One of L.A.'s most subversive chefs wants everyone to have a warm Thanksgiving meal

"But not on Thanksgiving. Without fail, the former Poltergeist chef can be found on Thanksgiving Day handing out free bowls of leftovers-inspired noodle soups piled with mashed potatoes, turkey and X.O.-laced cranberry sauce. It's his way of giving back to the city, and providing for anyone who needs somewhere to go for a warm meal - and of giving himself a new appreciation for the holiday."

"But in 2017 he was invited to a fellow chef's house, where he and other cooks prepared the most extravagant meal imaginable: turducken roulade, pumpkin stuffed with mac and cheese, a green bean casserole topped with croissant dough, turkey gravy with gizzards and hearts drizzled over hachiya persimmons. It was Argoti's signal that he can, and should, get real weird with it."

"The following year, during his time in the kitchen of Bavel, one of Argoti's co-workers mentioned that he didn't have anyone to spend Thanksgiving with. So Argoti invited him over and spent the holiday pushing the boundaries again. They shoved a whole pineapple into the carcass of an al pastor-inspired turkey and hung it over a grill at a basketball court. They fashioned a steamed-cabbage roulade with layers"

Diego Argoti runs elusive pasta pop-ups across Los Angeles but returns every Thanksgiving to hand out free bowls of leftovers-inspired noodle soups topped with mashed potatoes, turkey and X.O.-laced cranberry sauce. The meals aim to give back to the city and provide warm food for anyone who needs a place to go. Argoti once viewed Thanksgiving as a sad day he avoided, focused on working and partying, until joining extravagant chef gatherings featuring inventive dishes like turducken roulade and pumpkin stuffed with mac and cheese. He began inviting colleagues without plans and continued experimenting with boundary-pushing preparations, such as an al pastor–inspired turkey stuffed with pineapple and a steamed-cabbage roulade.

Read at Los Angeles Times