Good Things: An Evening with Samin Nosrat
- The United Theater on Broadway, 929 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.
In 2017, chef and writer Samin Nosrat shared her simple but revolutionary cooking philosophy with us in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. She then adapted the lessons of the #1 New York Times Bestseller into a beloved limited series of the same name for Netflix. And during the pandemic, she launched the Home Cooking podcast with Hrishikesh Hirway, sharing both her depth of knowledge and her joy for cooking with fans across the world. Over the years, Samin has become a trusted kitchen companion to millions of fans through her warm and endearing and deeply human approach to cooking, its processes, and its pleasures.
On September 16, 2025, Random House will publish Samin's eagerly-awaited follow-up to Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, a cookbook titled GOOD THINGS: RECIPES AND RITUALS TO SHARE WITH THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE. GOOD THINGS offers more than 125 of her favorite recipes – simply put, the things she most loves to cook for herself and her friends – and infuses them with her trademark blend of warmth, creativity, and precision.
Spend an uplifting evening with Samin Nosrat as she discusses her new book, GOOD THINGS, onstage with a local host. On October 18, LAist and Show And Tell will present a special live show where Samin will share stories around the inspiration for the cookbook, her development and selection of the recipes, and the culinary rituals she shares with close friends. In an evening about creativity and connection, Samin will remind us how cooking can not only nourish our bodies but also satiate our desire for kinship and community.
ABOUT SAMIN NOSRAT
As an undergraduate studying English at UC Berkeley, Samin Nosrat took a detour into the kitchen at Chez Panisse restaurant that happily determined the course of her life and career. Since 2000, she pursued her twin passions of food and words with equal vigor, aiming to create work that inspires, creates community, and raises cultural, social and environmental awareness.
Nosrat learned to cook at Chez Panisse, in Italy alongside Benedetta Vitali and Dario Cecchini, and at (the no longer existing) Eccolo in Berkeley. She studied poetry with Robert Hass, Shakespeare with Stephen Booth, and journalism with Michael Pollan. She has said that Alice Waters and farmer Bob Cannard taught her more about land stewardship than anyone else.
Her book, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, was illustrated by Wendy MacNaughton. It is a New York Times bestseller, and also 2018 James Beard General Cookbook of the Year, 2018 Fortnum & Mason Debut Cookbook, 2018 IACP Cookbook of the Year, 2018 IACP Julia Child First Book Award, and Sunday Times Food Book of the Year 2017. A documentary series based on the book is now streaming on Netflix. In 2018 she was named the Eater Chef of the Year. She is a former food columnist for the New York Times Magazine.
In April 2019 she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019 in the Pioneers category. Also in 2019, Nosrat’s Netflix series, “Salt Fat Acid Heat,” received the 2019 James Beard Award for Television Program, on Location.
Her next book will be Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with the People You Love (Ten Speed Press, September 16, 2025).
Samin Nosrat has spoken about food, art, culture and cooking at venues as diverse as the Oakland Unified School District Nutrition Services, UC Berkeley, Yale University, SFMoMA, St. Mary’s College, University of San Francisco, the Orange Institute, the Headlands Center for the Arts, the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), and Artechef, the Cuban national cooking school.
Nosrat is the editor of The Best American Food Writing 2019. In early 2020, during the Covid-19 national shutdown she started a podcast titled Home Cooking with Hrishikesh Hirway to offer suggestions and answer questions related to home cooking.
ABOUT GOOD THINGS: RECIPES AND RITUALS TO SHARE WITH THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE
From the bestselling author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat—and one of the America’s most beloved chefs and teachers—125 meticulously tested, flavor-forward, soul-nourishing recipes that bring joy and a sense of communion
With all the generosity of spirit that has endeared her to millions of fans, Samin Nosrat offers more than 125 of her favorite recipes—simply put, the things she most loves to cook for herself and for friends—and infuses them with all the beauty and care you would expect from the person Alice Waters called “America’s next great cooking teacher.” As Samin says, “Recipes, like rituals, endure because they’re passed down to us—whether by ancestors, neighbors, friends, strangers on the internet, or me to you. A written recipe is just a shimmering decoy for the true inheritance: the thread of connection that cooking it will unspool.”
Good Things is an essential, joyful guide to cooking and living, whether you’re looking for a comforting tomato soup to console a struggling friend, seeking a deeper sense of connection in your life, or hosting a dinner for ten in your too-small dining room. Here you’ll find go-to recipes for ricotta custard pancakes, a show stopping roast chicken burnished with saffron, a crunchy, tingly Calabrian chili crisp, super-chewy sky-high focaccia, and a decades-in-the-making, childhood-evoking yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Along the way, you’ll also find plenty of tips, techniques, and lessons, from how to buy olive oil (check the harvest date) to when to splurge (salad dressing is where you want to use your best ingredients) to the best uses for your pressure cooker (chicken stock and dulce de leche, naturally).
Good Things captures, with Samin’s trademark blend of warmth, creativity, and precision, what has made cooking such an important source of delight and comfort in her life.
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