From Our Table to Yours
September was a lot. In the best way.
We did pasta workshops and outdoor pizza ovens and grand reopening galas with live cellists. We took a deep breath somewhere around the third weekend in a row and thought — yeah, this is exactly the kind of busy we signed up for.
October means fall is fully here, and we have things to tell you. Including a chef who is doing something on a naval base that we cannot stop thinking about.
— Tom, David & the whole Big City Chefs crew 🍂
From handmade pasta to a grand reopening under the stars — September in review
September kept us moving from start to finish. Chef Bobby led a beautiful hands-on fall pasta workshop — the kind of event where residents leave with flour on their shirts and a genuine new skill. Separately, we returned to Lucia at Aviara in Oceanside — a stunning Greystar community — for a pizza and wine event centered around their outdoor pizza oven, which is exactly as magical as it sounds. There’s something about gathering around a live fire, watching a pizza come out blistered and perfect, that no other format quite replicates.
Then came the big one. A major Greystar community in Newport Beach had a grand reopening event — and they did it right. Live cello, full rental setup, styled staffing, and a catering spread worthy of the occasion. The kind of event that makes a community feel like a destination.
One more thing we can’t stop thinking about — our very first affogato bar this summer. Cold brew espresso poured over Italian gelato, with a spread of toppings for people to customize their own. We watched person after person take their first spoonful and just… stop talking for a second. That pause is everything. We loved it so much we’re already planning the fall and holiday versions. For now, it’s available in San Diego. Stay tuned.
Meet Chef Uhaina — raised on the coast of Oaxaca, trained in the south of France
Chef Uhaina grew up in a fishing town in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca — raised by a family of female cooks, with a Mexican mother and a French father, and a grandmother whose secret to her mole was marjoram. At 17, she moved to the south of France to chase the other half of her culinary heritage. What she found there, and everywhere she’s traveled since, is that cooking is the fastest way to genuinely connect with another person.
That belief is at the core of everything she does with us. This month, she’s leading a hands-on Mexican street food workshop as a corporate team-building event on a naval base — teaching participants to make the dishes she grew up with, from her own heritage and her own memory. It’s personal, it’s skill-building, and it’s the kind of experience that stays with people long after the tortillas are gone.
Chef Uhaina covers San Diego and is one of our most joyful presences at any event. Her go-to pantry staples are dry herbs, mustard, and garlic — and her cooking philosophy is simple: food is how we take care of one another.
What’s on our table this October — and what should be on yours
Fall is fully here and October is one of our favorite months to program. Here’s what we’re recommending right now:
🎃 BOO-gie Nights: Halloween Cocktails & Spirits — Our bartenders bring the spooky, the smoky, and the spectacular. Themed cocktails, hands-on mixing, and a lot of fun. Perfect for a resident happy hour with serious personality.
🍝 Prego! Pasta Party — Handmade pasta, great wine, and that warm Italian energy that makes everyone feel like they’re at a dinner party. One of our most requested formats and a perfect cozy-season fit.
🔥 Smoke + Fire — Bold flavors, live fire techniques, and serious culinary theater. For communities that want something dramatic and interactive that residents will genuinely talk about afterward.
🍷 Three Wines, Three Cheeses — An elegant, guided pairing event that feels special without being over the top. Great for a mid-week gathering that leaves residents actually learning something.
Browse all our October offerings at bigcitychefsmultifamily.com, or reach out at info@bigcitychefs.com to lock in your date.
🗓️ Don’t forget — our full event calendar lives at bigcitychefsmultifamily.com. Bookmark it and browse by season.
Until Next Month
That’s Issue Four — and November is going to be a big one. We have a chef spotlight that just got even more exciting (big news incoming), Friendsgiving season, holiday party planning, and an affogato bar comeback with some very seasonal flavors. Stay tuned.
As always, reach out at info@bigcitychefs.com — we love hearing from you.
See you in November. 🎃
With love and good food,
— Tom, David & the Big City Chefs team