Hanukkah Dinner

Chef Suzanne Tracht has been a defining presence in Los Angeles dining since opening JAR (Just Another Restaurant) in 2002. Known for its timeless supper-club style and modern take on classic American comfort food, JAR continues to earn accolades for its signature pot roast, seasonal sides, and refined chophouse fare.

Nicknamed “The Queen of Meat,” Tracht is a trailblazer among female chefs in a traditionally male-dominated field. She honors her Jewish heritage by adapting recipes for holidays—most memorably, the latkes she made with her father Sam, a story shared in the Los Angeles Times and on PBS SoCal.

Tracht was named a Food & Wine Best New Chef and has been celebrated by Jonathan Gold, the Food Network, and most recently inducted into the L.A. Times Restaurant Hall of Fame

Jeff Morgan is the only commercial winemaker who has also been a critic for the prestigious Wine Spectator magazine, where he worked as West Coast Editor from 1992 to 2000. He has also written for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Elle Magazine and—with his wife, Jodie—has penned 10 books on food and wine. Their most recent book is “The Covenant Kitchen; Food and Wine for the New Jewish Table.” (Schocken Books)

In 2000, Jeff started America’s first winery dedicated solely to rosé—SoloRosa—which he ran until 2008. Concurrently, in 2003, he founded Covenant Winery in California’s Napa Valley, where he and his late business partner, Leslie Rudd, created a new high-quality paradigm for kosher wine. Covenant wines are now sold worldwide, from the U.S. to Israel, Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico and South America. Currently, Jeff operates his 15,000 square-foot urban winery in Berkeley, CA.

Jeff started his career as a grape grower in New York’s Long Island Country, where he worked with renowned viticulturist, the late Richard Smart. His wines have been praised by such pundits as Jancis Robinson and Robert Parker, among others. While he may be best known for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, he also makes some 10 other varietals. His Covenant Mensch Zinfandel, made from old vines in Lodi, was recently rated 93 points by Wine Spectator.

Prior to his wine-related activities, Jeff was the court musician, saxophonist and bandleader for Prince Rainier of Monaco in the 1980s. Eventually he decided he was more interested in what he was drinking than what he was playing.

Trisha Cole is what you might call a modern-day matchmaker. Her passion lies in making targeted, high-level connections between brands/personalities and top media, and forming meaningful partnerships and guest experiences. Trisha has also written a book, Life at the Dumpling, which affectionately refers to the home she shares with her family. It is a “guidebook for good living” – a fanciful read filled with musings, recipes, travel tips, and more based on a newsletter of the same name that Trisha mails out several times a year.