Otium Pastry Chef Launches Online Ice Cream School for Ambitious Home Cooks

Allison Osorio, pastry chef at Downtown LA’s Otium, is founding a new online ice cream school that should give Angelenos insight into making top restaurant quality-style ice cream at home. Called the School of Quenelle (a name curious close to Quenelle ice cream in Burbank), the move is something for the accomplished chef to do while Otium remains closed for business during the pandemic. The first class will drop on November 23, starting with the basics of making ice cream in a home kitchen, and later unleashing more recipes from Osorio’s experience. She’s been the pastry chef of Otium since opening, training in Paris and working at Bouchon before coming to Downtown LA. Find more information on the ice cream school here.

In other news:

• Petite Peso is popping up with the Counterpart at Bar Bandini on November 19 from 5 to 10 p.m. with pate, salads, prawn crackers, and lumpia to pair with the Echo Park wine bar’s natural wines.
• Salt and Straw opens its Culver City location tomorrow at the Culver Steps with a 1,200 square foot scoop shop. They’ll be serving a four course Thanksgiving-inspired selection of flavors to celebrate the opening.
• L.A. Taco has a story on tea raspados and Mexican coffee at La Teteria in Downtown’s Piñata District.
• Halal Guys has closed in West Hollywood, reports Toddrickallen. In its place comes Gym Sportsbar and Grill, which was billed at LA’s first and only gay sports bar. Gym first opened ten years ago on the block but closed this year in June. This reopening should be a welcome one for the area.
• Time Out LA has some more details on the curfew and capacity restrictions announced yesterday by LA County officials. Capacity of the outdoor dining areas is 50 percent of maximum capacity, though that actual capacity isn’t always determined or set. Hopefully the county will give more details on those restrictions in coming days. If cases continue to rise, then outdoor dining could be eliminated entirely.
• The Langham’s gorgeous Picture Bridge has reopened after a rehabilitation and restoration. The bridge was known for paintings by Frank M. Moore that lined the bridge beginning in 1933. In order to halt their deterioration, they were removed and placed into a more stable environment. Replicas have now been placed there for visitors to check out. The hotel is also doing an orange blossom old fashioned to commemorate the reopening.

Langham Pasadena