• The proverb “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime” is the idea behind Common Threads, the nonprofit that teaches low-income children how to cook healthy, affordable meals. Gilt City members are invited to support this cause by purchasing tickets to Common Threads’ Inaugural World Festival in Los Angeles November 8 at The London West Hollywood’s Hampton Court garden. The event brings together more than a dozen top chefs from California and beyond, and your ticket includes tastes of their sweet and savory dishes along with cocktails and wine. Among them, Justin Cogley is coming down from Aubergine the restaurant at L’Auberge Carmel, Domenica Catelli of Catelli’s in Sonoma, vegan chef Tal Ronnen will be preparing non-meat bites, and Bill Kim from Chicago’s Urban Belly will be appearing with something from his noodle shop. It’s all a part of the effort to combat the childhood obesity epidemic and celebrate world cuisine, all by eating and toasting this great cause.

Common Threads strives to mitigate childhood obesity, reverse the fast-food trend and celebrate cultural heritage through food. The program teaches low-income children how to cook wholesome and affordable meals in hands-on cooking classes. Through the simple process of preparing and sharing a nutritious meal, the program hopes to spur participating children to connect better with their bodies, their families, their neighbors and their world in bite-sized lessons. This, in turn, reverses the trend of generations of non-cookers.