A TSE Fastest 50 Honoree
The Culinary Innovation Theater offers the opportunity to engage in a whole new way with your colleagues as well as world-renowned chefs, bartenders, and culinary professionals.
A highlighted feature of the California Restuarant Show - the Culinary Innovation Theater is an educational, interactive, and entertaining area for restaurant and foodservice professionals who want to stay up to date in the industry. Come see our featured chefs, watch their cooking demonstrations and taste their samples.
THE CULINARY INNOVATION THEATER HEADLINERS JUST ANNOUNCED!
JUSTIN PICHETRUNGSI
CHEF/OWNER, ANAJAK THAI
Sunday, August 3rd
Justin Pichetrungsi grew up at the family restaurant that his father, Ricky, started in 1981. Ricky would send his 5-year-old son to run food, talk to customers, and learn the language of hospitality. As Pichetrungsi grew up, he cooked at the Sherman Oaks restaurant during the summer but really wanted to be an artist. He graduated from ArtCenter College of Design in 2008 and became an art director for Disney, still working nights and weekends at the restaurant. After a trip to Italy taught him the romance of wine, he curated an ambitious wine program at Anajak, sometimes telling Disney he had a work meeting when he was really at a tasting.
In 2019, his father suffered a stroke, and Pichetrungsi’s career swerved in a different direction. He quit Disney after 10 years and took over the restaurant with a new vision. Ricky had always wanted Anajak to be the neighborhood Thai joint, but Pichetrungsi built upon the loyal base with his personal spins: a Thai omakase menu, a dry-aged fish program, and a thoughtful, mostly natural wine list. As someone who was raised by the industry, he pours his energy right back into it with lots of chef collaborations and events—catering to a bustling crowd of chefs who love what the Pichetrungsis have built over 40 years.
NYESHA ARRINGTON
CHEF/OWNER, NATIVE BY NYESHA
Monday, August 4th
Nyesha Arrington is the co-star of FOX’s hit culinary competition show Next Level Chef. She is also the host and producer of the digital series Plateworthy on Eater. Nyesha started her culinary career at Michelin starred restaurants Mélisse in Santa Monica and L’Atelier and The Mansion in Las Vegas. She went on to open restaurants Leona and Native in Los Angeles, where she was celebrated for using farm fresh, locally and responsibly sourced ingredients. She has been named to Zagat’s Best Chef 30 Under 30 List as well as Eater’s LA Chef of the Year. Nyesha hit the national stage as a fan favorite on Bravo’s Top Chef season 9 and has been a household name ever since.
Her credits include FOX’s MasterChef and Hell’s Kitchen, Food Network’s Tournament of Champions, Guy’s Grocery Games and Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and ITV’s Next Level Chef U.K.
Nyesha draws inspiration from cooking through the seasons, traveling the globe and contemporary art. When she’s not in a kitchen, she can be found connecting with others over functional fitness and wellness practices. She lives in Los Angeles with her French bulldog, Bleu-Ginger and tuxedo cat, Mr. Robert Marley.
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