Chef’s Table at The Hub: Gail Simmons on Guesting

Meet us at The Hub for a special holiday edition of Chef’s Table with acclaimed food writer, television personality, and author Gail Simmons as we celebrate her new book, Guesting.

Perfect for the holiday season when many of us are guesting, Simmons will speak in conversation with James Beard Award-winning chef Mike Solomonov, while they explore gathering, generous hospitality, and the food that brings people together. Following the conversation, stay for a Hanukkah themed reception complete with latkes and vodka with Simmons featuring her famed latke recipe. This promises to be a festive night at The Hub that you definitely don’t want to miss!

From author, culinary expert, and Top Chef judge Gail Simmons comes a fun, informative, and trailblazing guide to a rarely-explored side of hospitality: how to be a great guest.

Gail Simmons is a trained culinary expert, food writer, and television personality who has been a judge on BRAVO’s Emmy-winning series Top Chef since the show’s inception in 2006. She has also hosted and served as a critic on The Good Dish, Top Chef Amateurs, Iron Chef Canada, Top Chef Masters, Top Chef Just Desserts, and The Feed. Her first cookbook Bringing It Home: Favorite Recipes from a Life of Adventurous Eating, was nominated for an IACP award for Best General Cookbook. Previously, she served as the Special Events Manager for Chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurant empire and was Special Projects Director at Food & Wine for fifteen years.

About Mike Solomonov:
Mike Solomonov, together with his twenty-year business partner Steve Cook, has redefined Israeli cuisine in the U.S., and beyond. With five James Beard Awards, including Zahav’s “Outstanding Restaurant” accolade in 2019, he is celebrated for honoring Israel’s diverse culinary traditions through innovative flavors and vibrant settings. His Philadelphia-based restaurant group includes beloved concepts like Dizengoff, Goldie, K’Far, Laser Wolf and Jaffa Bar, with recent expansion in New York, and as of March 2025, expansion to Miami as well, with a new spot — AVIV — inside the 1 Hotel South Beach. Through his acclaimed cookbooks and the launch of Zahav Restaurant Recipe Hummus at grocery stores nationwide, Mike continues to share his signature approach to Israeli flavors with a nationwide audience. Outside of the restaurants, you can often find Mike with Steve at Pho 75 in South Philly, working out the kinks in their Israeli village.

Tickets:
$18 1 Cookbook Talk Seat only (no book, no reception)
$45 1 Cookbook Talk Seat & 1 Signed Copy of Guesting
$85 1 Seat, 1 Signed Copy of Guesting, 1 Reception (heavy appetizers and drinks included)