Oakland’s
Magic Kitchen
Get Cooking with Oakland’s Top Chefs
Oakland’s Magic Kitchen returns in 2026 with four live, family-friendly cooking shows featuring some of the Bay Area’s most celebrated chefs. Hosted at Aesop’s Playhouse, this interactive series invites kids and their grownups to discover new flavors, learn simple cooking techniques, and connect with Oakland’s vibrant culinary community.
Each chef takes the stage alongside Quercus for a lively, step-by-step demonstration designed just for young audiences. Expect big energy, thoughtful conversations about food and culture, and recipes you can recreate together at home.
Taste the final product and stay to say “hey” with post-show meet and greets!
All shows are included with General Admission.
Seating is first-come, first-served.
Oakland’s Magic Kitchen Chef Lineup
Chef Monique Feybesse
Tarts de Feybesse
Rescheduled (TBD – Fall or Winter 2026)
11:30 a.m.
Aesop’s Theatre
Learn about Chef Monique
From Bravo’s Top Chef to owning a wildly popular Oakland bakery that boasts viral fame, Chef Monique has always been a culinary star. She and her husband Paul established Tarts de Feybesse as a brick and mortar after word-of-mouth customers and endless orders via social media created a huge demand for their show-stopping pastries, breads, and viennoiseries. Tarts de Feybesse is well known for its stunning, fruit-shaped “trompe l’oeil” pastries, created by the couple, who were James Beard Award semifinalists in 2025 and 2026.
Adiam Tsegaye
Mela Bistro
Saturday, June 20, 2026
11:30 a.m.
Aesop’s Theatre
Learn about Chef Adiam
Born and raised in Ethiopia, Adiam Tsegaye discovered her passion for cooking in her mother’s kitchen, where food was a means of connection. She refined her skills in culinary school, combining traditional techniques with a passion for flavor and hospitality. Her journey led to the opening of Cafe Lenza, Adiam Teff Delights, and currently, Mela Bistro in Oakland. Mela offers an elevated and fresh take on Ethiopian cuisine, recognized by the San Francisco Chronicle (25 Best Restaurants, 2022) and East Bay Express (50 Best Restaurants, 2024).
Chef Thomas McNaughton
Flour + Water
Saturday, August 1, 2026
11:30 a.m.
Aesop’s Theatre
Learn about Chef Thomas
Thomas McNaughton is the founding partner, co-chef and CEO of Flour + Water Hospitality Group, a culture-driven San Francisco-based company creating stand-out culinary experiences with hand-crafted pasta and pizza at the center. Their restaurants include Flour + Water, Flour + Water Pasta Shop, Flour + Water Pizzeria, Flour + Water Pizza Shop, and Penny Roma. They also operate a CPG division, Flour + Water Foods, and are partners in the award-winning cocktail bar, Trick Dog.
Chef Nelson German
alaMar Dominican Kitchen
Saturday, October 3, 2026
11:30 a.m.
Aesop’s Theatre
Learn about Chef Nelson
Chef Nelson German, Executive Chef/Owner of Oakland’s Sobre Mesa and alaMar Dominican Kitchen & Bar, and Executive Chef/Partner at San Francisco’s Meski, is a leading voice in Afro-Latin cuisine. A proud Dominican-American from Manhattan’s Washington Heights, he blends ancestral flavors with global technique, telling the story of the African and Caribbean diasporas. The James Beard Foundation-recognized chef has been featured in Food & Wine, The Washington Post, and Bravo’s Top Chef.
Meet, Greet, and EAT!
Every Oakland’s Magic Kitchen show is designed to spark curiosity and build kitchen confidence, all while keeping kids interested and engaged. Everyone gets to taste the final creation and is invited to meet our featured chef for photos, questions, high-fives, and a dash of culinary stardust.
Families will enjoy:
- A live, interactive cooking demonstration
- Simple, kid-friendly dishes and techniques by top Oakland chefs
- Cultural stories behind each dish
- Call-and-response moments and audience participation
- A custom coloring sheet and crayons so kids can follow along creatively
- Tasty samples to try after the show
- A take-home recipe card to recreate the magic at home
Kids leave feeling braver about trying new foods.
Grownups leave with tools to keep the magic going!
This culinary delight is brought to you by
