Join the Boston University Food & Wine department on Wednesday, April 16 from 1 – 2 for a cooking demonstration with Irene and Mei Li in celebration of Earth month. Learn how to turn scraps into delicious dishes. Free, but reserve your spot through Eventbrite HERE. This event is part of the Spring 2025 Pépin Lecture Series and will take place at 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 124.
Curated Cuisine is a monthly series examining all things edible, from the chefs cooking the food to the writers reviewing the recipes. Meet the people shaping the food industry, both local and national and enjoy a post-show bite inspired by the conversation. On Tuesday, May 30 at 6 pm Eastern, cookbook authors Margaret and Irene Li will speak at WBUR CitySpace, 890 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Doors open at 5:30 pm.
Before you throw out almost-expired milk, wrinkly fruit, or squishy vegetables learn all the ways you can use those ingredients in delicious stir-fries, smoothies and pancakes! Margaret and Irene Li, the acclaimed chef-sisters behind Mei Mei Dumplings, have written Perfectly Good Food: A Totally Achievable Zero Waste Approach to Home Cooking. They’ll discuss how to cook flexibly and fight food waste. It is a book for those moments everyone has, whether you cook for one or a whole household. We all have moments standing before an overfull pantry or near-empty fridge, not sure what to do with an abundance of summer tomatoes or the last of the droopy spinach. Chock-full of ingenious use-it-up tips, smart storage ideas, and infinitely adaptable recipes, this book will teach you why smoothies are your secret weapon, how to freeze (almost) anything, why using your senses in the kitchen (including common sense!) is more important than so-called shelf-life. This cookbook/field guide is a crucial resource for the thrifty chef, the environmentally mindful cook and anyone looking to make the most of their ingredients.
WBUR environment and climate correspondent Barbara Moran moderates the conversation, featuring an onstage demonstration of how to make a food waste feast. In-person guests will enjoy a bite from the book after the conversation.
CitySpace Tickets
Premiere: $25.00 (includes reserved seating)
General: $15.00
Student: $5.00
Virtual Tickets
$5.00 (only one ticket needed per household)
Register at www.wbur.org
Enjoy a three-course meal with guests in your city and around the country from the comfort of your home. Your Taste America meal kit will be prepared by chef Irene Li of Mei Mei and includes dough wine and Rabbit Hole whiskey, along with access to cooking demos and our national broadcast featuring a lineup of James Beard Foundation friends, chefs, and special guests.
The menu includes Beekeeper’s Salad (Watercress and Arugula, Aged Cheddar, Medjool Dates, Dee Pollen, Toasted Nuts, and Honey Buttermilk Dressing), a choice of two entrees (Cumin Lamb Shepherd’s Pie or Cumin-Peppercorn Farmer’s Pie with Lentil-Mushroom Blend), and Almond Jelly with Fresh and Preserved Fruits. Complete description and registration can be found at https://www.jamesbeard.org/events/taste-america-boston-pop-up-dinner-2. $150 fee.
Your three-course meal will be available to pick up on the afternoon of Sunday, October 18 at Mei Mei (506 Park Dr, Boston, MA 02215).
Through our Open for Good campaign, the James Beard Foundation is committed to helping independent restaurants survive this crisis, rebuild better, and thrive for the long term. Food containers and packaging have been generously donated by Placon, located in Madison, Wisconsin.
After Allandale Farm’s sold out 2017 events, the folks from Mei Mei food truck & restaurant are throwing another dinner party with Allandale Farm, located at 259 Allandale Road in Boston.
We both love local food, fun times, urban farms, music, craft beer, and our friends and neighbors, so we’re putting it all together on the nights of Sunday September 30 and Sunday October 21. Dinners will take place in the lovely, rustic Allandale greenhouses! Bring your friends and family for a multi-course menu designed by James Beard-nominated chef Irene Li featuring lots of Allandale-grown produce. Tickets include one alcoholic drink (or non-alcoholic Haymaker’s Punch), and we’ll also have a cash bar for other beverages from our friends at The Beer Mobile. Get excited to meet your neighbors with delicious family style dining!
Limited seating, parking available at the farm store. Taxes and eventbrite fees not included. For tickets visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/allandale-farm-dinner-with-mei-mei-tickets-48511627584
Join The Trustees for an unforgettable cooking and food experience at The KITCHEN at Boston Public Market. Cook side-by-side with celebrated Boston chefs who are committed to highlighting New England’s local farmers, fishermen and artisans on their menus. The series kicks off with Chef William Kovel from Catalyst in November, and continues with Chef Matt Jennings of Townsman in December (pictured below), and Chef Irene Li of Mei Mei in January.
Series Highlights:
Hands-on cooking class; attendees cook in small groups along with the chef.
Listen and learn from the masters themselves.
Four-course tasting menu made with the highest quality seasonal ingredients sourced from local farmers and food artisans from the Boston Public Market.
Intimate class size of no more than 20 people.
Local wine and craft beer pairings with each course.
Tickets for each event are $120 for Trustees members and $150 for non-member. Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/side-by-side-celebrity-chef-cooking-series-tickets-38369662694
Join the James Beard Foundation at The Langham, Boston (250 Franklin Street) on Friday, October 28 for a night of culinary stars benefiting the work of the Foundation. The menu will be created by John Besh, a Taste America All-Star from Besh Restaurant Group in New Orleans, local favorite Ana Sortun of Oleana, and Host Chef Mark Sapienza of The Langham. Guest Emcee is Jenny Johnson, two time Emmy award winning producer and co-host of NESN’s Dining Playbook. The reception will feature tastings by Karen Akunowicz of Myers & Chang, Irene Li of Mei Mei Group/Brookline, Peter McKenzie and Susan Regis of Shepard/Cambridge, Michael Scelfo of Alden & Harlow/Cambridge, and Jeremy Sewall of Row 34/Boston and Portsmouth.The James Beard Foundation is proud to donate a portion of the evening’s proceeds to the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America® Scholarship Fund. From April 1 through May 15, 2017, local culinary students are invited to apply through jamesbeard.org. Tickets ($275) may be purchased online at http://tasteamerica.myshopify.com/collections/boston.
