Logmeh LA: Using an Open Flame to Bring People Together

Chef Deb Michail’s experiential dining event, Logmeh L.A., evokes the warmth of a communal gathering akin to the celebration of a birthday with family or a wedding with close friends. Warm smiles are infectious as guests converse, ambling between indoor and outdoor settings elegantly lit by candles and soft, glowing lights strung through the air. The smoky aroma of burning wood wafts amid the crackle of fire. A splayed whole goat, affixed to a stake in the ground with baling wire roasts over an open flame.

To Michail, with a history in the kitchens of Mozza’s Nancy Silverton and Angelini Osteria’s Gino Angelini, it only makes sense to cook a whole beast over an open flame. It's a way to connect to her Middle Eastern heritage and to eat the way her grandmother taught her. "The natural smoke that comes from the wood,” according to Deb, “adds the most incredible smokiness to whatever that animal is and honors it in the most simplest way.” Amazing taste, however, is not all that Deb is after. Her guests are drawn to the goat roasting on the open flame, which she says, "is a core element of life and known to bring people together.”