If nothing is truly new, what is creativity?
In this special live event, New York Times bestselling author and James Beard Award–winning chef J. Kenji López-Alt joins Grammy-nominated violinist and composer Tessa Lark for an evening of cooking, music, and conversation. Moderated by renowned food writer, Serious Eats founder, and Special Sauce host Ed Levine, the program explores how creatives build on tradition, transform influence, and turn identity into expression.
On stage, Kenji brings his signature curiosity to the kitchen, while Lark, a Kentucky-born musician who bridges bluegrass roots with classical virtuosity, reveals how seemingly distant traditions can combine to form brand new sounds. Through live culinary demonstration and musical performance, this special edition of Kenji’s Tasting Notes reflects on how cultures and ideas blend, and how originality is less invention and more a reinterpretation of our shared cultural histories.