Bitter & Sweet

About Omid Roustaei

Omid Roustaei is an Iranian-American chef and culinary instructor who has been deeply involved in the culinary world for more than 20 years. Born and raised in Tehran he attended the School of Natural Cookery in Boulder Colorado where he studied the art of intuitive cooking. Omid now balances a career as a psychotherapist with his enthusiasm for teaching and writing. He shares Iranian culture and traditions through cooking and storytelling using the power of food to foster connections and serve as a gentle form of advocacy and activism. His writing can be found at thecaspianchef.com and he is a regular contributor to The Kitchn and The Spruce Eats. Lauren Ko is an artist writer self-taught home baker and the founder of the popular Instagram account @lokokitchen where she has amassed over 300000 followers. Her colorful geometric style made all hell bake loose on the frontier of contemporary pie art and her iconic signature spoke design has been dubbed the modern lattice. Her work has been featured in publications such as Vogue OMagazine Buzzfeed's Tasty and on-screen in Martha Bakes and CBS' Henry Ford's Innovation Nation. Her creations continue to inspire globally from Seattle WA where Lauren lives with her husband Ben and their bear dog Santi.