Tafel Talks: Baroque Feast
Featured Artists and Guests
Laura M. Carlson
Panelist
Laura M. Carlson is a historian, writer, and media producer. Holding a DPhil in history from Oxford University, she has taught history, classics, and food studies both in England and in Canada, most recently at Queen’s University and Centennial College. As a producer, lecturer, and writer, Carlson has been featured on the CBC, CBS Sunday Morning, and Atlas Obscura. Now living in Toronto, she has hosted several Hot Docs: Curious Minds series and also has presented lectures for Thornhill Lifelong Learning and the Toronto’s Arts & Letters Club. Carlson is also host and producer of the award-winning culinary history podcast, The Feast. Over the years, she has worked with international media, museums, and civic agencies, including Bloomberg News and Heritage Toronto.
Farzam Fallah
Panelist
Farzam Fallah is a pastry chef, recently turned bartender in the city of Toronto. Fallah started in the industry at a young age, doing an externship as a line cook at the age of fourteen. He quickly turned to pastry and found his passion through the balance of science and art. Throughout his twelve years as a pastry chef, Fallah has worked at some well-respected restaurants, including Terra, Ruby Watch Co., and Pizzeria Libretto. At age twenty, he became the opening Pastry Chef for Richmond Station, where he accomplished some of his personal milestones, including speaking at Terroir Symposium, appearing in TV competitions, and being featured in the National Post, Globe and Mail, and many other media outlets. Fallah then moved to Hong Kong to work with Black Sheep Restaurant Group, where he was the Head Pastry Chef overseeing dessert programs for all newly opening restaurants. Currently, Fallah is finding a new love of science and art in the world of bartending. Though his focus is to learn how a restaurant runs as a whole, he is currently doing freelance pastry work to remain strongly connected to the world of desserts.
Samantha Medeiros
Panelist
Samantha Medeiros‘ passion has always revolved around highlighting the simplicity of ingredients, while pairing them with fun and interesting techniques. Born and raised in the multicultural city of Toronto, Medeiros knew the moment she graduated from culinary school that she wanted to learn about different types of cuisines firsthand. Her first stop was helping to open a small bistro in Grignan, France, where she learned about using only the best ingredients each season had to offer. Upon returning home, the hunger to learn about other cuisines ran deep, and she soon moved to Hong Kong, where she became a Tournant for a Restaurant Group with 17 restaurants. This sparked her interest in different cuisines, and Medeiros had the opportunity to work in Vietnamese, Cantonese, Italian, and Indian restaurants in her one year abroad. From there, she travelled for three months across 29 cities throughout Asia and Europe before landing back home in Toronto. Since returning and for the past three years, Medeiros has been working at La Palma Restaurant, where she became a Sous-Chef at age 23. Medeiros likes to create dishes using ingredients and techniques from different cultures and cuisines. Rather than focusing on only one style, she has always preferred to be more versatile, sharing her personal experiences and travel memories through her food.
Patrick G. Jordan
Moderator
A violist with Tafelmusik, Patrick G. Jordan is a native of West Texas, where he studied with Susan Schoenfeld. His studies continued in Boston at the New England Conservatory and the Longy School; his principal teachers were Walter Trampler and Eugene Lehner. While living in Boston, Patrick was a member of the Handel & Haydn Society Orchestra, the Boston Quartet, D.C. Hall’s Band, and the period-instrument van Swieten Quartet. He has been a member of the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra since 1997, serving frequently as principal viola, and from 2005–2019 was principal violist of the Carmel Bach Festival.
He is a member of the Eybler Quartet, one of three quartets on the faculty of the Banff Centre’s summer program Evolution of the String Quartet. The Eybler Quartet has released seven CDs, including world premieres of Joseph Eybler, Johann Baptist Vanhal and Franz Asplmayr, as well as better known works such as Joseph Haydn’s op. 33 and Beethoven’s op. 18 quartets.
When not busy with the viola or teaching at the Glenn Gould School, Jordan is an enthusiastic cook and student of the culture of food.
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Recipes to pair with your event
Panelists Farzam Fallah and Samantha Medeiros have shared three recipes—two cocktails, and a tapas dish—which you can make at home: the perfect pairing for your Tafel Talks experience. Find their recipes below.
More Reading
Below, browse more articles and content related to Tafel Talks and this panel discussion.