A New Culinary Platform Launches, With LeBron James as an Investor
Plus, the former Del Posto space comes to life
LeBron James Invests in the Twitch of Culinary
Page Six writes about the launch of Kittch — the 24/7 culinary livestreaming platform Broken Palate has partnered with on SOBEWFF videos and more in the works — with LeBron James as an investor (along with Maverick Carter through LRMR Ventures). James, who “is debatably as obsessed with nutrition as he is basketball,” has a diet “so strict he has a different routine for preseason, postseason, pregame, and postgame,” Page Six writes. So it makes sense that he’s invested in the platform that’s billed as the “Twitch-TikTok-Zoom” for all things culinary.
Kittch debuts with a focus on “Women’s Culinary Month,” a series put together by Elizabeth Blau, who’s also on Kittch’s Advisory Board. Look for videos from Dana Cowin, Ruth Reichl, Nancy Silverton, Sicily Sierra, and more — with Kittch-produced programming that will also be on Broken Palate. Chefs already involved in Kittch include Marcus Samuelsson, Amanda Freitag, Daniela Soto-Innes, Ivan Orkin, and more.
The site features free and paid live cooking classes, cook-a-longs, and livestreams from famous and professional chefs. For now, it’s invite-only and features tools that allow cooks to interact with fans, build audiences, and generate revenue streams. Kittch says it’s designed to help consumers discover and connect with industry folks and culinary fans in real-time.
The site is co-founded by Classic Sports Network/ESPN Classic and CBS Sports Network entrepreneur, CEO, Brian Bedol; COO Elana Karp of Plated, and co-executive producer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” CRO Doug DeLuca.
Former Del Posto Space Becomes a Pizza Destination
Reservations are now available for Melissa Rodriguez’s new restaurant, Mel’s NYC, at 85 10th Ave., in the former Del Posto space, where Melissa had been executive chef after Mark Ladner.
The pizzas at Mel’s, according to her spokesperson on Instagram, are “a little firmer than a Neapolitan slice so you can eat it in hand,” with dough from pastry chef Georgia Wodder, also a Del Posto alum. The menu features “lots of appetizers and mains are made from the pizza oven and on live fire.”
Rodriguez, along with business partners, (Crown Shy’s) Jeff Katz and James Kent, are transforming the space into three restaurants; in addition to Mel’s, there’s Al Coro and Discolo, “a restaurant and bar combo that revives the space’s legacy of Italian fine dining and drinking — just a bit differently,” Resy reports. Del Posto, which debuted as a Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali restaurant, closed in April.
Keith McNally announced on Instagram he’s donating “every penny” that Balthazar makes on the March 8 dinner service to the UNICEF Protect Children in Ukraine fund. He says, “on an average Tuesday, Balthazar takes in between $35,000 and $40,000.) Follow along on Instagram.
Former chef de cuisine for the Bazaar by José Andrés, Karla Hoyos is now in Poland working with World Central Kitchen, according to her Instagram. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” she told Miami New Times. It’s her latest work with the organization, following stints in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian, Haiti after the earthquake, and in Surfside after the condo collapse.