Chef Cherie Mercer Twohy, who received her professional culinary arts diploma from the California School of Culinary Arts and is the “Cherie” behind Chez Cherie in La Cañada since 2000, will present her Trader Joe’s Cookbooks at the La Cañada Flintridge Orthopaedic Guild (LCFOG) Book and Author Luncheon on Oct. 28.

Twohy conducts cooking classes, leads field trips to gourmet purveyors and does private cooking parties. She has a relaxed and humorous attitude toward food and the cooking processes. She recently joined Julia Child and Jacques Pepin as a certified culinary professional, one of only 300 culinarians worldwide to achieve that designation.

Also speaking is Natalie Baszile whose debut novel, “Queen Sugar” is a captivating and colorful story inspired by her own life and family history. Her research for this book, which in its early version won the Hurston Wright College Writer’s Award, involved many trips for the San Francisco-based author to Louisiana where she visited relatives and actually helped out during the sugar cane harvesting season.

To learn more about attending the luncheon, contact Joan Cleven at (818) 249-4603 and request an invitation be sent to you. Those who wish to support the Guild’s efforts to help build OIC Ambulatory Surgery Center can mail a donation to La Cañada Flintridge Orthopaedic Guild, P.O. Box 777, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 90212-0777.

The event will be held at the Angeles National Golf Club in Sunland and all profits from the sale of books onsite will go directly to Orthopedic Institute for Children.