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Conversation Series: Dalton Welcomes Author Mark Bittman and Illustrator April Kim Tonin ‘88

A conversation about food and what goes into creating a cookbook for kids was the perfect pre-Thanksgiving topic at the Conversation Series in Dalton’s Martin Theater on November 20.
Following opening remarks from Alumni Council President Wynter Lastarria '11 and Head of School José M. De Jesús, the Dalton community enjoyed hearing from James Beard award-winning Author Mark Bittman and Illustrator April Kim Tonin '88, P'22 — collaborators on the new cookbook, Kids Cook Everything.

This cookbook (the 9th in Mark’s popular “How to Cook Everything” series) features accessible recipes such as “Pizzillas” (pizza made with tortillas) and, Mark says, is really about “spending time with your kid in the kitchen.” Along with being a cookbook author, Mark is a food writer and journalist, who explores topics such as helping people understand how the food industry works and the importance of promoting and providing access to healthy food. As he says on his website, The Bittman Project, “Food should be fair to people and animals, affordable for everyone, nutritious, and produced in a way that respects nature and the environment.” He also referenced future projects, including a memoir and How to Cook Everything Vegan.

April, who drew the lively, whimsical illustrations from scratch — all were hand-drawn, not digital — spoke about the influence of Dalton teachers on her career, particularly former Dalton visual arts teachers Aaron Kurzen and Lotus Do, who taught her to draw from observation. She described the fruitful collaborative process to create this cookbook and said she enjoyed a lot of freedom and creativity while illustrating this book. 

At the wine and cheese reception, Mark and April signed cookbooks for a long line of enthusiastic community members — many left with multiple copies tucked under their arms for lucky people in their lives. All ticket proceeds support the Alumni Scholarship Fund. Click here to view the photo gallery. Click here to watch the video recording.
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