Jeff Lotman
We had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Lotman, founder and CEO of Global Icons, the world’s largest independent full-service corporate brand licensing agency with offices in Los Angeles, Detroit, London and Hong Kong. He is also the owner of Fred Segal, Los Angeles’ iconic fashion brand.
An expert in branding, marketing and licensing, he has built an impressive career as a brand strategist. His clients include Lamborghini, Citroën, Opel, Vespa, Aprilia, USPS, Silk, Twinkies and Horizon Organic.
Yasu: From the Japanese Sea to Beverly Hills
Since 2019, chef Yasuhisa Ouchi offers a unique omakase experience in Beverly Hills. At the age of 17, chef Ouchi, an Osaka native, started learning the art of sushi. After exploring interests in art and graphic communication, he returned to his passion and perfected his culinary skills in contemporary sushi and in Edomae — sushi made with fresh seafood caught near the Tokyo Bay. In 2010, he moved to Canada and opened a westernized sushi takeout restaurant in Toronto. In 2014, armed with experience and a firm belief in his ideology of a perfect sushi restaurant, chef Ouchi opened his first namesake location, Yasu, in downtown Toronto. As the first omakase sushi bar in Canada, it soon garnered critical acclaim and multiple awards. Following this success, he moved to Beverly Hills and opened his second restaurant. The chef’s philosophy is based on kimochi: “I put a lot of feeling and care into the dishes.” Paying homage to ancestral methods, he shares his passion for bringing out the essence of each ingredient: “I wanted to bring the Japanese Sea of Umami to LA.” In order to offer the best tasting experience… READ MORE
Spa Calamigos: Malibu’s haven of peace
Nestled on 250 acres of ranch land, Calamigos Guest Ranch and Beach Club is Malibu’s luxury eco-safe resort, owned and operated by the Gerson family since 1937. Surrounded by the Malibu mountains, Spa Calamigos is the perfect place to balance your mind, body and soul, with massages, skincare treatments, scrubs and cupping therapy. Among the spa’s signature services, the Malibu Glow Facial, Earth and Sea Scrub, Reiki Massage and In The Wild Massage take you on a journey to relaxation and rejuvenation. Jennifer Ansaldo, the director of Spa Calamigos, has over 25 years of experience as a manicurist, aesthetician and cosmetologist. After owning a day spa for 10 years, she became an instructor at the Simi Valley Cosmetology School. She was then thrilled to join Calamigos Guest Ranch in 2022… READ MORE Share your experience at Calamigos Spa with #CalamigosGuestRanch
Orsa & Winston: Asian and Italian fusion of exquisite complexity
At Orsa & Winston, chef Josef Centeno serves inventive dishes that skillfully merge Japanese and Italian flavors, which earned him his first Michelin star. Next door to Bar Amá in Downtown Los Angeles — Centeno’s second restaurant that pays tribute to Tex-Mex cuisine, Orsa & Winston offers a nightly-changing 5-course tasting menu in an elegant, intimate setting designed by Amaryllis Knight. “I wanted to get back to my fine-dining roots and be able to cook in a much smaller style and format.” Inspired by the endless possibilities of combining ingredients of each culture, Centeno is constantly searching for new connections between the Japanese and Italian cuisines in order to create an unforgettable gustatory experience… READ MORE
Merois: Wolfgang Puck elevates fine fusion
With Merois, an Asian-inspired restaurant located on the stylish rooftop of the Pendry West Hollywood, famous Michelin star chef Wolfgang Puck is writing a new chapter on Sunset Boulevard, where he first opened the legendary Spago in 1982. 40 years later, the icon who redefined California cuisine passes the torch to his second son, Byron Lazaroff-Puck, who cooked at fine- dining restaurants in France, Spain and New York before managing Merois. And Wolfgang hands the reins with pride: “My dream is to look down from heaven and say: Oh my God, the kids are doing better than I did.” At Merois, Puck’s exquisite, modern California cuisine is based on French techniques and infused with flavors from Thailand, Singapore and Japan. The 11th-floor rooftop, designed by the acclaimed Martin Brudnizki, offers… READ MORE
Mírame: Elevating Mexican gastronomy
At Mírame, Michelin star chef Joshua Gil elegantly combines contemporary Mexican cuisine with a California sensibility. Through an inventive, daily changing menu, the chef makes you discover ingredient-driven, consciously motivated Mexican cuisine, honoring a rich heritage of bold flavors in a charming decor and warm atmosphere. With locally sourced products, the chef offers vibrant tastes and compositions like the Mírame Tostadas, with bluefin tuna, uni, summer truffle and avocado; the Prime Dry-Aged Côte de Boeuf with baby corn, summer squash, tempura avocado and pine nut salsa macha; and the Mezcal Flan with cacao soil and nixtamalized papaya. “Our cuisine is whimsical, playful and rooted in techniques and flavors with nuances that merge familiarity and new experiences.” Equal importance is attached to the bar. Representing a variety of Mexican distillates, it features a selection of genuine spirits… READ MORE
Mélisse: The ever-evolving, progressive culinary experience
At the intimate, 2 Michelin star, 14-seat Mélisse, chef Josiah Citrin offers a journey through different textures, flavors and cultures, where particular attention is paid to the harmony of food and wine: “The wine highlights the nuances and creativity of the food while the food brings out the nuances in the wine.” Using the most exclusive ingredients from all around the world and working with California farms, Citrin and Chef de cuisine Ian Scaramuzza have designed an avant-garde 7-course tasting menu. Opened in 1999 and reimagined in 2019, the storied restaurant boasts a unique setting, where the dining room and kitchen become one, and a modern take on fine dining with its 2.5-hour culinary experience. The ever-evolving menu that once focused on classical French cuisine, has evolved into contemporary American or what chef Scaramuzza calls progressive Californian. “The dishes are rooted in French techniques, but certainly more playful and inspired by travel throughout the world.” However, two signature dishes… READ MORE Share your experience at Mélisse with #MelisseRestaurant
LUPHIA & SPIRIT Almond: Artisanal almond creations
About 80% of the world’s almond supply come from California. Being both a gourmet delicacy and a nutrient-dense food, the almond provided Michael and Jun Sanders the inspiration to create LUPHIA and SPIRIT Almond. In 2017, Jun, who was born in Japan, and Michael, who spent his teenage and early adult years there, discovered a passion for artisanal luxury sweets and launched LUPHIA, a brand based on the Omiyage culture — Japan’s unique gift-giving tradition which often involves local food specialties: “The almond was the perfect fit to create a signature California gift.” Serving celebrity and executive clients by special order, LUPHIA, whose Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee recently won the Gold Award in the International Chocolate Awards’ World Final competition, only sells their exclusive, locally crafted sweets to the general public once a year during the Winter holiday season via their online shop. In 2021, the couple decided to expand their line of artisanal almond products. On a mission to create the ultimate iterations of California almonds, they launched SPIRIT Almond, a plant-based… READ MORE Share your experience with #SPIRITAlmond
BACK COVER ARTWORK: Split orbs in teal, purple, and fuchsia by Loie Hollowell
Split orbs in teal, purple, and fuchsia: Oil, acrylic medium, and high-density foam on linen over panel 48″ × 36″ × 3-3/4″ (121.9 cm ×91.4cm×9.5cm), 2022 Pace Gallery READ MORE
Kreation Organic: Healthy ambitions
Fifteen years ago, Marjan Sarshar opened an organic café serving Mediterranean-Persian cuisine on Montana Avenue. She then expanded to juicing, detox programs and a line of take-away foods: salads, soups, vegan sushis, cookies, wellness powders and more. What started as a passion project to nurture her community by cold-pressing juices in her garage has become an empire and a reference for Angelenos. With 24 locations in the Los Angeles area, Kreation Organic is more than a juicery: “We are in the business of helping people feel like the best version of themselves.” Raw and freshly made in small batches to preserve health benefits, all juices reflect Marjan’s mission to promote healthy eating. “I’m constantly traveling and getting inspired, learning new recipes, eco-friendly farming techniques, technologies and ways to improve our guest experience.” Whether it is to boost your immune system, detox or lose weight, Kreation’s Kleanse programs are filled with superfoods and natural ingredients of the highest quality… READ MORE Share your experience at Kreation with #KreationJuice
