5/16/14 “For The Dreamers” lark at 31 Bits in Costa Mesa

Our lark on Friday, May 16th was an amazing experience. Thanks to all the beautiful people who attended. We gathered around the communal table at the 31 Bits bungalow in Costa Mesa to enjoy food, wine, and great conversation. We appreciate Jessie, Courtney, and all of 31 Bits for sharing their space and story with us! We are truly inspired!

www.31Bits.com Using Fashion and Design to Empower Women to Rise Above Poverty.

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8/30/13 “Discovering Beauty and Inspiration” at Cleobella’s in Sunset Beach, CA

Friday’s lark was held at Cleobella’s 1920’s seaside cottage in Sunset Beach.  We had a balmy, beautiful evening under the stars as we enjoyed wine, conversation and an Ecuadorian inspired menu.   We are thankful for Jim and Angela for opening the doors, sharing their good vibes and joining us at the common table.

Their quaint little boutique offers timeless bohemian pieces from handbags to home décor.  All of Cleobella’s handmade products create sustainable income for artisans in Bali Indonesia and a portion of all profits are donated to Care.org, specifically helping women in South East Asia.  So inspiring!  

Cleobella’s 16792 14th St. Huntington Beach, CA 92649

www.cleobella.com

 

 

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A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach

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A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach
A lark at the beautiful Cleobella Boutique in Sunset Beach

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6/27/13 “Let’s Have A Great Summer” Pop-Up at The AOSA Project

We were happy to set the communal table inside The AOSA Project, an amazing socially responsible retail shop in Huntington Harbor. What a great way to start off summer!  We did our best to create a special, but eclectic setting – something that would fit the location well.   Many great topics were brought up at the dinner table, such as “The Edible Schoolyard Project” and how do you know when “You have it all”?  These great images were taken by Vivid Images-Don Baker.  Many thanks to Jennifer Orona for opening the doors for us.  We cannot wait to do it again!1040740_327480017383652_1200979264_o

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Why Pop?

Popping up a restaurant and marketplace in different locations is a cool and fun way to bring people together to share what we are passionate about in life.  For me, this is the perfect combination of friends, food, wine, and design (an abridged list as you may surmise).   It is also a way for “Lark” to figure out where it fits in this world, a sort of living business plan.  Our motto is “do, reflect, refine, and do again”.   We often tell people it’s about “doing” instead of “dreaming of doing”.   We hope this leads to becoming experts at pop-ups and, later on, having our own brick and mortar.  However, we are grateful to have discovered the opportunity to bring people together for a wonderful and unique experience doing what we love.  The beauty of popping up is that each event is fresh and different.  The combination of locations, people, food, design are constantly changing and evolving.  This makes it easy to call it an adventure, ahem, Lark.

-Lisa Gutierrez-Martinez, Owner/Creative Director

Ready to greet out guests!  at our AoSA Underground Dinner Party in Huntington Harbor.
Ready to greet out guests! at our AoSA Underground Dinner Party in Huntington Harbor.

Q & A with The Mad Platter Kitchen Chef, Kristen Trinh

Enjoy this Q & A with Kristen Trinh of The Mad Platter Kitchen.

Q. When did you realize you wanted to become a chef?

A. What inspired me to become a chef was my husband and I had a conversation one day about how much he appreciates my cooking and noticed how happy I am when I am cooking for him and our friends.  He lightly mentioned that I should try out culinary school. I honestly never thought about it before, but it made perfect sense to me and so I did.

Q. What is your earliest memory of cooking?

A.  I would say earliest memory of cooking was with my grandmother during holidays. We had family gatherings all the time and I would always help my grandmother in the kitchen. That’s what sparked my interest and passion for cooking.

Q. What is your favorite cuisine to cook?

A. My passion for cooking has led me to create delicious dishes from all regions all around the world, but my favorite food to cook is Southern Italian.

Q.You went to the Art Institute right?  Would you say that is where you obtained most of your skills?

A. In 2007 I went to Art Institute of Orange County where I studied the ‘Art of Cooking’ and graduated a year later.

Q. What roles did you play at Laguna Culinary Arts Cafe & School?

A. I started work at Laguna Culinary Arts in 2008 where I became a Fromage and worked in the kitchen for basic food prep. I slowly worked my way up to not only cooking in the kitchen but menu planning, food cost. managing the cafe, and instructing classes. From there I grew a strong interest to become a private chef and branch off to do catering and meal planning on my own which is where I am at today.

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