Learn the art of chocolate sculpting and decorating from award-winning pastry chef and master chocolatier Francois Behuet at Sendero at The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles on Sunday, Oct. 27.  The hour-long class gives a hands-on look at how the French born Behuet creates show-stopping drama for holidays and award show weekends and is known for his masterpieces for Pastry Team USA and The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles. Priced at $180 per person, the fall class will focus on building a Dia de los Muertos-themed creation. Beginners welcome.  The price includes a logo apron to take home, water, and sparkling wine on site.   Book here via Resy for October 27 Corrie Scully and Renie Schoenkerman,  co-founders of  MiddleBar and creators of the popular bloody Mary Mocktail are bringing a sleek new 7.5oz aluminum can of   Mini Mary to the market.  The multiple award-winning Bloody Mary mix will be available on Amazon, fine liquor shops, and gourmet markets in mid-October.   The women-owned LGBTQ company evolved from a love of music, cooking, design, and hospitality.  MiddleBar has grown from a food lab and blog to an underground private supper club and a boutique cocktail catering service. They developed the Los Angeles Farmers Markets product line and opened the since-closed jazz bruncherie MIDDLEBAR on MARKET St in Inglewood in 2018.   A limited-time pop-up at Sushi Roku’s Santa Monica Robata Bar will feature  2019 James Beard Award Winner Chef Tony Messina from Thursday, Oct. 17 through Saturday, Oct. 19. Inspired by Messina’s time in Boston, the dinner combines modern sashimi with charcoal-fired street food, showcasing top-tier Japanese fish. Menu highlights include beef carpaccio with shellfish vinegar, black garlic tare, and uni, chicken liver toast with milk bread, strawberry, and smoked onion, lobster skewers with rosé butter and roasted tomato with an aerated miso cheesecake with apple and dulce de leche for dessert. Reservations can be made HERE.  Melting Pot Thousand Oaks is celebrating  Oktoberfest with an  Oktober FondueFest menu that runs through Thursday, Oct. 31, and features  Bavarian beer cheese fondue paired with dippers like pretzels, hot-off-the-grill bratwurst, braised short rib, summer sausage along with choice of salad and decadent Black Forest chocolate fondue. The 3-course meal includes cheese fondue, salad, and chocolate fondue for $53. Premium entrées can be added to make it a 4-course experience for $71.   Wash it down with a Black Forest old-fashioned,  ginger peach blitz cocktail or a seasonal Sam Adams Octoberfest. Fatburger and  Buffalo’s Express located at Central & Slauson, 5867 Central Ave.,   has added Hot Dog on a Stick to their space. The new tri-branded location will offer classic Hot Dog on A Stick menu items, including hot dog and cheese on a stick and the signature hand-stomped lemonade made with Ventura County lemons.  The location will now be open for breakfast as well. To celebrate, Fatburger is giving away 100 free Fatburgers to the first 100 customers, and free fries to all other customers throughout the day on  Saturday, Oct.  5.   Pastry chef and social justice activist Paola Velez is now a cookbook author. Velez will bring her nationwide tour for Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store,  to Los Angeles, celebrating her Afro-Latina heritage during Hispanic Heritage Month.  Here’s the schedule: Cookbook Club with Velez in Conversation with Kay Lopez on  Friday, Oct. 11 at Carla’s Fresh Market,  via Eventbrite, includes a meet and greet.  Velez in Conversation with Roxana Jullapat on Saturday, Oct. 12 at  Now Serving via Eventbrite, includes a meet and greet. Bakery Pop-Up with Paola Velez on Sunday, Oct. 13, at  Friends & Family California Pizza Kitchen is celebrating the  National Pizza Month of October with a new BOGO for the Bold. For October, order the new burnt ends BBQ pizza or returning fan-favorite bacon and Brussels pizza in a participating restaurant or online and get a free take-and-bake pizza from one of five best-selling flavors. The new burnt ends pizza comes with smoked brisket burnt ends, smothered in signature BBQ sauce and topped with smoked Gouda and Mozzarella cheeses as well as pickled red onions. The returning bacon and Brussels pie is a combination of goat cheese, roasted Brussels sprouts,  applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions, Romano, and Parmesan cheeses. What’s Popping Up is a column in the L.A. Weekly that explores everything new in food and drink. Oktober Fondue Fest (Courtesy Melting Pot) The post Mini Mary In A Can And Chocolate For Dia De Los Muertos – Here’s What’s Popping Up appeared first on LA Weekly.