THERE’S A CUTE NEW service arriving in LA fresh from the East Coast. The Culinistas is a female-founded private chef service that’s quickly becoming the Uber of at-home entertaining.
The Culinistas was launched by business and hospitality veterans, modern Martha Stewarts, Jill Donenfeld and Tiana Tenet. Their service provides all the benefits of a full-time chef without the cost and time required to manage a full-time employee. They recognize that every household is different and personalize the experience from start to finish.
The process is simple: The Culinistas team will design a menu; a chef will do the shopping (they lean heavily on local farm stands like Santa Monica, Hollywood, and Malibu Farmers Markets as well as Thorne Family Farm), cook, serve, and handle the cleanup. If you’re planning a larger gathering, the team is happy to help bring it together. The service does everything from stock the fridge to help you coordinate every important detail of a backyard event.
The Culinistas have been hosting gatherings around LA this month to celebrate West Coast launch. Explore these pics from their Malibu luncheon and snag a glorious little salad recipe we’ll be making again and again…
Shaved Vegetable Salad with Parmesan + Mint Vinaigrette
serves 4 – 6
Ingredients:
1 large bulb fennel, fronds trimmed and reserved, sliced in half lengthwise
¾ cup olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground cumin
¾ cup mint leaves, packed, divided, plus more for garnish
¾ cup shaved parmesan, divided, plus more for garnish
2 Tbsp lemon zest
3 Tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp onion powder
2 Belgian endive, cut into 2 inch pieces, cores removes
2 zucchini, shaved thin
Salt + freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Shave ½ of fennel very thin and reserve for later.
Chop the remaining ½ of fennel and in a bowl, toss with ¼ cup oil, allspice and cumin. Season with salt and pepper and roast until fennel is tender, 30 minutes, then completely cool.
Make the dressing: In the base of a high-speed blender, add ½ cup mint, ¼ cup shaved parmesan, lemon zest and juice, and onion powder. While the motor is still running, stream in remaining ½ cup oil. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, mix the shaved fennel, roasted fennel, remaining ¼ cup mint, remaining ½ cup shaved parmesan, endive, and zucchini. Dress the salad to taste with the mint-parmesan dressing. Transfer to a large platter and garnish with mint, parmesan and black pepper and drizzle with oil.
