All the chefs and cookbook authors you want to see at the L.A. Times Festival of Books (2025)

We’ve got an exciting lineup of cookbook authors, memoirists and food personalities appearing at this year’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the campus of the University of Southern California April 26 and 27. Join us for live interviews, cooking demos and guest appearances at the L.A. Times Food x Now Serving booth. Here’s what we have cooking:

Panels and interviews

“Top Chef” host Kristen Kish, center, during a Season 21 panel with head judge Tom Colicchio to her right and permanent judge Gail Simmons, far right. From far left, guest chef judges Adam Siegel and Paul Bartolotta.

(David Moir / Bravo)

Saturday, April 26

3 p.m. The Terroir Memoir: Cooking, Culture and Place: Sarah Ahn (“Umma: A Korean Mom’s Kitchen Wisdom”); Michelle T. King (“Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food”) and Steve Hoffman (“A Season for That: Lost and Found in Southern France”) in conversation with L.A. Times senior food editor Danielle Dorsey. Albert and Dana Broccoli Theatre. Ticket required.

4:30 p.m. Food Fight: “Top Chef” and the Reality Cooking Show Phenomenon. Tom Colicchio and Kristen Kish in conversation with L.A. Times general manager Laurie Ochoa. Bovard Auditorium. Ticket required.

12:45 p.m. Comida & Community. A discussion with chef Wes Avila, author Jocelyn Ramirez, author Karla Tatiana Vasquez and L.A. Food Policy Council’s Alba Velasquez. De Los Stage.

L.A. Times Cooking Stage demos

Saturday, April 26

Brooke Williamson at Chase Sapphire on Main during the Sundance Film Festival in 2020.

(Evan Agostini / Invision For Chase Sapphire)

11 a.m. Chef Brooke Williamson, author of “Sun-Kissed Cooking.”

Kogi founder and author Roy Choi prepares al pastor at his street stand Tacos por Vida in Palms.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

12:30 p.m. Chef Roy Choi, author of “The Choi of Cooking.”

Milk Bar founder and pastry chef Christina Tosi bakes cinnamon buns with brown sugar “goo” from her “Bake Club” cookbook in the L.A. Times Test Kitchen.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

2 p.m. Chef Christina Tosi, author of “Bake Club.”

3:30 p.m. Creator Alix Traeger, author of “Scratch That.”

Sunday, April 27

Nicole Rucker, baker and co-owner of Fat + Flour.

(Alan Gastelum / Knopf)

11 a.m. Comedian and podcaster Mamrie Hart, author of “All l Think About Is Food.”

12:30 p.m. Daughter and mother Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn, authors of “UMMA: A Korean Mom’s Kitchen Wisdom and 100 Family Recipes.”

2 p.m. Chef Nicole Rucker, author of “Fat + Flour.”

Cookbook author and culinary producer Kiano Moju prepares her pumpkin chapati in the Los Angeles Times test kitchen for an episode of “Chef That!” The recipe is from her cookbook “AfriCali.”

(Robert Hanashiro / For The Times)

3:30 p.m. Producer and video host Kiano Moju, author of “AfriCali.”

L.A. Times Food x Now Serving book signings

Saturday, April 26

Chef Ari Kolender in the kitchen at Queen Street Raw Bar & Grill in Eagle Rock.

(Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times)

10 a.m. Author Laurie Woolever (“Care and Feeding: A Memoir”).

(Harper Collins)

11 a.m. Found Oyster chef Ari Kolender (“How to Cook the Finest Things in the Sea”).

Noon. Authors Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn (“Umma: A Korean Mom’s Kitchen Wisdom”).

2 p.m. Author Zaynab Issa (“Third Culture Cooking: Classic Recipes for a New Generation”).

3 p.m. Cocktail writer Caroline Pardilla (“Margarita Time”).

Sunday, April 27

10 a.m. Author Eden Grinshpan (“Tahini Baby”).

11 a.m. Author Nisha Vora (“Big Vegan Flavor”).

Noon. Author Benjamin Delwiche (“Dessert Course: Lessons in the Whys and Hows of Baking”).

2 p.m. Author Vanessa Lavorato (“How to Eat Weed and Have a Good Time: A Cannabis Cookbook”).

3 p.m. Author Becca Millstein (“The Fishwife Cookbook: Delightful Tinned Fish Recipes for Every Occasion”).