We love a good dinner party. Especially when it’s hosted by two brands we’re gaga for. The alchemical magic of East Coast-meets-West and fashion-meets-beauty was in full effect on Saturday night at Jenni Kayne’s SoCal casa. The casual gathering celebrating CAP Beauty’s West Coast debut was our dream dinner: seasonal, local and superfood-infused. These gorgeous images and the Sun-Potion sprinkled menu by Chef Greg Arnold might just inspire a little dinner party action of your own. 

If you’re an Angleno and haven’t made the pilgrimage to Brentwood Country Mart to witness this pop-up first hand, get a move on. CAP Beauty is in residence at Jenni Kayne through tomorrow, November 12. In the meantime, ogle the evening’s inspired menu by Chef Greg and take a second look at all that raw food can be. Here is the chef with a few words on the method behind the magic…

I based my inspiration for this dinner on two things. First, as the weather just recently changed in LA, I really wanted to reflect the deliciousness of simple winter root vegetables paired with a lot of roasted nuts and smoke. I also used a lot of pickles and preserves in each dish to emphasize the fact that if we were eating a traditional rustic menu, all of the other vegetables and fruits would have been preserved in spring and summer when they were abundant and in the height of their deliciousness!

The second part of the menu was based on infusing many of the dishes, sauces, and pickling brines with Sun Potion tonic herbs (Editor’s note: we’re obsessed with Sun Potion! See all our recipes with the team here.) Scott and Nitsa are some of my best friends and I have been experimenting and documenting the use of their tonic herbs in a wide variety of applications!

In addition to the menu below, we also served a cocktail made with the classic fall fruits – pomegranate and persimmon – home-brewed mint kombucha and a strawberry powder made from dehydrating fresh strawberries and grinding them into a powder. These are also the first blood oranges of the season. I wait all year to see these beautiful citrus!

Chef greg’s stunning superfood Menu from the launch dinner

Crudité Crostini:
 Coffee-Infused Kohlrabi and Almond Puree
 Gen Mai Cha and Chlorella Pickled Cucumbers and Shallots
 Fennel and Parsley Slaw with Sumac and Macadamia Butter
 Savory Tomato and Radish Jam
 Ashwaganda Bissara
 Pickled Baby Plums with Oil-Cured Black Olive

Roasted Heirloom Carrot. Beluga Lentils Braised in Kombu Reishi Dashi.
Beetroot Tahini. Pink Lady Apples. Marcona Almonds. Light Pickled Baby
Turnip. Flowers.

Avocado. Shaved Fennel. Fennel Crown. Blood Orange. Pickled Beet
Stems. Dandelion Greens. Black Radish. Cordyceps Skördalia. Coleman
Farms Micro-Herbs. Pine-Pollen Vinaigrette.

Pimenton Roasted Romanesco. Charred Pimento. Za’atar-infused Socca.
Chermoula. Coriander. Dried Mulberries. Macambo. Micro-Herbs. Radish
Sprouts.

Grilled Pee Wee Potato. Israeli Cous Cous. Tomato and Beetgreen Braised
Garbanzo. Moroccan Seven-Vegetable Ratatouille. Sundried Black Olive.
Black Currants.

Roasted, Pickled and Raw Beetroot. Red Mustard Greens. Smoked
Flagoulet Beans. Saffron Jelly. Red and White Endive. Blueberry.
Pomegranate Seed. Persimmon Vinaigrette. Fall Flowers.