The Pleasure Principle

05/14/2026

Serving coursed menus from now - FOREVER. Book a private dinner with me, and we'll design a custom menu for you + guests. It'll be TOTALLY delicious, I promise.

www.pleasureprinciplediningevents.com

02/26/2026

Help answer the age old question: which pairs better with food, beer or wine? JOIN US this Saturday night at Old Skool Cafe for a 5-course dinner, paired with beer & wine.

This should be fun.

Enjoy a delicious five-course meal featuring Old Skool Cafe's (https://www.oldskoolcafe.org/) most celebrated dishes, paired with world-class beer and wine, while supporting a remarkably worthy cause.

Bay Area Brewers Guild (https://bayareabrewers.org/) Executive Director, Sayre Piotrkowski (https://www.beerandsoulconsulting.com/) , an Advanced Cicerone, will pair each course with a beer from a Guild member brewery.

Suhayl Ramirez of Overshine Wines (https://www.overshinewines.com/) will handle the wine pairings.

Old Skool Cafe (https://www.oldskoolcafe.org/about) is such a gem of the Bayview neighborhood in San Francisco. Their non-profit, youth-run supper club serves soulful, global comfort food inspired by the rich cultural heritage of their young chefs—from West Africa to the American South. At Old Skool Cafe, every dish tells a story of resilience, transformation, and hope.

When it is all over, diners will vote for the best pairings for each course, and we will announce the winner.

Grab your tickets (https://sfbeerweek.org/profiles/old-skool-cafe/20260228-beer-vs-wine-dinner) for this event NOW - only a few remain!

View the menu below!

I hope to see you there!

SF Beer Week presents BEER vs. WINE SOUL FOOD THROWDOWN
Old Skool Cafe
1429 Mendell St, San Francisco, CA 94124
Saturday, February 28th, 2026
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Round 1: Salad & Catfish Fingers

Beer: "We Gotta Know," Dark Mexican Lager with Malted Blue Corn,
Temescal Brewing, Oakland, CA - brewed in collaboration with Altbrau
Versus
Wine: Idlewild NV Flora & Fauna Sparkling Rose

Round 2: New Orleans Style BBQ Jerk Shrimp Crostini

Beer: "Chloe" Belgian Style Pale Ale,
Fieldwork Brewing, Berkeley, CA
Versus…
Wine: Overshine Rosé Dry Creek Valley 2024

Round 3: Abu’s West African Groundnut Stew

Beer: "Socks & Sandals" Foggy IPA,
Humble Sea Brewing, Santa Cruz, CA
Versus…
Wine: Overshine Pinot Noir Castelli Knight Ranch 2023

Round 4: Jordan's Fried Chicken with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Beer: "Gimme A Break" Classic West Coast IPA
Discretion Brewing, Soquel, CA - brewed in collaboration with the Coast Chapter of The Bay Area Brewers Guild
Versus…
Wine: Overshine Chardonnay Gap’s Crown Vineyard 2023

Round 5: Date Cake with Toffee Sauce and Gelato

Beer: "Unbound Edition" Barrel-Aged Abbey-style Tripel,
Sante Adairius, Capitola, CA
Versus…
Wine: Overshine Zinfandel Maple Vineyard - Tina's Block 2023

With love and eternally in community,
Chef Christina

THERE'S ALWAYS AN OCCASION FOR PATTIES!

We're still here because of YOU!

THANK YOU.

With love,
Chef Christina

Click here for an update from The Pleasure Principle Supperclub & Dining Events!

02/20/2026

Happy Lunar New Year!

I hope this email finds you well.

Ha. Well, I hope this email finds you well enough - perhaps shedding the last of any old negative habits, proclivities or traits that might be preventing you from being as well as possible. The year of the Snake is over after all. Let's shed as the snakes do.

We need and deserve to at least feel well these days.

I don't have much to share except that I'm popping up for the first time this year with the good folks at Alta Vina (https://www.altavinawine.com/) wines for their Rooted & Refined (https://www.altavinawine.com/events) event.

This event celebrates Black winemakers this Black Futures Month and is sure to be a great time with wines by Bodkin (https://bodkinwines.com/) , Ward Four (https://www.wardfourwines.com/) and Paula Harrell (https://pharrellwines.com/about-us/our-team/) , to name a few. There's also a DJ set by DJ Lamont and we all know great music pairs perfectly with great wine.

Grab your tickets (https://www.altavinawine.com/events) for this event NOW - only a few remain!

You can see the food menu we're serving for this event below.

I hope to see you there!

ROOTED & REFINED
at
Alta Vina Wines in Jack London, Oakland
Saturday, February 21st, 2026
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm

With love and eternally in community,
Chef Christina

BLACK JOY IS THIS WEEKEND (and every day)!

The 9th annual Black Joy Parade (https://www.blackjoyparade.org/) is this Sunday - who's coming with me???

Join as thousands gather to celebrate Black vendors, artists, and performers in the heart of downtown Oakland. OMG AND MYA is performing?! What a blast to be had! Hope to see you there!

THERE'S ALWAYS AN OCCASION FOR PATTIES!

We're still here because of YOU!

THANK YOU.

With love,
Chef Christina

Click here for an update from The Pleasure Principle Supperclub & Dining Events!

02/02/2026

Our signature Tortilla Española, Moroccan style, in miniature 🍠

02/02/2026

Prosciutto wrapped Enoki Mushrooms with coffee oil + sumac 🍄

02/02/2026

'Twas a pleasure catering Ida's birthday at The Academy this weekend ✨️

We served some really beautiful, delicious food!
😋

01/28/2026

When you don't know what to do, DO NOTHING. 💫💥 - https://mailchi.mp/eaf2e28edef1/sossavesmallbiz-6426228
https://nationalshutdown.org/

pleasureprinciplediningevents.com to book your in-home restaurant experience!

01/28/2026

HELLO from (currently) unoccupied Oakland, California!

I won't be redundant or patronizing and try to explain just how fu***ng real s**t is right now. It's BEEN real.

We are 28 days into this "new year" and we're all already tired.

So I'll just get straight to the point: we're going to have to get comfortable with DOING NOTHING often and for a while.

We have to stop buying, and BOYCOTT, DIVEST & SANCTION.

The only language that these hell-spawn demons that are running our country speak is MONEY so stop giving them yours - in whatever way you can.

The most useful tool of the greedy and soulless is convincing you that your individual action does nothing. I was once convinced of this.

But one unsubscription, one email sent, one signature, one article shared, one phone call made, one neighbor protected MATTERS.

This Friday, January 30th, (https://nationalshutdown.org/) let us stand with the good people of Minnesota; the people who have been used as a sample city to see what this fascist regime can get away with - let us stand with them and resist by WITHHOLDING OUR LABOR AND OUR DOLLARS.

For the very sake of our collective freedom, do any one thing or literally DO NOTHING AT ALL.

If you can't withhold your labor this Friday, here are 1 - 2 - 3 Resources you can start with TODAY:

• 5calls.org

• bdsmovement.net

• CANCEL ONE SUBSCRIPTION FOR AT LEAST A WEEK (especially Amazon, Disney, Hulu, ESPN or Spotify)

With love and eternally in community,
Chef Christina

As my dear, yolked fiancé once put it: "sometimes someone else says it best".

I'll admit, I was spiraling at the top of this week. I've been spiraling and there's perpetually a new ring added to the spiral, truth be told. But then I came across the article below by Soleil Ho for Coyote Media (https://www.coyotemedia.org/) . Always listen to Soleil. Their article is why this newsletter is dedicated to resisting continued loss of ANY lives and resisting the loss of our collective freedom.

Read: 'What We Owe Minnesota' Here (https://www.coyotemedia.org/what-we-owe-minnesota/) .

We're still here because of YOU!

THANK YOU.

With love,
Chef Christina

Click here for an update from The Pleasure Principle Supperclub & Dining Events!

01/22/2026

Happy (Solar) New Year.

At exactly 8:46 pm on January 22nd, 2016 I moved to the Bay.

My sibling picked me up from Oakland International airport with everything I owned, following my third move back to the States from Barcelona. Prior to this, I'd moved back home to Chicago then Los Angeles, respectively.

We drove straight to Prizefighter to meet her friend and her friend's sister for a drink. We brought in as many suitcases as we could muster because, well, she knew Oakland.

I kind of knew Oakland; I'd visited my sibling often over the years who, at that point, had lived in Oakland for 10 years. The synchronicity is only just now occurring to me.

I was only supposed to be here for a year.

It's now 10 years later, nearly to the hour. And I'm corny so I've dubbed this my Bay Day. That expression never caught on. I'm ok with that.

As we settle into this solar new year and as the lunar new year draws near, man - a decade has passed! And I'm reminded of how cyclical time is because of how vivid a memory like one's "Bay Day" can be. I remember every detail of the night I moved here. I remember that my sister's friend's sister (lol) suggested that I work with her then husband who made gourmet breakfast and lunch at Bay Area farmer's markets. I did and that was my first foray into the culinary scene here in the Bay Area; with Rhasaan Fernandez at Boffo Cart. Here I am, 10 years later, your Chef Christina.

I think it's important to slow down and let the moments of your life that feel meaningful wash over you. It's akin to immortality to live so vividly in a moment or moments passed.

I thought I'd share this with you all; my friends, family, clients and community. Thanks for being a part of this decade of my life. Here's to many, many, many more decades.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

With love and eternally in community,
Chef Christina

In your infinite kindness, many of you have asked how to support us. Here's how:

Visit one of our partner establishments! Find our Caribbean pastries at these awesome, local establishments. We NEED each other. Let's show up for each other.

• Kinfolx Cafe (https://www.kinfolxoakland.com/) - Oakland, CA.

• Xochi the Dog Cafe (https://www.xochithedogcafe.com/) - Oakland, CA.

• Humble Sea Brewery (https://humblesea.com/pages/alameda) - Alameda, CA.

• Red Bay Coffee (https://www.redbaycoffee.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoorVRFYypeVehUf9X1c-0D67khUWfV7ujvqeDn5y1FAN6KS6fJ0) - Ferry Building & 220 Montgomery St., San Francisco, CA.

• Olfactory Brewing (https://www.instagram.com/olfactoryberkeley/?hl=en) - Berkeley, CA.

•

We're still here because of YOU!

THANK YOU.

With love,
Chef Christina

Click here for an update from The Pleasure Principle Supperclub & Dining Events!

01/12/2026

Chimichurri chicken thighs with coconut milk braised kale + harissa- honey roasted turnips and red potatoes. Twas autumn on a plate. 😋

01/12/2026

Kabocha squash soup with creme fraiche, pomegranate + Moroccan spiced croutons and fried sage.

01/12/2026

Pork Belly y Tostones with maple matcha + smoky aioli.

12/23/2025

Snapper with epis and veg escovitch ❤️ 😍 🫶🏽