A Handful of Blueberries

Ginger Beer

HOW TO MAKE IT

Combine first three ingredients into a

cocktail shaker and muddle lightly. Add

ice, shake and strain into an ice filled

glass and top with Ginger Beer.

@daniellelombard

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Andrew Ho

When it comes to comfort food, you want

to feel cozy and to have all the flavors

possible - we want those. In addition to

having your favorite neighborhood spot,

we also love knowing that our freezer is

always stocked with our favorites. We're

talking about MìLà which is known for savory

soup dumplings and amazing sauces.

In addition, they also have a number of

friendly freezer options that you can enjoy

with your dumplings and of course, make

it an epic mouth journey by pairing it with

your favorite wine and spirits.

We became fans of this brand during the

pandemic. There was something about eating

these dumplings that reminded us of

our favorite restaurants with each spoonful!

So we took some time to chat with Jen

Liao and Caleb Wang on how they started

as a restaurant in Belleue, WA, to savory

items in your freezer and their partnership

with action star, Simu Liu!

ATHLEISURE MAG: We have been fans

of your brand for a few years. During the

pandemic, we started purchasing your

soup dumplings. Tell me about your backgrounds

and how you came together to

launch this food brand?

MìLà: MìLà first began in 2018 as a restaurant

by the brand’s previous name, Xiao

Chi Jie. We opened the restaurant because,

selfishly, we wanted to enjoy the

Chinese street food we loved here in the

States. During the pandemic in 2020, we

sought to find a way to keep our employees

working with us so introduced frozen

dumpling delivery. People loved them and

we quickly grew from just doing door-todoor

deliveries with our small team in

Washington to delivering along the West

Coast and shortly after, delivering DTC

products nationwide. The response has

been incredible; people are very excited

about the quality and taste of the products,

which is extremely important to us.

AM: You started with a brick-and-mortar

in Bellevue, Xiao Chi Jie, can you tell me

about this restaurant as well as what people

can enjoy there?

M: Our restaurant in Bellevue, Washington

is a modern interpretation of Chinese

street food bings, bowls, baos, &

drinks - you can find our signature soup

dumplings there as well! When we first

opened the restaurant we sold out everyday

for three months so, growing

the offerings and bringing them into

more homes across the country has

been amazing.

AM: For those that are in the neighborhood,

what are 3 items that you suggest

that we should try from this menu?

M: Our Sheng Jian Bao is our beloved

pork soup dumpling. These paired with

any of the side dishes like our garlic cucumber

or sichuan cabbage cannot be

missed.

AM: How is it to have a brand that has a

physical neighborhood presence as well

as one that has a national footprint via

shipping your products?

M: It all happened very naturally and

quickly. What originally started as a pivot

in response to the pandemic quickly

grew into something larger than we

would have ever imagined at the beginning.

The local community in the Seattle

region has been incredibly supportive

since the beginning. Seeing new

customers try the products and their

responses to the taste is incredibly rewarding.

It’s very important for us to be

spreading our mission of demystifying

and growing awareness of Chinese cuisine

and what it means to us as “third

culture kids” so, bringing this message

anywhere, whether it be our home community

in Bellevue or across the country

in New York, is extremely fulfilling.

AM: What is your process in terms of deciding

what you offer in terms of your

frozen treats?

M: A lot of the flavors are inspired by

how we ate them as kids. They’re our

personal favorite dishes and ice cream

flavors. It was really important to us to

maintain the same restaurant quality for

our frozen offerings, and the quality taste

and ingredients in the ice cream. We’ve really

geeked out on aspects like the doughto-filling

ratio, the number of dumplings

with cracks, and the variance in grams of

soup dumplings, which we think all make

a huge difference.

AM: In addition to the classic soup dumplings

that are always available, we also

tried the spicy beef which was tasty. Will

you add additional flavors?

M: We have offered limited edition drops

in the past and will continue to release

them! These one-off launches come from

an intention of being super excited about

a dish that’s not one of our evergreen offerings,

but we still want to give people

the chance to try it. We’re also working to

develop other options of our hero products

to provide more options for consumers.

AM: For our readers that have yet to order

their soup dumplings from you, how can

they correctly steam your dumplings?

M: Our dumplings are designed and packaged

specifically to be cooked straight

from the freezer. In a large wok or pan,

and make sure to bring 2-3 inches of water

to a rolling boil and place the dumplings

in a lined steamer basket. Don’t forget to

leave a 1 inch gap between dumplings. Our

go-to tip for people is to not over-crowd

your dumplings for the best results! Then,

you will steam your dumplings for 11 minutes

(until internal temp. reaches 165°F)

and they’ll be ready to go!

AM: I love having the Umami sauce with

my dumplings and I even add in some pickled

veggies - how do you enjoy your dumplings?

M: We both love our classic vinegar sauce

with the soup dumplings!

AM: Although we can certainly eat the

dumplings alone, what is the perfect beverage

and sides to have when you want to

eat your dumplings while catching up on

your favorite streamed shows?

M: The dumplings are delicious with any

of the sauces (and followed by a pint of

our ice cream, of course). We love a can

of Sanzo poured over ice next to our

plate. For those who are 21+, they also

pair very well with a new age chardonnay.

We love Jumbo Time Wines’ ‘Problem

Child’ which is a 50/50 co-ferment of

Pinot Noir & California Chardonnay.

AM: We loved the lamb skewers as well

as the chicken skewers, do you think that

you will continue to rotate seasonal or

limited-time offerings as you continue to

grow?

M: Yes, we will continue to do seasonal

and limited-time offerings of products!

Our community loves when these come

around and it’s really fun for us, to dive

into the process of creating the new recipes.

AM: Where do you get inspiration from

when you are building product offerings

for MiLa?

M: Being third culture Chinese-American,

a lot of the inspiration for MìLà

stems from our childhood meals and

wanting to honor the cuisine while

helping other people experience them

as well. The same reason we initially

opened the restaurant, really drives our

product creation for MìLà…we want to

create dishes we love and want to eat

ourselves! Alongside that comes the

telling of our story and mission. When

we create a product we love, that mission

becomes fulfilled when people try

them and love them too.

AM: You recently rebranded to MiLa,

why did you want to change the name

and can you tell us about the meaning?

M: MìLà means honey (mi) and spice (la)

in Chinese mi-, la-. Being both Chinese

and American, the story behind MìLà

comes to honor our traditions and add

our personal touch. The name MìLà is representative

of our evolution from a singular

focus on street food to a national food

brand that is on a mission to serve the

highest quality authentic Chinese cuisine

in freezers nationwide. MìLà is a way of

connecting with our family’s history and

using this opportunity as a reminder that

the Chinese identity is constantly evolving.

It is on us and our communities to

create new, multidimensional representations

of what it means to be our own

brand of Asian American and create a cuisine

that deserves a place in the American

food ecosystem.

AM: We had the Jasmine Green Tea ice

cream which is another favorite. Are there

any new products that are coming out that

we should keep an eye out for?

M: Yes, we’re planning to launch some

more limited edition flavors this year.

More to come soon!

AM: Simu Liu (Marvel's Shang-Chi and the

Legend of the Rings franchise, Kim's Convenience,

Barbie) is your Chief Content Officer!

How did this partnership come about

and what will he be doing with the brand?

M: We’re very excited to have Simu joining

us as Chief Content Officer. A year ago,

through a friend of a friend, we were connected

to Simu and sent him some products.

His parents intercepted the delivery

while he was traveling and, by the time he

got back, they’d eaten all the soup dumplings

and given them their stamp of approval.

We sent more over for him to try

and, when he loved the products, we continued

talking more with him about our

mission. We all had similar experiences

and a shared passion for bringing Chinese

food to wider audiences so we began

speaking with him about getting more involved.

Now, here we are working together!

Simu will be advising the company on

marketing strategy and communications

and will play a larger role in representing

the brand across marketing channels.

He'll be working with us on crafting our

storytelling, shaping upcoming initiatives

and driving creative activations.

AM: You have been doing a number of

events to give exposure to the brand, as

we continue to navigate the Spring and

the Summer, are there events/festivals/

tradeshows that we should keep an eye

out for and will you be coming to NY?

M: Since we are currently in California

and in the Pacific Northwest and working

on hitting shelves in Town & Country,

Metropolitan Market and QFC stores

in the Washington and Oregon areas

in April, we are heavily focused there.

We’ll be bringing some new, fun ways

for people to try the products to various

markets as well as looking to expand

into new markets throughout 2023.

@eat.mila

PHOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 84 + 88 MìLà

| PG 87 The Creator and Blake Silva |

We always like to find out more about

those on our favorite shows! For fans of

HBO Max's The Other Two, you know that

this show is about siblings Cary Dubek

(Drew Tarver) who is trying to obtain better

auditions and Brooke (Heléne York)

who is trying to get her life together in

general! Their brother, Chase, known as

Chase Dreams (Case Walker), becomes an

internet senation overnight. The show illustrates

how they navigate their realities!

In this month's issue, we sit down with

Case to talk about his character who will

be back for it's 3rd season on May 4th on

the streaming platform. He shares similarities

and differences between himself

and this chracter, how he became attached

to the show and how he has enjoyed

the process. He also talks about

Monster High which will be out this fall.

In addition to his love for acting, he is also

an avid rock climber and talks about how

he is just as passionate about doing this

sport, taking on the challenges that come

along with it as well as a bucket list of locales

that he would like to go to in his travels

to do this activity that he is so proud of.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize

that you wanted to be an actor?

CASE WALKER: I realized that I wanted to

be an actor, probably when I was 8 years

old and I realized that I could play characters

and that that would entertain people.

It got me hooked!

AM: How did The Other Two Come about?

I’ve enjoyed watching this show, but for

our readers that aren’t familiar, tell us

about this.

CW: The Other Two was a project that I

went out for I think 7 years ago now, maybe

longer or earlier. I just went out for

an audition, my dad took me out across

LA and we went in like the usual kid actor

would and it just really worked out! I

connected with the casting director and

I connected with Chris Kelly (Saturday

Night Live, Crashing, Broad City) and Sarah

Schneider (Saturday Night Live, Master

of None, Goodnight, Sweet Prince) in the

last audition. It worked out and it’s been

amazing ever since.

AM: That’s amazing! You play Chase

Dreams. Who is he and are there similari

ties and differences between yourself

and the character that you play?

CW: Chase Dreams, well, he has grown a

lot over the show. Early on, we were very

similar in the 1st and the 2nd season. It

paralleled a little bit to my life as a child

actor in LA and going through the motions

of the industry. This season, Chase

gets to mature quite a bit. We jump a little

bit into the future and Chase is older

going through what I would say are

adult challenges than he has ever gone

through. Which is very similar to what I

have gone through as well even in this

season which is really fun!

AM: That’s great! The show obviously

has an incredible cast with yourself, Molly

Shannon (Saturday Night Live, White

Lotus, Divorce), Ken Marino (Party Down,

Black Monday, Veronica Mars), Wanda

Sykes (Black-ish, Bad Moms, Curb Your

Enthusiasm) along with former SNL writers

Chris and Sarah. What is it like being

on this show and what have you learned?

CW: Yeah, I’ve learned so much working

on this show. All my co-stars have

not only been friends and companions

to me, but also talking to me so much

about acting and especially how to operate

on set and how to be on a television

show to work together to produce

art. I’ve also learned so much from them

on the comedy side as well. They’ve just

been amazing mentors, friends, and

co-workers - all of the above.

AM: It’s always great when you have that

dynamic in the chemistry. Are you able

to tell us about the upcoming 3rd season

and what we can expect?

CW: I can share a little bit. This season is

a big jump from where we last were. It’s

totally different and it’s bigger. I would say

that it’s a lot bigger if you can believe it.

Everyone, I would say this season – every

character is kind of going through their

own challenge. We’re a little bit more separate

and individual this season and of

course, as we always do, we end up back

together as a family through all of our conflicts

and challenges in the industry. It’s

really fun to see how we all get through

this season! There are some crazy things

that happen and Chase goes through a lot

of stuff! I personally felt that I was going

through a lot of different sketches this

season a little bit because you’ll see that

Chase has a few things that are going on

this season to solve his situations. It will

be really fun to watch for sure.

AM: Looking forward to catch that! Are

there other projects that we should keep

an eye out for that you’re involved in?

CW: I worked on another project that’s a

live action musical, the 2nd version of it

called Monster High. It’s totally different

than The Other Two which is going to be a

blast and it will be out this fall!

AM: It’s always exciting to have something

that’s ahead of you!

When you’re not on set, we know that

you’re an avid rock climber. How did you

get into this sport?

CW: Rock climbing, I got into it because

my big brother was really into it. He had

been doing it for a few years and as a little

bro does, I kind of followed him into it.

Then I stopped for a few years and then

around COVID, I completely fell in love

with it – especially outdoor bouldering.

I’ve kind of run with it since then.

AM: You mentioned that your brother was

a huge influence, but there are so many

outdoor sports that you could have done,

what is it about this specifically that you

really love about it?

CW: I would describe bouldering and rock

climbing as probably one of the most full

value sports. While I’m in NY, I can train

at the climbing gym nearby and find a

community there and then when I’m

home in Colorado, I can do a lot of outdoor

bouldering. I can go to the Alpine

or the Front Range. When I was in Canada

filming, there was climbing everywhere.

It’s a beautiful sport where you

can do it a little bit, you could do it a lot,

you can go outside and you can be inside

and there's just this awesome community

behind it. I find it to be one of the

best sports in the world, it’s my favorite.

AM: Do you have a bucket list of locations

that you would go to specifically around

the world to continue to boulder or rock

climb out there?

CW: Totally, yeah! There’s a bunch.

There’s a place called Rocklands in

South Africa that’s incredible, there’s

a place called Fontainebleau in France

which is amazing and it has a fun name

– these are all just obviously legendary

international bouldering spots. Where

I’m at in Colorado, it’s a bucket list for

a lot of people! So I just got to get a lot

more boulders on my checklist here and

I’ll definitely make my way to Spain and

France and all of the above!

AM: When you’re climbing, how do you

prepare? What are the things that you’re

looking for to ensure that you’re having

a good climb?

CW: To prepare for climbing, especially

when you’re taking it to a whole other

level, you really have to invest a lot

more than you expected to it. So, it’s

really mental, it’s emotional sometimes

and obviously, it’s physical. A lot of people

don’t grasp the mental aspect of it

often times when you’ve spent a lot of

time on a project which is what we call

it. Like spending multiple days. It really

does take a lot of mental focus and figuring

out data. When I’m climbing, I just

really try to be present because sometimes

you can think about getting the

route done or just overthinking it. At the

end of the day, it’s really just about get-

ting outside, climbing and having a great

experience. When you do what we call a

complete boulder or a complete climb, it’s

a reward and it’s really fun. Really, climbing

is just about climbing and being able

to get out there and to challenge yourself.

AM: Have you ever done it competitively?

Will we see you trying to go to the Olympics?

CW: You know, I have a friend who’s in the

Olympics and he was one of our Olympians

and I have a ton of friends in Colorado

who obviously go to the National Team

Trials. There’s actually a pretty big separation

between outdoor bouldering and

what we call comp style or competition

style climbing. They kind of have a middle

ground, but you end up training one or

the other. I’ve been pretty focused on the

outdoor stuff, but I also do a few competitions

here and there! Just not maybe on

the Olympic level!

@casewalker

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 92 -94 HBO

Max/The Other Two | PG 97 Rocky Holloway

| PG 98 Cooper Doe |

THE ART OF

THE SNACK:

LUTHUN

In this month's The Art of the Snack, we're

heading down to NYC's LES for an epic

meal! We had the opportunity to sit down

with Chef/Founder Nahid Ahmed and

Chef/Partner Arjuna Bull of Luthun. Both

of these founders have been friends and

clearly have a passion to bring a culinary

experience to each plate that is served

to you! We also talk about the beverage

program with Sommelier Jahdea Gildin.

We talk with this team to find out about

their backgrounds, how they came together

and what we can expect when dining

there. With an open kitchen as well as tasting

menus, we know that this is going to

be a restaurant that we will find ourselves

coming back to again and again!

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did Luthun

open?

CHEF NAHID AHMED: Luthun opened on

July 25th, 2019 in the East Village.

AM: Chef Nahid Ahmed and Chef Arjuna

Bull, please share your backgrounds and

culinary journeys that brought you to Luthun?

CHEF NA: My culinary journey began when

I studied at a culinary school in Lausanne,

Switzerland in the early 90s. During the

program, I had an internship with Chef

Gray Kunz, who became one of my mentors,

at Lespinasse in New York City. After

returning to Europe to finish my school, I

worked for another mentor of mine, Swiss

Chef Philippe Rochat at his Restaurant de

L'Hôtel de Ville in Crissier, Switzerland. I

came back to Lespinasse, where I worked

for a few years under Gray Kunz and left

around the same time he did. He connected

me with Thomas Keller at The French

Laundry where I worked for a while but

not being a big fan of Napa Valley at the

time, I went back to Europe and Philippe

Rochat’s restaurant again, which has held

3 Michelin stars for over 50 years. After

that, I had a chance to work at El Bulli in

Spain for some time, then at The Fat Duck

in London where I moved to be closer to

my family. While there, Gray Kunz calledme

and said he was opening Café Gray in

New York so I went to help him and met

chef Arjuna ‘AJ’ Bull who also worked

there. I worked there with Gray until it

closed, then at the Plaza Hotel for the

reopening of the Oak Room but it was

not a fit for me and I started thinking

about opening my own place. Then in

2011, I got a chance to open Respite in

Midtown. I brought in Chef AJ and the

two of us helped open this little place.

It was not ours, but we ran everything.

It was a hole in the wall and we had so

much fun there. That’s where the whole

idea of Luthun came to my mind. I wanted

to open my own restaurant, to do my

own things, to cook and create my own

cuisine. So, after that, I worked at bunch

of other places, I did pop-up dinners all

over, while working on funding. And

then I finally opened Luthun in 2019, my

long awaited dream: Luthun restaurant

in New York City.

CHEF ARJUNA ‘AJ’ BULL: I went to culinary

school in Miami and graduated

from Johnson & Wales in 2000. I did my

externship at The Fontainebleau Hilton

Resort; it was good experience working

in all different departments. But then I

took a quick vacation to New York and

I fell in love with the industry, so right

away I moved here and started working

at a lot of different places. One of

the biggest highlights was when I got

to work with Chef Nahid at Café Gray,

where I worked for a couple years with

him. It took me to the next level; experiencing

Michelin food changed my whole

vision and goals. I did a bunch of popup

restaurants with Chef Nahid. In the

meantime, I had a couple other executive

chef jobs, just to get some British

experience since I was born in England.

It's been a crazy journey here in New

York, but so much experience. And finally,

we had the opportunity and found an

investor. We found a cool space in the

East Village and here we are at Luthun.

AM: Why did both of you want to come

together to create Luthun?

CHEF NA: When I decided to open my

restaurant Luthun, it was because I'm very

picky about my food. I didn’t want to cook

food like that of my mentors or restaurants

I’d worked at. So when I set out to

create my cuisine, I asked myself what

kind of cuisine? It had to come from me

and who I am, what I came from, where

my parents came from, where I was born

and grew up, from my philosophy behind

the food and also from my memory of the

many places where I worked, the people I

met, and the many different things I have

eaten. I brought it all together and made

my own cuisine. And then my idea came to

me as to what kind of restaurant I wanted,

and I wanted this kind of restaurant that

Luthun is. I also wanted someone working

next to me. Someone who I can say

is my friend, my chef, my business partner.

Although there are many people and

friends I have in this industry, but in that

moment, I could only think of one person,

Chef Arjuna Bull. I knew him a long time

before this restaurant, and we have this

connection. He understands me very well,

more than anyone else in any kitchen I

have worked in. He understands the food

I want to cook. He understands what kind

of flavor I'm looking for. So, I didn’t think

about anybody else, and I offered him to

be a business partner to open Luthun together.

CHEF AB: There's only one answer for that,

I was super excited. We've been friends

for 20 years and I never actually knew the

potential that Chef Nahid had until we did

some pop-up restaurants. And from then

on, I was just blown away at how many

different recipes and the creativity that

was in his head. I was honored to have

this opportunity to work with him.

AM: What is the meaning behind the

name?

CHEF NA: The meaning behind the name is

my mom's nickname. I lost my parents at a

very young age, and I had heard my mom

was an amazing cook; she loved food and

she was a very adventurous eater. When I

wanted to open something very personal,

and the cuisine is very personal from my

background and where I came from,

there was nothing I could think of other

than my mom’s nickname. So I put her

name on my restaurant.

CHEF AB: The meaning of the chef's

mom's nickname, Luthun also means

something new and unexpected. So, in

the East Village walking by there's brick

walls and wood floors. But we beat everybody's

expectations and, following

the name, offer something new and unexpected.

AM: Tell us about the design and aesthetic

of the restaurant for those that

will come by for dinner.

CHEF NA: We are in the East Village in

New York City, where every neighborhood

is so different to me. Midtown,

Downtown, East or West Village, everywhere

is different. When I first came to

New York, I lived down the block from

Luthun’s location on East 7th Street

between First and Second Avenues for

almost a year. I didn’t know a lot about

other parts of the city, so this area was

to me the real New York. I'm talking

about early 90s, punk rock, and all these

little bars and shops, I had never seen

anything like that and to me this is New

York. When we decided to open a restaurant,

we both agreed it has to be somewhere

we know very well and we knew

this area very well. We also wanted to

surprise people with the food, wine and

service they wouldn’t expect in the East

Village, and create something very comfortable

that doesn’t feel like a restaurant

when they come downtown.

So we don't call Luthun a restaurant, we

call this our home and if people come

to your home, what do you do? You provide

your best hospitality, and that’s

what we try to do here. The whole team

is not just front of the house or back of

the house. We work together very well

and we want people to come here and

feel like they are in someone's home,

not a restaurant.

CHEF AB: It's an open kitchen experience.

As soon as you walk in, it's like you're walking

into somebody's house so we give a

welcoming greeting, basically, hugs and

kisses. Again, it's more of our living room

than a restaurant.

AM: What seatings are offered for those

that are coming in for dinner?

CHEF NA: We have three seatings in the

dining room at 5:30pm, 7:30pm and

9:30pm. And at the chef's counter we seat

at 6:00pm and 8:30pm.

AM: Luthun's cuisine is defined as Progressive

American with a focus on hyper-seasonal

tasting menu with a Global Perspective?

What does that mean?

CHEF NA: We don't have any boundaries

at Luthun, we cook what we love to eat.

We challenge ourselves by using a lot of

ingredients that other restaurants don’t

serve on their tasting menus, many techniques,

and developing recipes to present

food in a way you’ve never seen. And

our goal is to introduce people to many

different flavors from all over the world:

Chinese, French, Mexican. As a chef, it is

a challenge to cook with so many different

flavors and ingredients, but we like to

do that because this is a way to give our

guests a new experience. That's why we

call our food global and progressive, and

also hyper-seasonal because we go to the

local farmer’s market 3-4 times a week

and talk with the farmers and fishermen

about what is and isn’t coming.

AM: Each dinner service, you have a 9

course tasting meal which takes place at

the counter and then a 6 course tasting

meal that takes place in the dining room.

Can you tell us more about that?

CHEF NA: At the kitchen counter, we serve

9 courses. In the dining room, there are 6

courses. The full tasting starts with something

very flavorful, the next step adds a

bit of tartness, then oceanic flavors, followed

by something more French like a

custard or foie gras. Right now, we have

this white asparagus with uni and bottarga

that is very French and Japanese.

Before the last course and dessert, we

go to Southeast Asian flavors we love.

We serve a meat course at the end, we

always try to do some kind of barbecue

because this is to me America, it has to

be barbecue. We keep the dessert very

simple, very seasonal and very light. We

don't believe in heavy desserts after so

many courses and we want people to

finish everything so we serve something

fruity, light and chilled, not heavy.

AM: How do you approach what will be

on the tasting menu?

CHEF NA: We have our one signature

dish, which is inspired by fushka, a famous

Indian street food that we start

the tasting with. It is vegan and very refreshing

with citrus and lots of flavor to

introduce people to the next courses.

We start with vegetables then move on

to shellfish like oysters or scallops, followed

by mushrooms, then some kind

of custard. After that, more substantial

seafood and then light meat. Generally,

there are between five and six seafood

courses, one or two vegetable courses

and one meat course.

AM: What spices, herbs and ingredients

do you gravitate towards in general.

CHEF NA: We like spices from all over

the world. I’ll go to any store and get

anything I see. Our sommelier is going

to Armenia and I'm going to ask him if

he can bring back a spice book. I want to

know about every spice. I'm Indian and I

like Indian spices, there are so many different

spices. I have no boundaries we

use spices from all over the world, whatever

we feel we can make something

amazing with it.

AM: Can you share 3 dishes that tend to

be offered that are your favorites?

CHEF AB: The fushka is so exciting because

it has so many different textures.

There are raw, and blanched vegetables,

acid from citrus, a little bit of heat and

spice, and fresh garnishes on top. That

one is mouth-watering just talking about

it. Because of all the textures and the

freshness, the fushka is a total go-to. I like

all the seafood dishes, we have amazing

vendors so the scallop dish right now is

phenomenal and also one other kind of

signature on the menu is a shrimp dish.

The ingredients kind of stay the same but

the dish has evolved since we've opened.

Nuoc cham, the Vietnamese fermented

fish sauce, is something Chef Nahid has

created many dishes around. Right now,

the dish has nuoc cham emulsion foam

and foie gras sauce on the bottom, potatoes,

Thai basil and grilled and smoked

fresh shrimp. This is definitely one of my

favorites too.

AM: Are there types of dishes or flavors

that tend to be a part of the 9-course tasting

menu, regardless of the season that

you may be in?

CHEF NA: Everything changes. There is

only one dish that we always keep, the

nuoc cham shrimp dish. The flavor is very

Vietnamese and Thai. Everything else

comes and goes but we do love Southeast

Asian flavors with a twist, say a little Japanese,

and also influences from every part

of India.

AM: Jahdea Gildin, you are the Sommelier

at Luthun, tell me about your journey prior

to coming here?

JAHDEA GILDIN: I've worked in hospitality

since I was about 15 years old, my first job

was at a bagel shop. And from there, I've

always loved the industry, even though

I took a detour. Five years ago, I jumped

back into hospitality at Casa Mono, the

Michelin-starred restaurant in Grammercy,

as a manager while I was getting my

sommelier certification from the Court

of Master Sommeliers. After being part

of a team that won awards and Michelin

stars, I was looking for the opportunity

to do something a little different. At Casa

Mono, everything was from Spain so it's

refreshing to be able to do something dif-

ferent at Luthun.

AM: Tell us about the wine list that is offered?

JG: We're trying to make Luthun’s wine

list similar to the food, which is very

unique in itself. It's rooted in tradition

but has its own identity. Chef Nahid is

classically French trained so while we

honor tradition, we want to expand on

it and offer wines that are less expected,

from lesser known regions. We want

to showcase the New World and producers

or regions that are worthy of exploration

rather than predictable choices.

We have a very small space and with

the constantly changing menu, we want

to make sure that our beverage options

are in line with that. Our beverage pairing,

which is very popular, enables us to

showcase what we think people should

be drinking with these dishes. Since Luthun

serves a tasting menu, guests come

here for an experience and we want to

provide something special.

AM: What are three wines that you often

suggest?

JG: I really enjoy wine from Zuccardi in

Mendoza, Argentina. In 2019, 2020 and

2021, they were the number one vineyard

in the world. They make these stellar

chardonnays and malbecs, that see time

in concrete because to the winemakers

it shows the real terroir, as opposed to

using oak, which can mask some characteristics.

Their Fosil Chardonnay is absolutely

stunning. It has this nice little bit

of roundness and is kind of white Burgundy-esque.

What I like to share with

people the most is that while we're all

familiar with French chardonnay, it's

great to explore other options. The Fosil

Chardonnay is similar to some of the top

white Burgundies but costs a fraction

of the price. It's not necessarily a cheap

wine but in comparison with the quality

level, it stands with some of the best.

Another wine I'm a huge fan of is saperavi

from Anapea Village in Georgia. Geor-

gia and Armenia are both the cradle of

wine civilization with sixty eight thousand

years’ history. The saperavi that

they make is fascinating because they

ferment it on the skins of mtsvane, a

white grape, in the traditional Georgian

qvevri terracotta vessels. It makes a really

beautiful medium bodied, fresh red

with light spice, fresh flowers and some

nice umami. We were pouring that on

our Reserve Pairing with a Mongolian

beef.

We just got a couple of labels of Gut

Oggau from Austria, husband and wife

winemakers that make beautiful field

blends. Oftentimes they don't even list

the grapes on the bottle because they

had taken over this abandoned vineyard

that they were able to work with biodynamic

practices from day one. Each

of their wines has on the label a handdrawn

picture of a family member or

friend. We have the Matilda gruner veltliner,

named after a grandmother, on

the list right now.

AM: You also have kombucha, can you

tell us more about this?

JG: Most of our non-alcoholic beverages

we make in-house with a tea base similar

to how kombucha is made, but we

don't do the whole fermentation process.

We source kombucha from Unified

Ferments in Brooklyn. The difference

between what they create and what’s

at the grocery store is the quality. The

teas they use are from different areas of

Taiwan or China. They also created two

different labels that come from opposite

sides of one mountain in India, so

they're really digging into the terroir of

teas. One of my favorites is the Qi Dan

oolong tea that has a touch of effervescence

that gives it a really nice freshness

and notes of bay leaf and citrus.

@luthunnyc

PHOTOS COURTESY | Michael Tulipan

ATHLEISURE LIST: LA

JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT:

KING PLEASURE

The Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure

exhibit moved from here in NY

to LA. We talked with Ileen Galllagher

to find out more about this exhibit.

There are close to 200 works including

never before seen paintings, drawings,

ephemera and objects owned

by Jean-Michel. This exhibit also includes

immersive environments of his

childhood home, studio and Palladium

nightclub.

This exhibit is possible due to his sisters

who run the Estate of Jean-Michel

Basquiat. In their possession are many

works that have never been seen before,

and they wanted to share them

with the public. Additionally, they

wanted to create an exhibition that

told the story of their brother from

their unique point of view.

He was known for his Neo-Expressionism

and was very expressive in his use

of color, imagery, and language. His

work combines all three and often

contains elements from history, art

history, culture, and social and political

commentary.

King Pleasure, the name of the exhibit,

comes from a painting by the artists in

1987 referencing the name of a bebop

loving bartender turned jazz vocalist,

whose first hit in 1952, Moody’s Mood

For Love, catapulted him to fame.

Frankie Crocker, a WBLS disc jockey

played it at the close of his show every

night in the early 1970s. Gerard,

Jean-Michel’s father, liked the song


and often listened to Crocker’s show.

Jean-Michel created a painting by this

name but it is not included in this exhibition.

It's important to note that his legacy

has grown exponentially since the

time of his passing and many in the art

world who didn’t recognize his talent

and genius during his lifetime have

come around to truly appreciate his

unique talent. His art resonates with

all sorts of audiences because so many

people can identify with what he is

saying in his work, and his messages

continue to resonate to this day. Since

his death he has been included in hundreds

of exhibitions and his fame is

truly world wide.

JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT:

KING PLEASURE

The Grand LA

100 S Grand Ave

LA, CA 90012

kingpleasure.basquiat.com

@basquiatkingpleasure

PHOTO CREDITS | Estate of

Jean-Michel Basquiat



ATHLEISURE LIST: Cobble Hill, BK + NYC: UWS, East Village

MIMI CHENG'S

Mimi Cheng's is founded by Hannah

and Marian Cheng. The two sisters

were inspired by the hundreds of

homemade dumplings and jars of secret

sauce their mother, Mimi, made

for them throughout their lives, and

in 2014, they took the leap into the

hospitality industry to introduce their

family recipes and culinary heritage to

New York City and opened their first

location. Since then, it has expanded

to 3 locations on the Upper West Side,

East Village and Brooklyn.

We suggest that when you swing by

for dumplings, you should try their

Signature Dumpling (organic chicken,

farm zucchini, scallions, grated

ginger), Pork & Chive Dumplings (pasture-raised

heritage pork + garlicky

chives) and any of their upcoming Limited

Edition Brooklyn Series Dumplings.

Mimi Cheng’s will be collaborating

with other beloved iconic BK restaurants

to create a special dumpling every

month. Keep an eye on their social

feed to see the next collaboration

that they will do for other restaurants

in the area! For April, they partnered

with Hometown BBQ, which will be an

interesting twist on these savory classics.

If you visit their IG, you'll see that

they mentioned a Pepper-Caramelized

Beef Brisket Dumplings with Swiss

cheese, housemade Russian dressing,

and slaw which seems like something

that we would want to try for sure!

3 main dishes that we should try are

Spicy Dan Dan Noodles, 12-Hour Organ-


ic Chicken Bone Broth Noodle Soup and

Chicken + Rice. When it comes to sides,

you should have their Crushed Garlic

Cucumber Salad, Scallion Pancakes and

Scallion Ginger Rice.

Regardless of which location you go

to, you'll find that all the menus are

the same for each one.

MIMI CHENG'S

COBBLE HILL, BK

224 Atlantic Ave

BK, NY 11201

UWS

309 Amsterdam Ave

NY, NY 10023

East Village

179 2nd Ave

NY, NY 10003

mimichengs.com

@mimichengs


PHOTO CREDITS | Mimi Cheng's


STEP UP TO STOP

THE SPREAD, NYC!

GET

VACCINATED

AND BOOSTED

GET

TESTED

if you have symptoms,

were exposed, or traveled

MASK

UP

to protect yourself and those around you

STAY

HOME

if you are feeling sick

For more information,

visit nyc.gov/covidvaccine

or call 877-VAX-4NYC.

Health

Bi

M

D

C


Stay connected and follow us across our

social channels on @AthleisureMag!




Bingely Books

101 THINGS TO DO WITH

RAMEN NOODLES

Gibbs Smith

Toni Patrick

There is nothing like a bowl of ramen

and since it is so versatile, we always

want to try a new version! If you've ever

purchased ramen noodle packets or

have them in your pantry, have you ever

thought about how you can breathe

new life into it, we have some ideas. This

month, 101 Things to Do WIth Ramen Noodles

is the perfect cookbook to have on

hand when cravings hit.

You'll find out how they can be

made into Creamy Chicken Noodle

Soup, Summer Garden Soup,

Zucchini Salad, Ham and Cheese

Ramen Omelets, Ramen Nachos,

and Ramen Burgers.

PINEAPPLE STREET

Pamela Dorman Books

Jenny Jackson

As we get closer to the summer,

we need one of those escapist

reads that takes us away on a bit

of a saga. We get introduced to

the Stockton family a well-connected

old money family. We

meet Darley the eldest daughter

who traded her comforts, followed

her heart and exchanged

her inheritance for motherhood.

We also meet Sasha who is a

middle-class New England girl

who marries into the Brooklyn

Heights family. Obviosuly, she is

an outsider. Then, there's Georgiana

who is the baby of the family

and has falled madly in love with

someone that she can't have.

Now, she decides what kind of a

person does she want to be ultimately.

Pineapple Street is an indulgent

read that connects us to the

one-percenters and sharing the

lives of these characters as they

navigate their lives and learn

what it is in life that they really

want to be involved in.


as those that he grew up eating. With

over 100 recipes, and his thoughts on

philosophically eating, and his connection

to food, it's an immersive experience.

We're looking forward to making Spicy

Pork Rib Stew, classic noodle and rice

cake dishes as well as Korea-fied roast

chicken and a sweet-and-spicy grilled

cauliflower. In addition, to beautiful

images, you will learn various techniques,

you'll learn about condiments

to elevate your desired dish, desserts,

drinks and tricks and tips to create

your healthy meals each week.

LEARNING KOREAN: RECIPES

FOR HOME COOKING

Amistad

Peter Serpico

Another cuisine that's a long time favorite

is Korean! We love the spices, sauces

and more. In Learning Korean: Recipes

for Home Cooking, we focus on the

key elements of this cuisine: kimchi and

white rice and how it unlocks flavors as

well as vegetable-centric cooking which

allows for healthy eating. This cookbook

presents new flavors, techniques

and ways to enjoy this food by Chef Peter

Serpico.

This cookbook shares his favorite dishes

that he has made over the years as well



Bingely Streaming

BEEF

Netflix Series

Netflix

BEEF is a must binge that's perfect to enjoy

over the weekend. All 10 episodes of this

dark comedy starring Steven Yeun (Nope,

Everything All at Once, Okja) and Ali Wong

(Birds of Prey, American Housewife,

Love, Victor) shows us what

happens when a beef takes over

your life and how it can completely

change everything that you

thought you knew about yourself

and those around you! It even

looks at how a beef can cross gender,

class and other demographics.

FIRED ON MARS

HBO Max Original

HBO

When you've gotten through a

number of series on a designated

streaming platform, you're

always looking for the next item

that you'll want to watch. We just

found out about Fired on Mars, an

animated workplace comedy on a

Martian tech company which focuses

on a guy who leaves Earth

to work on Mars with a number

of his colleagues from his office

as well as others who are there

to populate the planet. We watch

him go about his job as a Graphic

Designer and how he spends his

days there while communicating

with his girlfriend who works at

the same company who is back

on Earth. We can see that she is

slated to be there at some point

down the road.

As he navigates his days and

nights, we also see that a new

planet doesn't change the state of

office politics, interesting coworkers

and the need to fit in. One day,

the world that he continues to adjust

to is drastically altered and he

is forced to try to find a new way

to be involved in this


this new environment as well as to

stay connected to the love of his life

on Earth.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

FX/Hulu Originials

Hulu

This new look at this beloved classic brings

us an orphan named Pip (Fionn Whitehead)

who grew up as a blacksmith's apprentice.

Suddenly, he receives a windfall from an unknown

benefactor that allows him to travel

to London and enter high society. His journey

includes love, Miss Havisham (Olivia

Colman) and more!

There's nothing like a classic retold

and when it comes to FX and the way

that they retell Charles Dickens pieces,

we couldn't wait to see how this

would be done with Great Expectations

a 6 episode limited series.

The adaptation is written by Steven

Knight (Spencer, See, Peaky Blinders)

who is also an Executive Producer

alongside Tom Hardy (Venom franchise,

Legend, Inception), Ridley Scott

(Kaleidoscope, House of Gucci, The

Last Deul), Dean Baker (A Christmas

Carol, Taboo, Driven to Extremes), David

W. Zucker (Still Missing Morgan,

Kaleidoscope, The Good Fight) and

Kate Crowe (The Third Day, A Christmas

Carol, Taboo).





Athleisure Mag APR ISSUE #88

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