Cosselmon’s wide-ranging Mediterranenan repertoire and strong, ingredient-driven style, finds full expression in the Greek-inspired Kokkari restaurant, listed as one of the San Francisco Chronicle’s “Top 100 Restaurants.” Now he shares his recipes in Kokkari: Contemporary Greek Flavors, his new cookbook.
Cosselmon signs books beginning at 10:30am, followed by a lecture about his cooking philosophy at Kokkari, which is focused on ingredients. “I like lots of little hits of strong flavors, offering the diner a choice of tastes and family-style service,” he says. “It’s how I like to eat and cook.” Afterward, enjoy a three-course prix fixe lunch in the Founder’s Room of the Getty Villa, or a more casual lunch at the Villa café, both featuring recipes from Kokkari: Contemporary Greek Flavors.
The Getty Villa is the ideal setting for a discussion of Mediterranean food. Dedicated to the study of the arts and culture of ancient Rome, Greece and Etruria, the Villa is modeled after a first-century Roman country house, including authentic gardens featuring the fruit trees and fragrant annuals and perennials used by the ancient Romans in cooking. The Villa’s permanent collection includes vessels used in dining and depictions of banquets and revelry, and the walls of the Outer Peristyle are decorated with trompe l’oeil representations of fruits, vegetables, fish, and fowl destined for the table. Daily tours of the gardens and the collection are available free of charge.
The prix fixe lunch is $75 a person, or $90 with wine pairings. Make reservations online or by calling (310) 440-7300. Reservations for the Café are not required.
The book-signing and lecture are free, as is admission to the Getty Villa, but advance, timed tickets are required. Parking is $15. Make reservations online or by calling (310) 440-7300. Kokkari: Contemporary Greek Flavors can be ordered online when you purchase tickets, and will be available in the Museum store on April 4.
The Getty will be scheduling more Celebrity Chef events at both the Villa and the Getty Center, connecting food and wine with the collections and exhibitions at the Museum.