photo credit: Jon White/SCR

Sourced from the press release

Limited-time dining and theatre pairing centers around world premiere comedy

Eat Me by Talene Monahon

COSTA MESA, Calif.— South Coast Repertory (Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Director Suzanne Appel) and Knife Pleat (Chef Tony Esnault and Restaurateur Yassmin Sarmadi) are joining forces to offer an exclusive culinary and theatre experience that combines the renowned Michelin-starred restaurant located in South Coast Plaza with select performances of the world premiere comedy Eat Me by Talene Monahon, a bold new work about appetite and fulfillment.

The collaboration between one of the country’s premier regional theatres and one of Southern California’s most celebrated dining establishments provides theatregoers with an incomparable and unique exploration of cuisine and world-class theatre.

“Pairing dinner and a show is about as classic as a great night out can get. Pairing fine dining at Knife Pleat and a world-premiere comedy about obsessing over food is an invitation to participate in a meta-theatrical experience of art imitating life,” Appel said. “Artistic Director David Ivers and I found in Knife Pleat’s Chef Tony Esnault and Restaurateur Yassmin Sarmadi co-conspirators in the expansion of theatre’s artistic possibilities. Our aim with this pairing is to create a unique experience that, from table to stage, captures our deeply human need to nourish our bodies and our souls.”

The $275 per person package begins with a 5 p.m. seating and prix-fixe preview menu at Knife Pleat and continues with premium tickets to a 7:30 p.m. performance of Eat Me. This exclusive pairing is available on the following dates:

·        Tuesday, April 14

·        Thursday, April. 16

·        Saturday, April 18

·        Thursday, April 23

·        Friday, April 24

·        Saturday, April 25

·        Wednesday, April 29

·        Friday May 1

·        Saturday, May 2

The experience is reserved for a maximum of 16 patrons each night, with a six-person limit per party.

“We’re delighted to partner with South Coast Repertory on Eat Me,” said Yassmin Sarmadi, co-owner of Knife Pleat with her husband, Chef Tony Esnault. “The arts are a passion for us and we’ve always done what we can to support them within our community.  We’ve wanted to collaborate with South Coast Repertory for some time. This upcoming production felt like the perfect opportunity to come together.  At Knife Pleat, we see dining as a form of storytelling—much like theatre—where every detail is designed to create an emotional and visceral connection. The partnership with SCR allows us to celebrate creativity across disciplines while supporting a vibrant cultural community that brings people together.”

In Eat Me, Chris loves fine cuisine. He spends hours in a corner of the internet where like-minded foodies share their extraordinary culinary experiences. Stevie doesn’t eat fish with souls, Beatrice and Jen just baked a flax loaf and Cindy might have salad, later. In this wildly imaginative play, everyone is longing for something that makes them feel full—and when the meal is over, maybe they’ll be transformed. 

Monahon, a New York Times “Rising Theatre Star” of 2023, was inspired to write Eat Me after a friend showed her a profile of a man on a dating app who had Gourmand Syndrome. The National Institute of Health describes the little-known psychological disorder as “a sudden, intense obsession with fine food and gourmet dining, typically following damage to the right anterior brain hemisphere. Patients develop a passion for eating, talking about, or preparing high-quality food, often accompanied by increased impulse control issues regarding food.”

Knife Pleat is already one of Orange County’s most transformational restaurants. Under the direction of Esnault and Sarmadi, it combines contemporary French, ingredient-driven cuisine with a stellar setting in the Penthouse of South Coast Plaza. In 2021, the restaurant was awarded a prestigious Michelin star, emblematic of culinary excellence across the board. It has retained that star every year since.

The Michelin Guide wrote that “This elegant little operation, set on the third floor of South Coast Plaza amidst fashionable stores, has plenty of charm. With a gleaming open kitchen edged by a chef’s counter, plus a secluded patio, this is a spot to dine in style. Chef Tony Esnault offers his personal take on classic French cuisine, tinged with international influences, offered at both lunch and dinner as prix fixe menus of varying length.”

Esnault and Sarmadi are two of the most influential individuals in the Southern California culinary scene. Esnault is regarded as one of the best French chefs in the United States. His more than 25 years of fine dining experience includes stints at numerous Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe. Sarmadi helped pioneer the resurgence of the Los Angeles Arts District in downtown when she opened Church & State, which established her as a rising star in the Southern California culinary scene. Church & State received Bib Gourmand recognition from the Michelin Guide. The couple gained significant critical praise for their previous Los Angeles restaurants: Church & State and Spring. Both were featured in the late Los Angeles Times Pulitzer Prize-winning restaurant critic Jonathan Gold’s “101 Best Restaurants.” This led South Coast Plaza inviting the duo to bring their culinary wizardry to Orange County, with Knife Pleat opening in June 2019.

Reservations for packages are on sale now through the SCR website at scr.org or by phone at (714) 708-5555. SCR subscribers who already have show tickets can add the Knife Pleat dining experience to their existing subscription tickets for $195, plus any ticket upgrade fees.

2025-26 Upcoming Productions: Eat Me, April 12-May 3; Fremont Ave., April 25-May 23; Hershey Felder, The Piano & Me, June 9-21. The annual showcase of new works, the Pacific Playwrights Festival, runs May 1-3. 

Complete information is available at www.scr.org.