Lana Lagomarsini is an NYC-based chef currently featured on Bravo’s Top Chef season 22 Destination Canada and has working in the culinary industry for 15 years.
Throughout high school and college, Lana’s love for cooking and food grew exponentially, until she could no longer ignore the signs, and she began to pursue her passion. A graduate of Northeastern University and The Culinary Institute of America, Lana has honed her culinary skills in the kitchens of restaurants like Gramercy Tavern and Daniel, working in Michelin starred restaurants for most of her career. She has also traveled the world and apprenticed under acclaimed chefs like Francis Malmann on his island in Patagonia.
Recognized within her community, Lana was inducted into the Prestigious Dames d’ Escoffier International in 2023, as well as being honored by her peers by winning a culinarian award from Black Women in Food awards by Dine Diaspora. She also was recently a part of the summer cohort for the James Beard Foundation’s Chef Boot Camp for Policy and Advocacy.
Recently, chef Lana has been exploring my own voice as a woman of color, organizing pop ups of all kinds, from extravagant tasting menus highlighting foods from the African diaspora and their connecting foods of the US. Her vision as a chef is to highlight and explore what is deemed as “American” food and trace the lines back to Africa and the experiences of my ancestors in this country. She knows that American food culture would be nothing without black food culture, roots, and heritage, and she wants to highlight this in a meaningful way in my food experiences and presentations.
Lately, Lana has been hosting her latest pop-up series, titled “The Supper Club from Nowhere,” at iconic restaurant locations around NYC, offering an exploration of black food, culture, and lessons from the civil rights movement.
For more information, visit https://www.lanacooks.com/ and on Instagram at @lana_cooks.
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
