A Sors: Entry 3

A special thank you to the entire cast of characters that brought A Sors, the performance/dining experience at the Masonic Lodge at the Regency Center, to brilliant life. This magical evening represents a new chapter in an ongoing exploration of history and cuisine by artists Julio Cesar Morales and Max La Rivere-Hedrick and was executed in collaboration with Rebecca Jean and Natalia Bushyager of Seasonal Elegance, and the knowledgeable Norma Listman.

Special thanks to everyone involved, including Rocket Caleshu, Arpad Dobriban, Jennifer Frederiksen, Andria Lo, Paolo Salvagione, Brian Scott, Mark Weidenbaum, Miles Ake, Carmen Benavides, Tina Dang, Alexandra Franco, Conrad Meyers II, Jennifer McCabe, Bailey Nakano, Kim Silva, Ian Treasure, Erik Wilson, Jenifer Wofford, Jonathan Wong, Kathryn Williamson, and Danielle Cronis and the Regency staff.

For more on the project as it continues to develop please visit the Engine43 blog.

Image: Photo of the goat oven, by Andria Lo.

A Sors: The Story Continues

“It is June 19, 1867. Summer has begun. With the change of seasons, the days will begin to get shorter as well as warmer. There is work to be done. There are fields to be tended, but today is a holiday. To the Catholics of Querétaro, Mexico, it is a religious festival, the Fête-Dieu. In a few hours, the date will become associated with another, more sorrowful occasion. For today, Maximilian will die: Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph of Austria, or, to the people of Mexico these past three eventful years, Emperor Maximilian. Today is a holiday, and it will henceforth be a mournful one….”

The latest blog entry is up on Engine43’s site, revealing more about the complicated history informing Friday night’s meal and event.

If so inclined, this would be a good evening to wear something on the dressier side. Not a problem to come as you are, but you have the option. The environment at the Regency is an evocative one.

Photo from the development dinner held on Monday, June 20, courtesy of Jesse Nichols.

A Sors: A Performance with Four Courses

A Sors is a meal-as-art-project created by Julio César Morales and Max La Rivière-Hedrick, with Norma Listman. Taking place on Friday, June 24 in the Lodge at the Regency in San Francisco, the event employs food, libation, live music, and scent to tell a lost story of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. A Sors investigates Maximilian’s brief, tragic rule of Mexico, from 1864 to 1867, through the vantage of his most intimate and trusting relationship: the one with his imperial chef and confidant, a Hungarian known as Tudos.

A Sors translates from Hungarian as “destiny.” The bloody end of Maximilian’s reign yielded numerous conspiratorial recountings: he was ushered out of the country after his Freemasons brethren faked his death; he bribed the firing squad with gold to aim at his heart; he wore the 41.94-carat diamond that bears his name to tempt, or mock, his executioners. Maximilian today exists in the popular imagination primarily as a victim of Napoleon’s rule, and as the subject (mid-execution) of Manet’s famed painting. In the operatic version that informs this meal, Maximilian dies, but at the hands of his friend Tudos, who accompanies him by carriage to the execution site and, at Maximilian’s request, kills him before they reach their destination.

A Sors is a performance with four courses. The first three sum up the constituent parts of modern Mexican cooking: Spanish, French, and Mexican. The fourth and final course, a Hungarian dessert, acknowledges the bond between Maximilian and Tudos.

We’ll continue to add posts as this project develops, but you can also track it in words and pictures on the artists’ blog, Engine 43.

Food in SF: Delicious Content Providers

An essential part of any Convening is the time spent out-of-sessions, breaking bread together or having a drink with fellow attendees. To ensure that this time is productive as well as delicious, we’ve partnered with the following restaurateurs, food truck purveyors, coffee devotees, and artisans to prepare meals at the Convening.

The first night’s dinner will be held at OSHA Thai, a successful chain of Thai restaurants founded by sisters, Wassana Korkhieola and Lalita Souksamlanel. The Embarcadero location is within walking distance to the hotel and comes fully prepared to host our opening Pecha Kucha session. The menu for this night includes passed hors d’oeuvres and wine at 7pm, followed by a four course dinner of Summer Salad with Tuna, Tom-Kha Soup, Pumpkin Curry, Grilled Sea Bass, and OSHA’s house specialty, Volcanic Beef.

During the first day’s activities at the Headlands, Katie Powers makes use of the Headlands Kitchen & Mess Hall, a relaxing and communal space designed by artist Ann Hamilton, to provide box lunches that can be enjoyed outside or in.  Three boxes are available:  The Free Range Box includes a chicken salad sandwich w/ tarragon, celery and apples on brick oven whole wheat, summer corn succotash, a short bread cookie, and fresh apricots; the Rodeo Box includes a sliced tri-tip and arugula sandwich with parley walnut pesto on rosemary bread, spicy Moroccan carrot salad, a double chocolate cookie, and fresh cherries; and the Veggie Box which will feature grilled and marinated eggplant and zucchini with roasted red pepper and goat cheese on olive bread, shaved fennel and pickled beet salad, and a chocolate almond bar with fresh berries.

After a brief break back at the hotel, our second dinner will be held Friday night the Regency Lodge, on Sutter and Van Ness. This former social hall with its vintage theatrical backdrops and enormous pipe organ will be the site for a project by artists and chefs, Julio César Morales and Max La Rivière-Hedrick. (More details about this event will be posted in a separate entry.)

The next day, at the San Francisco Art Institute, take in the sweeping views of Alcatraz and the Bay, while enjoying boxed lunches provided by Zella’s Soulful Kitchen. Click here for a recent profile of Zella’s owner and chef, Dionne Knox. We’re thrilled to work with Dionne and thankful to La Cocina for connecting us to her and for their ongoing efforts to support independent businesses. Lunches that day will include a choice of roasted lemon and herb chicken or tofu kebobs, meyer lemon and couscous salad, spinach salad, and assorted gourmet cookies. We’ll also have coffee set up to stave off that mid-afternoon slump.

Following the second full day of sessions, the group will head over to Southern Exposure for a casual closing night dinner and block party. There we’ll hear from a selection of those of who have received regional regranting funds through SOEX’s Alternative Exposure program and take in Allison Smith’s installation, The Cries of San Francisco. Throughout the evening food is available from a variety of fine food trucks including, Chairman Bao Bun, Let’s Be Frank, CurryUp Now, the Creme Brulee Cart, and Blue Bottle Coffee.

In general, each meal is being devised with a large amount of vegetarian options. If you have any extraordinary food allergies, let us know in advance and we’ll plan accordingly.  While we might not be able to accommodate all requests at every event, please send any dietary restrictions to julie@warholfoundation.org.