Much to her own surprise - Samsom somehow became a culinary artist /style icon with decades of experience in New York’s downtown scene - known as ‘The Dumpling Diva’ using food as fodder and occasionally hilarious story telling. Originality, maybe even wit, transformed some of these events into adventures that guests couldn’t stop reminiscing about.
1985 began with The Kitchen Club as an ‘underground' salon in the E.Village w menu on the answering machine - in 1990 it moved above ground to the corner of Prince/Mott street - where it eventually became a gesamtkunstwerk.
Currently co-laborating with a ghostwriter on her next book, including some of our memorable guests & evenings, snapshots plus a few delicious recipes.
The Kitchen Club & Chibis Bar attracted a local and international clientele - serving European cuisine with Japanese twists - cooking the organic vegetables supplied by Lisa & Mark- Mountain Dell Farm .
The Kitchen Club at times a nightly salon, creative anchor for independent art & music scene - with a historical intersection, permanently recorded in the official credits of High Art- Lisa Cholodenko’s 1998 feature film .
Sunday nite’s live music- in Chibis Bar - performed by Nicole Renaud or Rachelle Garniez
The menu included a superior selection of savory or delicious dessert dumplings - a big hit when the restaurant started offering sunday afternoon classes - ‘Dumplings as Storytelling’.
After its 20th anniversary celebration in 2010, the Dumpling Diva opened her golden cage and flew out singing, in pursuit of new adventures …
