On April 18, Future of Women, Chef Forough Vakili of Le Bon Nosh, and Portfolio invite you to join us for a morning of delicious food and candid conversation with some of our favorite women in Atlanta.
Located in The Irby building in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, Le Bon Nosh is a restaurant and market providing a comfortable, versatile gathering place to connect over a delicious bite.
The all-day menu champions the beauty of simple food served with intention, featuring a variety of freshly baked pastries and seasonally inspired breakfast and lunch selections created with peak freshness and convenience in mind. The barista-driven Intelligentsia coffee bar, French influenced dinner menu created to be shared, and thoughtfully curated wine and champagne selection provide a complete experience.
Le Bon Nosh values the diligence, passion, and craft of local farmers, artisans and purveyors. Everything produced in the kitchen is made from scratch using the freshest ingredients available — we believe in the power of good food and eating well.
Chef Vakili will treat us to a morning filled with delicious treats:
- Selection of pastries
- Yogurt and granola station
- Breakfast sandwiches
- Tea and coffee
We'll speak with four women in Atlanta who are building community through food.
Forough Vakili is the chef/founder of Le Bon Nosh, a new restaurant in Atlanta, GA that celebrates the simplicity of good food and warm hospitality from day to night. As a graduate of Georgia Tech, Vakili left her career in chemical engineering after two years to pursue the hospitality industry. In 2011, she attended Le Cordon Bleu Paris, and later worked at a two-Michelin star restaurant in Brittany, France before returning to Atlanta in 2012 to open a corporate catering company. During this time, Vakili became Porsche’s exclusive consultant on food operations at their North American headquarters, working with Bon Appétit management and overseeing three business units including a fine dining restaurant, a staff canteen and catering operations. In 2017, Vakili left her consulting position to focus on conceptualizing Le Bon Nosh, a vision she had well before entering the culinary world. Through her disciplined engineering studies, international culinary training and world class collaborations, Vakili looks forward to bringing a simple, ingredient-driven restaurant to Atlanta, with an emphasis on food education, working with local farmers and sharing simple, delicious food with the community.
Monica Sunny is the CEO and founder of The Chai Box, a tea company that specializes in hand-blended loose-leaf chai blends and small-batch chai concentrate, using ethical and sustainable practices. Monica's passion for chai began when she wanted to share her love for it with her three boys. She started sharing this ritual with family and friends, which ultimately led to the creation of The Chai Box. What started as a side-hustle in her basement has now grown to a full-fledged operation in Marietta, GA. In 2021, The Chai Box was recognized as one of Oprah's Favorite Things, and has been featured in notable publications such as Bon Appetit, Forbes, Food Network, Women's Health, Southern Living, and Food & Wine. Recently, Monica was awarded a grant and mentorship opportunity with the Tory Burch Foundation and Stacy's Rise Project. Monica has witnessed the development of Atlanta's culinary scene for the past 40 years. She is deeply immersed in the culinary world, particularly in the realm of woman-owned pop-ups. Last year, at The Chai Box, she began hosting woman-owned pop-ups to feature their unique offerings. In addition, she actively participates in initiatives promoted by the BIPOC and AAPI culinary community in Atlanta.
Sarah Pierre is the Owner of 3 Parks Wine Shop in Atlanta, established in 2013. Sarah received a Bachelors of Science from Georgia State University in 2004, but decided shortly after graduation to continue working in restaurants and pursue a career in Hospitality. Sarah grew up being passionate about food and the culinary world surrounding it. Prior to opening 3 Parks Wine, Sarah spent most of her career working and managing notable restaurants in Atlanta and New York City including, but not limited to Twist Restaurant & Lounge, Houston’s Restaurant, Maialino, & Bacchanalia. Her passion for hospitality and her love for food and wine led to the success of 3 Parks Wine Shop. She opened the store with hopes of creating a comfortable, welcoming, and quaint space to purchase wine. A place for wine lovers, and those eager to learn. Her background in restaurant management and hospitality resulted in a wine shop where people spend time, hang out, listen to music, and enjoy wine. It’s a nice spin on the average wine retail store. A fun place to be...where everybody knows your name. 3 Parks Wine Shop, Voted Atlanta Magazine’s 2020 “Best Wine Shop - Readers Choice” and Wine Enthusiasts 2020 “50 America’s Best Wine Retail / Best Wine Clubs in America!”, and just recently 2022 USA Today Top Ten Wine Club and Vinepair’s 2022 Retailer of The Year, 3 Parks is go-to destination for all things wine with a focus on small, organic, biodynamic, and natural wine producers. 3 Parks Wine Shop offers weekly tastings, a large selection of wine offerings, wine growlers on tap, and the best wine club in GA. A hip, fun wine shop dedicated to finding your favorite wine! Centrally located between Grant, Glenwood, and Ormewood Park (Hence, the name 3 Parks). The shop has received national coverage in print and broadcast media including CNN, Thrillist, Eater Atlanta, Garden & Gun, Atlanta Journal Constitution, US Weekly, Vinepair, Kitchn, and so much more. Sarah is also the wine columnist for Atlanta Intown Paper. When Sarah is not in the shop tasting and teaching wine, or just having fun with her customers, she is practicing her French, dining in restaurants, working out, cooking, spending time with friends and family, or planning her next big trip. But usually, she’s planning a trip. Whether traveling domestic or internationally, Sarah is in her comfort zone. To maintain Sarah’s knowledge in the food and wine industry, each year she includes a trip to a wine region spending time with winemakers and local farmers. Sarah also takes every opportunity to give back to the community whether it is a momentary donation to a school/organization, sponsoring events and neighborhood associations, clothing drives, fundraisers, and group wine tastings. Sarah knows that her success is because of the community, and has a personal obligation to give back. It's important to her.
Claudia Martinez is a 2022 James Beard Foundation Award nominated Outstanding Pastry Chef, balances chef Steven Satterfield’s rustic, vegetable-forward and market-driven new Southern cuisine with sophisticated and carefully composed desserts. The ever-changing pastry menu reflects Martinez’s boundless creativity and intellectual curiosity, with classic flavors and combinations artfully presented. Growing up in a Venezuelan family, Martinez developed a passion for cooking and gathering around the table at an early age. A native Georgian and 2015 graduate of Johnson & Wales. Claudia began her culinary career at Atlanta’s Restaurant Eugene before moving to Sweden in 2017 where she honed her skills under chef David Vidal at the Laholmen Hotel. Upon returning to Atlanta, she continued to develop her style, techniques and reputation at Atlas and then Tiny Lou’s as executive pastry chef before joining Miller Union as executive pastry chef in spring 2021. Martinez’s creativity and approach to crafting desserts has led to national recognition, including being nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation in 2022. Claudia was a 2019 Eater Young Gun and one of “32 rising stars under the age of 40” by Full Service Restaurant Magazine. Outside of her work at Miller Union, Martinez operates Café Claudia, an Atlanta-based pop-up café featuring desserts and pastries that partner with and benefit local BIPOC chefs and social justice organizations.
Since 2018, Future of Women has hosted 24 breakfasts around the world, from Tokyo to Mexico City to Los Angeles to Tel Aviv to NYC, to elevate women’s voices. We speak to women across industries - artists, filmmakers, chefs, musicians, journalists, scientists.
To celebrate women in Atlanta, we are thrilled to be teaming up with Chef Vakili, Le Bon Nosh, and Atlanta-based creative partners, Portfolio, to host our first gathering in Atlanta.
