SEMINAR 03: PANEL

MAKING HELP, HELPFUL:
Crisis Management, Volunteering, Donating, and Civic Engagement

JENN HARRIS

  • Jenn Harris is a food columnist at the Los Angeles Times, known for her sharp insights into LA's dining scene. She covers restaurant reviews, food trends, and chef interviews, often spotlighting LA’s diverse culinary culture. Harris also hosts the popular L.A. Times video series "The Bucket List", where she explores must-try dishes and restaurants across the city. With her witty, approachable style, she has become a key voice in LA's food journalism, offering expert recommendations and deep dives into everything from street food to fine dining.

RASHIDA HOLMES

  • Taste, value and efficiency are the cornerstones of Chef Rashida Holmes’s food and approach to the restaurant business. If those are in place, the love will flow onto the plate.

    She began her career in 2008 in Baltimore working full time at an Italian restaurant while attending culinary school. In 2010 Holmes moved to Pittsburgh to work with the James Beard- nominated Big Burrito group at their pan-Asian restaurant Soba. Shortly after moving to L.A. in 2013, she accepted a chef de cuisine position to open the French-inspired Terrine in West Hollywood.

    Holmes’s experience with different cuisines, chefs, restaurants and markets have given her a diverse perspective in this ever-evolving industry. After positions as executive sous chef at Freehand hotel and Botanica in Silverlake, Holmes began the pop-up concept Bridgetown Roti in 2019, an ode to her Afro-Caribbean roots. By fall of 2020 Chef Holmes and Bridgetown Roti had served thousands with her take on Caribbean classics. Today Bridgetown has gained media coverage highlights with features in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal. In 2021 Bridgetown Roti was named Eater’s Best New Restaurant in Los Angeles, and Pop-up of the Year by Esquire Magazine.

MAX BLOCK

  • Born into a family long established in the restaurant community and with an innate attraction to all things food, Max has been drawn to the hospitality and culinary industries his entire life. A Los Angeles native, he attended Pitzer College, graduating with a double degree in sociology and media studies.

    He launched CARVINGBLOCK in 2018, an ‘Epicurean Maison’ rooted in the world of hospitality that melds traditional public relations campaigns with experiential branded alignment, with ideation housed in a physical space in Hancock Park dubbed Maison Citrus. CARVINGBLOCK consistently produces food-first events for clients including Amazon Studios, Campari Group, Diageo, CINESPIA, FX, Vanity Fair, Soho House, Hulu and more while representing large-and-small brand concepts including Goldenvoice, James Beard Foundation, Caruso, Broad Street Oyster Co., The LINE Hotel, CENTO Group, Grand Central Market, Family Style Food Festival, MAMA Night Market, Flamingo Estate and De Soi.

    The breadth of approach has led CARVINGBLOCK designation from both PR Net and The Observer as one of the country’s leading hospitality firms. In addition he co-hosted Tastemade’s first podcast-cum-talkshow, ‘Table Setting’ - which launched in 2019 and looked at how kitchen and culture collide - and acts as the Culinary Liaison for Los Angeles Times’ collection of food festivals as well as a board member for Big Queer Food Festival.

JOSH KOPEL

  • Josh Kopel is a restaurateur, tech pioneer and environmental advocate. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the spawn of bootleggers and retail giants, he was bred for the hospitality industry. 

    Throughout Kopel’s 20+ year career in hospitality he has managed venues ranging from the Alligator Bayou Bar, located on Alligator Bayou Road, seated on Alligator Bayou (it was exactly how you’re picturing it in your mind) to the hottest Hollywood nightclubs, bars, and ultra-lounges (far less glamorous than you’re picturing it in your mind). 

    Kopel went independent in 2010, opening his first concept Five0Four, a New Orleans-inspire xd bar, on the Walk of Fame in the heart of Hollywood. In subsequent years, he would open the Michelin-awarded fine dining concept, Preux & Proper, as well as South City Fried Chicken, voted the best fried chicken in Los Angeles by LA Weekly. Despite his success, he saw foundational issues within the industry and set out to fix them himself. 

    In 2020, the pandemic offered an opportunity for Kopel to serve the industry. In response to the devastation he saw, Josh created FULL COMP, a podcast dedicated to seeking out thought leaders from within and outside of the hospitality industry, using their wisdom to help the restaurateurs survive the present and thrive in the future.

    The audience FULL COMP cultivated reached out for a deeper level of support, leading Kopel to create the Restaurant Scaling System. Through a blending of content, coaching and community, the RSS maximizes a restaurant’s profitability, providing a blueprint for stress free operations and proven marketing strategies, without creating additional workload or overwhelm.

    Kopel’s varied interests and talents have landed him several positions of influence including a board seat on the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council and a term as the President of the California Restaurant Association, Los Angeles Chapter. He is also a co-founder of the Friends of Runyon Canyon, a non-profit focused on the protection of local Los Angeles Park areas.