A hand serving food to another person.

Irangeles Through Food: A Conversation and Cooking Demonstration

This virtual panel discussion recording is included in your purchase of Irangeles: A Driving Tour.

Our guests, visual and culinary artist Parisa Parnian, chef and educator Nicole Dayani, and cultural journalist Liana Aghajanian share how the passing of recipes and narratives of food inspires their work and how their personal and local influences shape the food and programming they create. The 1.5 hours recording of panel discussion followed by Q&A is accessible via Vimeo link. This includes panel conversation, cooking demonstration, and recipe card.

Panelists

  • Parisa Parnian

    Parisa Parnian is an Iranian-American visual and culinary artist, entrepreneur, and cultural ambassador passionate about sharing her love of layered people, cultures, and stories with the world. With a background in fashion design & illustration and a keen eye for detail, Parisa is skilled at creating intricate and beautiful works of multi-media art as well as culinary and cultural events, such as the fashion art installation she created for Banana Republic and the Persian Street Food pop-up she held in Mexico City. In addition to her work as a creative director/illustrator, Parisa is also the founder of Savage Taste, an online community/platform that celebrates the richness and diversity of Iranian and other diasporic/Third Cultures; she also runs Aziz Amor, a monthly party that is a mashup of SWANA and Latinx music and nightlife; and offers food and storytelling workshops throughout L.A.

  • Nicole Dayani

    Nicole Dayani is an Iranian-American cooking instructor and founder of Nicole’s Kitchen LA, based in Beverly Hills. Nicole seeks to teach and inspire her students to create unique dishes that can be easily made by exploring ingredients in their fridges or pantries. Her greatest inspiration has always been her grandmother and the memories and connections they have made in the kitchen. Nicole’s goal is to create camaraderie through cooking, creating, and sharing laughs around the table. She offers a wide range of sought-after cooking classes and events.

  • Liana Aghajanian

    Liana Aghajanian was born in Iran and raised in Los Angeles and is a journalist of Armenian descent whose work has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and BBC, among other publications. She was a winner of the Write A House residency program in Detroit and is currently back on the West Coast documenting the Armenian experience in America through food, entitled Dining in Diaspora. Her work from the project has been featured in CNN, Bon Appetit, The Smithsonian as well as exhibitions in New York and Armenia.

Learn about Irangeles through its foodways.

For additional information, see below.

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This program is presented in partnership with the

Major funding for the Los Angeles Conservancy’s programs is provided by the LaFetra Foundation and the Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation.