Cuisine & Couture

Michelin-starred Chef Phillip Frankland Lee and Caitlyn Chase

Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel welcomes Michelin-starred Chef Phillip Frankland Lee of the immersive Sushi by Scratch Restaurants pop-up through October 31, 2023. Inspired by fall fashion trends, Chef Lee gives Chase an inside look into the award-winning, 17-course nigiri tasting menu. Likening the omakase experience to putting together the perfect ensemble – where each piece is so thoughtfully curated – Chef Lee teaches Chase how to make three courses: the Hamachi with pops of yellow, predicted to be a big color for fall; the Akami, topped with caviar evocative of pearls set to trend this season; and Japanese Eel fried in torched bone marrow, reminiscent of fall textures like herringbone. At the end of the episode, Executive Pastry Chef Margarita Kallas-Lee – Sushi by Scratch Restaurants’ Co-Owner and Chef Phillip’s wife – recruits Chase to plate her Makrut Lime Ice Cream and Rice & Sesame Shortbread with coconut and matcha. Just like the final touches on an outfit, Chef Kallas-Lee’s treat offers a refreshing finish to the omakase tasting.

Chef Steve Benjamin and Caitlyn Chase

Acclaimed Chef Steve Benjamin, Culinary Director at Espelette at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, welcomes Chase to the kitchen, presenting Langoustine Papillote with frisée salad and basil. The langoustine and basil, wrapped in brick dough, is deep fried until it reaches a translucent, light golden brown. The act of making the dish resembles the process of dressing for the runway in an alluring, statement silhouette. Eye-catching elements include playful dots of orange Espelette pepper powder and basil aioli drops, which play off the bold colors anticipated for this year’s fall collections. Chef Benjamin also prepares Chocolate Profiteroles with chocolate sauce, chantilly and chocolate ice cream, contrasting black and white to be emblematic of Fashion Week icon Karl Lagerfeld. Hailing from Paris, Chef Benjamin discusses with Chase how food and fashion have always intertwined throughout his career. The duo ends their time together with a toast of Diet Coke served in a Lalique glass, which was the same way that Karl Lagerfeld enjoyed drinking his favorite beverage.

Beverly Hills visitors and locals can get a taste of Fashion Week for themselves by ordering the following dishes and cocktails featured across the city’s hotspots through October 15, 2023:

• Tatel’s Chica de Ayer Cocktail: Featuring Tres Generaciones Blanco, Lo-Fi Gentian and Egg Whites, this cocktail is inspired by Spanish luxury brand Loewe for its refreshed, classic taste and delicate artisanal presentation with a tiny floral finish.

• THEBlvd at the Beverly Wilshire’s Black Truffle Gnocchi: Made with truffle cream sauce and parmesan cheese topped with black truffle snow, drawing from the dark romantic touches predicted for fall.

• CUT at the Beverly Wilshire’s Live King Crab ‘Louie’ Cocktail: This decadent dish, with Hokkaido uni, calamansi, avocado and a horseradish emulsion, evokes pops of red found in this season’s fall fashions.

• MR CHOW’s Pink Water Dumplings and Highroller Cocktail: The hot pink color of these dumplings, filled with lobster and shrimp, are wrapped in a thin layer of gluten-free dough and pays homage to the likes of Chanel and Valentino. Pair it with the bright pink Highroller tequila cocktail reminiscent of Chanel’s Chance Tendre Eau de Parfum.

• The Hideaway’s Paloma Especial: A Cocchi Americano’s twist on the traditional paloma cocktail celebrates the merging of streetwear and Italian fashion houses seen at Fashion Week.

• Spago’s Camellia Flower ‘Vacherin’ Dessert: Drawing inspiration from Lagerfeld, Chanel and the iconic white camellia flower, the dessert captures the black and white motif with black currant sorbet, a touch of black honey, blackberries, crisp white camellia flower meringue and a poppyseed marble marzipan cake nodding to Lagerfeld’s German background.

• Crustacean’s Anna Sui Pink Me Up Cocktail: The boozy beverage with hibiscus-infused tequila, pamplemousse, maraschino and pineapple honors female designer Anna Sui – adored by the Asian females that lead Crustacean – and her love of bright pink colors.

• Fogo De Chao’s Samba Squeeze Martini: Inspired in this season’s fashion palettes on the runway, the martini combines both color and flavor with its zestful blood orange and the mildly sweet taste of guava along with the honeyed flavors of the St. Germaine Elderflower liquor topped with fresh blueberries.

BHCVB launched 'Cuisine & Couture' on May 1, 2023, with an homage to The Met Gala and the year’s theme, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. 

Executive Chef Dameon Evers and Rini Jain

Newly welcomed Executive Chef Dameon Evers of THEBlvd at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel presents a Pastrami Smoked Beet with Barbecue Tomatoes, Watercress, Beet Vinaigrette and Roasted Hazelnuts. The hearty beet dish celebrates Karl Lagerfeld’s penchant for a pop of red, which would become even more significant in his career as countless muses, models and actresses walked the red carpet in his designs. Digital creator Rini Jain of @rinisphere accompanied Chef Evers to create the bold dish together, where they discussed how Beverly Wilshire’s setting along Rodeo Drive continually inspires his work.

Michelin-Starred Pastry Chef Nick Muncy and Caitlyn Chase

At L’Restaurant of L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, Michelin-starred pastry chef Nick Muncy introduces Whipped Coconut, featuring coconut whipped into a marshmallow ring – resembling Karl Lagerfeld's tall white shirt collar – with coconut tapioca pudding at the center, seasoned with citrus zest and layered with blackberries and mint. Blackberry sorbet will finish the dish, topped with a dehydrated meringue disc spotlighting an airbrushed image of Karl's iconic sunglasses. Chef Muncy joined Caitlyn Chase of @caitlynchase – Caviar & Cashmere founder and long-time admirer of L’Ermitage – to prepare the delicacy and share fond memories in Beverly Hills, finding high design and gastronomic moments in all directions.