Family Meal: An Immersive Dining Experience
Los Angeles, California | Theatre
Experimental, Drama
On the night of his retirement, a legendary Chef invites guests into his home for one final service—only to pit his three children against each other in a fight to continue his legacy. Each must decide whether to follow in their father's footsteps or finally break the cycle.
Family Meal: An Immersive Dining Experience
Los Angeles, California | Theatre
Experimental, Drama
Green Light
This campaign raised $20,996 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
157 supporters | followers
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On the night of his retirement, a legendary Chef invites guests into his home for one final service—only to pit his three children against each other in a fight to continue his legacy. Each must decide whether to follow in their father's footsteps or finally break the cycle.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Audiences of FAMILY MEAL will take on the role of food writers and industry vets who attend a final dinner service of celebrated Chef Landwald, upon announcement of his retirement.
During this exclusive evening, Jozef, Anna, and Firas—Landwald’s three children who have all spent years working in his kitchen—must prepare a signature dish to curry the audience's favor by and inherit The Restaurant’s legacy.
This is a unique immersive format blends entertainment with fine dining. The drama of Succession meets the madcap tone of The Bear, where loyalty simmers, ambition cuts like a knife, and nothing is off the table.
FAMILY MEAL is our way of holding space, breaking bread, and offering a shared experience that reminds us we’re not alone.
So why this project?
FAMILY MEAL speaks to the shared heart of both the theater and culinary worlds. It’s no secret that in our current tumultuous climate, art in all forms have had our stability tested. This is why it’s so important for us to make this work: in a time where people are still gathering less, we’re creating new, innovative ways to have complex conversations.
FAMILY MEAL is our way of holding space, breaking bread, and offering a shared experience that reminds us we’re not alone.
This isn’t dinner and a show, it’s dinner as the show.
This experience is a brand new, first time collaboration between Chef Ben Baron's Order/Fire Productions & The Speakeasy Society.
Chef Ben has been passionate about creating memorable culinary experiences since he first started as a Hibachi Chef in 2010, from his humble Midwest beginnings in Green Bay, WI to working at top Los Angeles restaurants like Bestia, Sqirl, Roberta’s, and most recently as CDC at Petit Trois Le Valley. Now based in Southern California, he consults for local restaurant groups and heads Humble Ben's, a full-service catering and events company.
The Speakeasy Society is a mainstay of the Los Angeles immersive scene, with over two decades of combined experience and more than twenty-three productions. Their work ranges from one-on-one covert performances (The Stronger), to large-scale events for thousands (North Pole Journey), to city-spanning narratives (The Kansas Collection). They’ve also partnered with major themed entertainment leaders—including Walt Disney Imagineering, Meow Wolf, and Two Bit Circus — to deliver intimate storytelling at scale.
Like working the dinner rush — we can’t do this alone, and we are honored to lean on our communities for your support.
We must hit 80% of our goal to be greenlit – aka receive any funds.
Our goal for this crowdfund is $18,000. These funds will help us produce 12 shows, your funds will go directly towards:
- Dinner. That’s right—every night, Chef Ben is cooking a five-course meal, live.
- Venue We've found the perfect space for our service RITA House
- Rehearsals to train both performance and kitchen timing
- Wardrobe and costume coordination
- Scenic design to transform the space into a working restaurant/theater
- Equipment rentals (kitchen, plating, service)
- Sound & lighting to bring the story—and space—to life
- Insurance to keep everyone safe, covered, and legal
And... OUR INCREDIBLE CAST!
These are performers who don’t just act; they move with the rhythm of a kitchen, pour with purpose, and deliver lines with the precision of a knife’s edge. They come from all walks of theater, film, fine dining, and everything in between. They can make you laugh, make you cry, and still get your order out on time!
If we hit our initial goal, our stretch is $22,000. This would allow us to things like:
- Source specialty ingredients and curated wine pairings
- Expand the number of performances
- Elevate scenic design and wardrobe detail
- Extend rehearsal time and strengthen our promotional reach
- Lay the groundwork for a future remount in Los Angeles and beyond
With your support, FAMILY MEAL will premiere in Los Angeles in October 2025. We are delighted to offer a variety of creative rewards in exchange for your generosity and enthusiasm over this project.
- August 2025 - Rehearsals
- September 2025 - Workshop Rehearsals + Pre-Production
- October 2025 - Previews + Opening weekends
- November 2025 - Secondary show weekends + Remount waitlist opens
Help Us Bring People Together.
With your support, we will be at the forefront of innovative creative and culinary community building. This is a project we hope will have legs, and will inspire people from all walks of life to sit together. Contribute today, share our work with your communities, and help us ensure that there's a seat for everyone at the table. We just can’t do this without you.
Thank you!!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Rita House
Costs $10,000
Cover the rental cost of our gorgeous 1926 Spanish Colonial Venue to bring our world to life.
Graphic Design
Costs $2,500
Help us support local artists who will design all of the assets to build out our world.
The Finest Ingredients
Costs $2,500
Support our mission to bring you the finest produce, proteins & wines and to be sure that all of our ingredients are intentionally sourced.
Full Rehearsal Schedule
Costs $3,000
We want to bring you the finest version of our show. Help us spend extra time working out the kinks!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Order / Fire Productions
Chef Ben Baron (Chef / Co-Creator)
Ben Baron attended the Culinary Institute of America in 2013 and has since spent the PAST decade working in restaurants across New York, Wisconsin & California. Landing in Los Angeles in 2018. Spending time in the kitchen at Bestia, he left to develop the food program for Goodboybob in Santa Monica. After which he worked as an Executive Sous Chef for Roberta’s, opening their new location in Studio City. In 2023, he joined Petit Trois Le Valley as the Chef de Cuisine. He has since started his own full service catering & events company, Humble Ben’s. Focused on contemporary dining experiences featuring seasonal menus inspired by his array of culinary experience.
Bryan Tarver (Writer / Co-Creator)
Bryan is a writer, producer, and immersive storyteller based in Los Angeles. His work spans immersive theater, live events, digital storytelling, music videos, and experiential activations with projects in both Los Angeles and Denver. A published author in online literary magazines, he creates emotionally grounded, story-driven experiences that invite audiences to step inside. He spells his name with a "Y" and takes it very seriously.
Kerriann Farrell (Producer / Co-Creator)
Kerriann Farrell is a seasoned line producer with over a decade of experience, having managed diverse projects spanning commercials, indie films, and unscripted entertainment. Originally from New York, her career also includes work in live events, where she honed her skills in logistics and on-the-ground problem-solving.
The Speakeasy Society
Matthew Bamberg-Johnson (Co-Artistic Director)
Matthew Bamberg-Johnson earned his BA in Theater and Dance from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and received his MFA in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts, where he gained a broad range of experience in dramatic and comedic roles for stage and screen. In addition to his work as a co-artistic director of The Speakeasy Society, Matthew currently serves as an Acting Instructor for ISANA Academies, a collection of charter schools in the Greater Los Angeles area, as well as an adjunct faculty member at The Studio School.
Genevieve Gearhart (Co-Artistic Director)
Genevieve Gearhart is an actor, director, dancer, and choreographer. Genevieve’s work has been seen at the Getty Villa, REDCAT, the Ohio Theater, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Williamstown Theater Festival, and many found spaces in Los Angeles and New York. Genevieve received her MFA in Acting from California Institute of the Arts and her BA in Dance and Theatre from Manhattanville College.
Jenny Curtis (Director / Writer)
Jenny Curtis is an award-winning filmmaker, actor, writer, director, producer, and immersive creator based in Los Angeles. Jenny earned her BFA in Acting from CalArts and has an affinity for projects that are wonderfully weird and deeply human. Key highlights include directing and producing (and voicing the character of ALI in) the hit audio drama, SOLAR starring Helen Hunt, Alan Cumming, and Stephanie Beatriz; hosting celebrity interview podcast Hollywood Unscripted with guests such as Julie Taymor, Alfred Molina, Lee Daniels, and D’Arcy Carden; curating a daily podcast of creative expression, A Moment Of Your Time; and writing and directing the short film L(ong)A(ss)ST DAY which recently took home ‘Outstanding Comedy’ from the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival. She is a co-leader of Filmshop LA and a proud company member of the Speakeasy Society. She wears all the hats and writes in run-on sentences.
Chris Porter (Writer)
Chris Porter is a Los Angeles-based writer, sound designer, and award-winning composer of concert works, film, theater, and other performance events. Chris earned his MFA in Music Composition from California Institute of the Arts and a BMA in Music Composition from Baldwin-Wallace University. Chris can also be found on multiple podcasts under the CurtCo Media banner--including as a host of the improvisational storytelling comedy podcast When Last I Left, and as the creator of the scripted series, Solar.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Audiences of FAMILY MEAL will take on the role of food writers and industry vets who attend a final dinner service of celebrated Chef Landwald, upon announcement of his retirement.
During this exclusive evening, Jozef, Anna, and Firas—Landwald’s three children who have all spent years working in his kitchen—must prepare a signature dish to curry the audience's favor by and inherit The Restaurant’s legacy.
This is a unique immersive format blends entertainment with fine dining. The drama of Succession meets the madcap tone of The Bear, where loyalty simmers, ambition cuts like a knife, and nothing is off the table.
FAMILY MEAL is our way of holding space, breaking bread, and offering a shared experience that reminds us we’re not alone.
So why this project?
FAMILY MEAL speaks to the shared heart of both the theater and culinary worlds. It’s no secret that in our current tumultuous climate, art in all forms have had our stability tested. This is why it’s so important for us to make this work: in a time where people are still gathering less, we’re creating new, innovative ways to have complex conversations.
FAMILY MEAL is our way of holding space, breaking bread, and offering a shared experience that reminds us we’re not alone.
This isn’t dinner and a show, it’s dinner as the show.
This experience is a brand new, first time collaboration between Chef Ben Baron's Order/Fire Productions & The Speakeasy Society.
Chef Ben has been passionate about creating memorable culinary experiences since he first started as a Hibachi Chef in 2010, from his humble Midwest beginnings in Green Bay, WI to working at top Los Angeles restaurants like Bestia, Sqirl, Roberta’s, and most recently as CDC at Petit Trois Le Valley. Now based in Southern California, he consults for local restaurant groups and heads Humble Ben's, a full-service catering and events company.
The Speakeasy Society is a mainstay of the Los Angeles immersive scene, with over two decades of combined experience and more than twenty-three productions. Their work ranges from one-on-one covert performances (The Stronger), to large-scale events for thousands (North Pole Journey), to city-spanning narratives (The Kansas Collection). They’ve also partnered with major themed entertainment leaders—including Walt Disney Imagineering, Meow Wolf, and Two Bit Circus — to deliver intimate storytelling at scale.
Like working the dinner rush — we can’t do this alone, and we are honored to lean on our communities for your support.
We must hit 80% of our goal to be greenlit – aka receive any funds.
Our goal for this crowdfund is $18,000. These funds will help us produce 12 shows, your funds will go directly towards:
- Dinner. That’s right—every night, Chef Ben is cooking a five-course meal, live.
- Venue We've found the perfect space for our service RITA House
- Rehearsals to train both performance and kitchen timing
- Wardrobe and costume coordination
- Scenic design to transform the space into a working restaurant/theater
- Equipment rentals (kitchen, plating, service)
- Sound & lighting to bring the story—and space—to life
- Insurance to keep everyone safe, covered, and legal
And... OUR INCREDIBLE CAST!
These are performers who don’t just act; they move with the rhythm of a kitchen, pour with purpose, and deliver lines with the precision of a knife’s edge. They come from all walks of theater, film, fine dining, and everything in between. They can make you laugh, make you cry, and still get your order out on time!
If we hit our initial goal, our stretch is $22,000. This would allow us to things like:
- Source specialty ingredients and curated wine pairings
- Expand the number of performances
- Elevate scenic design and wardrobe detail
- Extend rehearsal time and strengthen our promotional reach
- Lay the groundwork for a future remount in Los Angeles and beyond
With your support, FAMILY MEAL will premiere in Los Angeles in October 2025. We are delighted to offer a variety of creative rewards in exchange for your generosity and enthusiasm over this project.
- August 2025 - Rehearsals
- September 2025 - Workshop Rehearsals + Pre-Production
- October 2025 - Previews + Opening weekends
- November 2025 - Secondary show weekends + Remount waitlist opens
Help Us Bring People Together.
With your support, we will be at the forefront of innovative creative and culinary community building. This is a project we hope will have legs, and will inspire people from all walks of life to sit together. Contribute today, share our work with your communities, and help us ensure that there's a seat for everyone at the table. We just can’t do this without you.
Thank you!!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Rita House
Costs $10,000
Cover the rental cost of our gorgeous 1926 Spanish Colonial Venue to bring our world to life.
Graphic Design
Costs $2,500
Help us support local artists who will design all of the assets to build out our world.
The Finest Ingredients
Costs $2,500
Support our mission to bring you the finest produce, proteins & wines and to be sure that all of our ingredients are intentionally sourced.
Full Rehearsal Schedule
Costs $3,000
We want to bring you the finest version of our show. Help us spend extra time working out the kinks!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Order / Fire Productions
Chef Ben Baron (Chef / Co-Creator)
Ben Baron attended the Culinary Institute of America in 2013 and has since spent the PAST decade working in restaurants across New York, Wisconsin & California. Landing in Los Angeles in 2018. Spending time in the kitchen at Bestia, he left to develop the food program for Goodboybob in Santa Monica. After which he worked as an Executive Sous Chef for Roberta’s, opening their new location in Studio City. In 2023, he joined Petit Trois Le Valley as the Chef de Cuisine. He has since started his own full service catering & events company, Humble Ben’s. Focused on contemporary dining experiences featuring seasonal menus inspired by his array of culinary experience.
Bryan Tarver (Writer / Co-Creator)
Bryan is a writer, producer, and immersive storyteller based in Los Angeles. His work spans immersive theater, live events, digital storytelling, music videos, and experiential activations with projects in both Los Angeles and Denver. A published author in online literary magazines, he creates emotionally grounded, story-driven experiences that invite audiences to step inside. He spells his name with a "Y" and takes it very seriously.
Kerriann Farrell (Producer / Co-Creator)
Kerriann Farrell is a seasoned line producer with over a decade of experience, having managed diverse projects spanning commercials, indie films, and unscripted entertainment. Originally from New York, her career also includes work in live events, where she honed her skills in logistics and on-the-ground problem-solving.
The Speakeasy Society
Matthew Bamberg-Johnson (Co-Artistic Director)
Matthew Bamberg-Johnson earned his BA in Theater and Dance from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and received his MFA in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts, where he gained a broad range of experience in dramatic and comedic roles for stage and screen. In addition to his work as a co-artistic director of The Speakeasy Society, Matthew currently serves as an Acting Instructor for ISANA Academies, a collection of charter schools in the Greater Los Angeles area, as well as an adjunct faculty member at The Studio School.
Genevieve Gearhart (Co-Artistic Director)
Genevieve Gearhart is an actor, director, dancer, and choreographer. Genevieve’s work has been seen at the Getty Villa, REDCAT, the Ohio Theater, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Williamstown Theater Festival, and many found spaces in Los Angeles and New York. Genevieve received her MFA in Acting from California Institute of the Arts and her BA in Dance and Theatre from Manhattanville College.
Jenny Curtis (Director / Writer)
Jenny Curtis is an award-winning filmmaker, actor, writer, director, producer, and immersive creator based in Los Angeles. Jenny earned her BFA in Acting from CalArts and has an affinity for projects that are wonderfully weird and deeply human. Key highlights include directing and producing (and voicing the character of ALI in) the hit audio drama, SOLAR starring Helen Hunt, Alan Cumming, and Stephanie Beatriz; hosting celebrity interview podcast Hollywood Unscripted with guests such as Julie Taymor, Alfred Molina, Lee Daniels, and D’Arcy Carden; curating a daily podcast of creative expression, A Moment Of Your Time; and writing and directing the short film L(ong)A(ss)ST DAY which recently took home ‘Outstanding Comedy’ from the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival. She is a co-leader of Filmshop LA and a proud company member of the Speakeasy Society. She wears all the hats and writes in run-on sentences.
Chris Porter (Writer)
Chris Porter is a Los Angeles-based writer, sound designer, and award-winning composer of concert works, film, theater, and other performance events. Chris earned his MFA in Music Composition from California Institute of the Arts and a BMA in Music Composition from Baldwin-Wallace University. Chris can also be found on multiple podcasts under the CurtCo Media banner--including as a host of the improvisational storytelling comedy podcast When Last I Left, and as the creator of the scripted series, Solar.