Book Talk & Tasting: The Lao Kitchen with Chef Saeng Douangdara

The Alliance is thrilled to welcome Los Angeles-based Lao-American chef, content creator, and activist Saeng Douangdara for a talk about his new cookbook, The Lao Kitchen: Lao Flavors & Stories Told Through Family Recipes.

Chef Saeng will discuss the inspiration behind the cookbook, the importance of preserving culinary traditions, and how food connects history, identity, and community. He’ll be joined in conversation by Anna Romina Guevarra, Founding Director & Professor of Global Asian Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Copies of The Lao Kitchen will be available for purchase at the event through our partners at The Book Stall. During the post-program reception, guests will have the opportunity to:

• continue the conversation with the speakers
• have their book signed
• mix and mingle with their fellow foodies and Francophiles
• enjoy a complimentary glass of French wine
• taste authentic Lao cuisine catered by Laos to Your House

Whether you’re a home cook, food lover, or curious about Lao culture, this event offers a delicious introduction to one of Southeast Asia’s most overlooked cuisines.

Doors at 6:00 pm. Program at 6:30. Please enter via 54 W Chicago Ave. Please kindly indicate any dietary restrictions when registering. Non-alcoholid options will be available. Tickets are non-refundable after Wednesday, September 16—merci pour votre compréhension.

About the Author

Saeng Douangdara is a content creator and personal chef specializing in Lao cuisine and the founder of Saeng’s Kitchen, a platform dedicated to sharing Lao food, culture, and storytelling. Asa first-generation Lao American, food has always been central to his life. Saeng’s work has been featured in Delish, BuzzFeed, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, and he is the winner of an episode of TBS’s cooking show Rat in the Kitchen. A proud member of the LaoFood Movement, Saeng aims to inspire others to explore the delicious flavors of his culture.

About the Moderator

Anna Guevarra is the Founding Director & Professor in Global Asian Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is an interdisciplinary scholar working on issues of labor, empire, the geopolitics of carework, migration, and displacements. She is the award-winning author of several works including the book Marketing Dreams and Manufacturing Heroes: The Transnational Labor Brokering of Filipino Workers. She is also a scholar of food studies, focusing on South and Southeast Asia and tracing the Indian Ocean connection between the Philippines and India through a culinary confection called Bibingka (pronounced “Bee-bing-kah”). Her food studies scholarship and teaching pedagogy have appeared in leading journals like Gastronomica and anthologies like Eating More Asian America: A Food Studies Reader. She teaches courses on food politics and has brought students on study abroad courses in India to study the intersection of labor, food, and development. She organizes with Chicago-based community organizations that focus on issues of racial, gender, and economic justice, immigration rights, and cross-racial solidarity work.

Getting Here

The Alliance Française de Chicago is one block from the CTA Red line stop at Chicago Ave. Best bus routes are the 22 on Clark St and the 66 on Chicago Ave. A Divvy station is located in front of the 54 W Chicago Ave entrance.

Parking Information

$10 for 12 hours at 100 W Chestnut St. Validation is available at reception.

Please be advised that students, members, and attendees at cultural events or programs may be photographed, and these images may be used for marketing purposes.