This Friday, June 29 marks the one-year anniversary of pop star Michael Jackson’s death. To celebrate his life, Akasha Richmond and Mani Niall, the founder of Mani’s Bakery and executive chef of Just Desserts in San Francisco, will be serving up MJ’s favorite dishes at Akasha in Culver City.

How would they know what the man liked to eat? Both served as his personal chefs for his Victory, Bad and History world tours. MJ first came across the chefs when they worked at Golden Temple, a once popular vegetarian restaurant, in L.A. back during the Thriller days and liked what they were doing so much that he hired them.

“Cooking for Michael was one of the greatest times of my life,” says Akasha, “and since Mani and I wanted to be together on the anniversary of his passing, we felt there was no better way to remember him than to cook up some of his favorite dishes.”

Even though MJ was known for being a fan of comfort food and KFC he was also a healthy eater, staying away from red meat and preferring organic vegetables and Mexican food, and that’s reflected in the menu.

In addition to featuring his favorite bites from 5:30pm to close, in addition to the usual Akasha menu, the restaurant will play Michael Jackson’s greatest hits all night long.

• Golden Temple Wild Mushroom and Tofu Salad ($12) with Napa cabbage, carrots, snow peas, toasted cashews, ginger-miso dressing
• Spicy Cajun Shrimp ($12) with skillet cornbread toast
• New Mexican Red Chile and Cheese Enchiladas ($18) with rice, black beans and guacamole
• Sweet Potato Pie with pecan “ookie” crust ($8)
• Banana Cream Pie ($8)

EVENT: FRIDAY, JUNE 25 from 5:30pm to Close

Akasha Restaurant, Bar & Bakery
9543 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, California 90232 (map)
(310) 845-1700