Vita Art Center-Blog

The Art of Chocolate
with Michael Gillet
Dates: Saturday, May 30
Time: 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Spend an evening with pastry chef Michael Gillet, the current executive pastry chef of the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. Gillet has also lent his talent to other exclusive organizations including The Beverly Hills Hotel, Ritz Carlton, and Le Cirque in New York City. Gillet will discuss the history of chocolate along with the different usages. The group will then have the opportunity to taste the different chocolates discussed. Next, Gillet will give a demo while discussing the tempering of chocolate and the process of making different chocolates. The last hour will be spent making chocolate bonbons and lollipops.

Fees: $25.ºº

Somewhere along the way, we all were artists. Everyone picks up crayons or chalk as toddlers, but at some point, we just stop drawing. Radio cartoonist and children’s author Mo Willems says that’s a pity.Willems is obsessed with why adults don’t draw — and he wants to do something about it.

“One of the interesting things about cartooning and doodling and drawing,” Willems tells Michele Norris, “is that people stop when they decide they’re not good at it. Nobody stops playing basketball when they realize they’re not going to become a professional. The same thing should apply to cartooning.”

Willems says just sitting and drawing a character brings out empathy in people, and that’s something the world could use more of right now.

To Read or listen to the full article on NPR click here