During Sukkot, when the art of hospitality is front and center, gather in the Community Sukkah for an evening devoted to The Art of Welcoming, featuring IACP Award-winning cookbook author and Jewish food writer Leah Koenig, whose newest cookbook, The Dessert Table: 100 Joyful Jewish Sweets, arrives this September.
Leah joins Rabbi Leah Lewis, Gifted LA founder Jill Cooper Lefferman, and This Messy Table founder Kabrel Geller for a conversation about the art of welcoming, with ideas, inspiration, tips, and tricks drawn from their work with food, gifting, and gathering.
Enjoy a dessert buffet featuring recipes from The Dessert Table. Every main event ticket includes a signed copy of the new cookbook, a $40 value. TICKET OPTIONS
MAIN EVENT | $50 Includes The Art of Welcoming, dessert buffet, and a signed copy of The Dessert Table.
VIP EXPERIENCE + MAIN EVENT | $72 Includes everything above, plus an intimate pre-event experience where you’ll get to spend more time with Leah Koenig. Watch Leah demonstrate recipes from The Dessert Table while enjoying a light grazing buffet featuring selections from her previous cookbooks. VIP guests will receive a personalized signed copy of The Dessert Table.
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SCHEDULE
5:30–6:45 PM | VIP Pre-Event Experience | Stalford Hall
7:00–9:00 PM | The Art of Welcoming | Community Sukkah
FEATURED GUESTS Leah Koenig
Leah Koenig is an IACP Award-winning author of seven cookbooks including the acclaimed The Jewish Cookbook and PORTICO: Cooking and Feasting in Rome's Jewish Kitchen, which was the IACP 2024 International Cookbook winner, and a finalist in the National Jewish Book Awards. Her forthcoming cookbook The Dessert Table: 100 Joyful Jewish Sweets will be published by W.W. Norton September, 2026. Leah's writing and recipes can be found in The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Epicurious, and Food52, among other publications. She also writes a weekly newsletter, The Jewish Table, which shares recipes and stories from the world of Jewish food. In addition to writing, Leah leads cooking demonstrations and workshops around the country and world. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two children. leahkoenig.com --
Jill Cooper Lefferman
Jill Cooper Lefferman is the founder and owner of Gifted LA, a thoughtfully curated lifestyle boutique in Los Angeles specializing in distinctive gifts and Judaica. Known for its highly curated selection, Gifted LA also offers personalized concierge and corporate gifting services, featuring independent makers and one-of-a-kind finds. giftedla.com --
Kabrel Geller
Kabrel Geller is the founder of This Messy Table, a Los Angeles-based grazing table company known for its signature abundant, artfully disheveled spreads. What began as a distinctive approach to entertaining has grown into a business creating custom grazing tables and event spreads for private celebrations and corporate gatherings throughout Los Angeles. thismessytablela.com
The Jewish Food Lab at Wilshire Boulevard Temple is dedicated to celebrating the tastes and traditions of global Jewish food and culture. Grounded in the richness of Jewish experience and history, the Jewish Food Lab strives to create educational and experiential opportunities for all the senses. We are excited for the Jewish Food Lab to become one of the cornerstones of community outreach and programming at Wilshire Boulevard Temple and in LA!
Date & Time
Thu, Oct 1, 2026 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Venue Details
Wilshire Boulevard Temple
3663 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90010
Wilshire Boulevard Temple - Los Angeles
Celebrating 162 years in Los Angeles and one of America’s most highly respected congregations, Wilshire Boulevard Temple has been serving the Los Angeles Jewish community since its founding in 1862 as Congregation B’nai B'rith, the city’s first synagogue. Today, Wilshire Boulevard Temple carries out the mission through a variety of ways, as a center for Jewish spirituality and celebration, a place for lifelong learning and friendship and home to an engaged congregation where every person can make a difference.
