Art & Cuisine Italian Night
The Gallery Loft
Hamtramck, Mich.
March 30, 2025
The culinary and visual arts came together with Art & Cuisine Italian Night at Hamtramck’s Gallery Loft, the second in a planned series of food and creative events following February’s Cinema & Cuisine. The evening featured the work of 13 Detroit area artists – most of whom were working live – and a strolling pasta and dessert station, plus a short film screening.
The event was the work of Chef Ezra Niles of Chef Me Please, Rosco Davis of Sweet Obsession Films and Stefon “Cap” McBride of Caperture Pix, who worked to create an immersive creative experience that showcased and allowed people to interact with local talent.
The food and the art were rich – full of flavors and colors that set the tone for the evening.
Over 100 people crowded the sleek second-story space, talking with the artists and mingling with other guests as they made their way around the room. The organizers were warm and welcoming, making the rounds to personally greet as many guests as possible.
Chef Ezra offered two of his most popular gourmet pastas: a basil, chicken pasta featuring Gouda, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and cherry tomatoes; and a shrimp carbonara, which featured beef bacon and Havarti cheese. Both were creamy, flavorful and delicious. His signature Chilean lime bread had a perfect blend of citrus and a mild kick.
Arguably the star of the culinary show was Chef Tolb’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, a decadent, dense, buttery lemon cake topped with caramel and powdered sugar. Chef Kaira’s sweet, creamy tiramisu offered to VIP guests did not disappoint either.
Among the artists was Jael Caliman, a surrealist painter whose work features whimsical, colorful faceless figures in playful poses. My favorite was “Two Peas in a Pod,” a depiction of a little boy and little girl eating ice cream sundaes inside an ice cream dish, themselves topped with ice cream and a cherry. Caliman said the melting ice cream represents the transience of the moment and childhood, a reminder to savor the present.
Next to her was charcoal artist Mariah Nkoh, whose work features black and white portraits surrounded by external colors to emphasize how outside experiences make people who they are.
In the back corner was multitalented artist Iesha Lee, who was creating a live tattoo of a flower on her friend’s arm.
McBride and Davis showed off their own work as well. McBride took live photos of guests and showcased a few pieces from his color series, portraits with select color filters hinting at the emotions within. Davis’ colorful paintings were rich in orange and blue tones, depicting vibrant portraits and cityscapes, including his latest of a trumpet player.
The two screened their joint film “Date Night” later in the evening, which won Best USA Romantic Short Film at the New York City International Film Festival and Short Film of the Year at The Cori Luv Show Top 12 Awards. The film is an extended “meet cute” of a couple who finally meets after a series of near misses throughout the Detroit. A Q&A session followed, where the filmmakers discussed wanting to celebrate Black love and tell positive Black stories, especially to counteract so many negative ones.
The presentation continued with the formal introduction and Q&A with the artists, which included a lively discussion about the role and threat of AI in art and how it can be used as a tool to create modern work.
Judging from the full bellies and warm smiles of the guests – most of whom stayed for the event’s entire four-hour duration – Art & Cuisine was a successful evening and a celebration the Detroit’s local artistic talent.
