Chef, entrepreneur, and social media star Loria Stern brings her signature floral artistry to First Light Books. Join us for a conversation about her new cookbook, EAT YOUR FLOWERS.

The event will begin with an author reception from 6:30–7 p.m. Tickets include a copy of the book and a reserved seat. Unreserved seats are available on a first come, first served basis. Free RSVPs are also encouraged.

About the book

For most of us, “eat your flowers” might mean a single edible blossom on a restaurant dessert. For Loria Stern, it’s a way to bring nature into the kitchen, to play with colors, flavors, and form to create whimsical, nourishing meals. Using plant dusts, pressed and fresh blooms, herbs, and vibrant produce, she makes every dish a feast for the eyes and palate.

In this endlessly creative cookbook, Loria shares her own recipes, plus the foundational knowledge for incorporating botanicals into any dish. She shows how to achieve stunning results with natural ingredients such as an amethyst-hued spread made from wilted cabbage and nuts that turns bright pink with lemon juice.

But the beauty isn’t just visual—Loria uses botanicals to amplify flavor. Freeze-dried raspberries give cookie dough a tart kick and sultry red hue. Breakfasts, appetizers, salads, breads, mains, desserts, and drinks all get floral enhancements, with recipes including:

• Rainbow Coconut Granola
• Gardenscape Focaccia
• Hibiscus Jackfruit Tamales
• Rose Pistachio Verdant Bars
• Flower-Pressed Shortbread
• Prickly Pear Cocktail

EAT YOUR FLOWERS shows you how to transform botanical ingredients—root to stem—into recipes that are a pleasure to make, eat, and share.

About the author

Loria Stern is Los Angeles based self taught chef, baker, botanist, gardener, and artist who first gained fame as the originator of the botanical pressed cookie and has also created many other unique edible artworks that have been featured widely. Loria's vibrant edible botanical creations have been celebrated in Vogue, The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and Oprah, among others. She has cooked for many celebrities, becoming a coveted chef in Southern California. A trained visual artist as well, Loria began using edible botanicals in her baking and cooking, and has since discovered techniques to best extract flavor and natural color, leading to the creation of her first cookbook, EAT YOUR FLOWERS.