Delicious food + handcrafted cocktails + Hollywood = A Creative Culinary Adventure!
Over the Labor Day Weekend, we enjoyed a special culinary adventure in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times event called The Taste, was held on the backlot of Paramount Pictures Studios in Hollywood, CA and was absolutely fabulous in EVERY way. Chefs, restaurants, food writers and mixologists came together to dazzle many curious, culinary adventurers like us! We were served delicious bites of food, sensational hand crafted cocktails as well as tempting wines and spirits. The Los Angeles restaurant community brought the very best to this outdoor festival by bringing it’s personal kitchen to all of us!
On the streets of old New York on the Paramount Backlot
There were five different events to attend and Craig and I managed to make it to 4 of the 5. Friday evening was Opening Night and on both Saturday and Sunday there was a day and an evening event. On Saturday we enjoyed Field to Fork: “Indulge in the bounty of California with an afternoon inspired by locally sourced ingredients”. Saturday evening was called Dinner With a Twist:“An LA cocktail party on a Hollywood backlot featuring the cutting-edge cocktail culture and unique dishes from the city’s hottest chefs”.
The spectacular events on Saturday were followed up by Sunday Brunch and Flavors of LA. At Sunday Brunch, we sampled over-the-top breakfast and lunch bites and Flavors of LA focused on the culinary melting pot that is LA. Believe it or not, each event was different and each offered a different variety of restaurants and chef demonstrations. Every event offered something we wanted to try or learn about, we didn’t want to miss anything, so we went to four! Yes, we were full to the brim each day, but then we drove back to the Andaz West Hollywood, only minutes away, to get rest and rejuvenated for the evening event. Unfortunately, it was over 90 degrees during the day which added an additional element to the experience. However, there were thousands of attendees like ourselves that didn’t care about the weather and continued on regardless of the heat.
Pinches Tacos – Out of this world!
We have attended this event once before but this year it was even better. Since our son goes to college in Los Angeles, we have taken advantage of the opportunity and spent a lot of time there visiting many of these fantastic restaurants and followed them in the news for updates. Consequently, we were able to pinpoint who we wanted to visit and appreciated this experience even that much more! Watch out San Francisco, LA has elevated it’s game and offers amazing food by innovative, award winning chefs. The Los Angeles restaurant cuisine easily rivals any other city we have visited and it is very exiting!
Most major cities have several “foodie” events staged throughout the year and wherever you live or want to travel, make sure you investigate the possibilities. These chefs are artists and craftsmen who offer cutting-edge dining options and coupled with their passion to make us happy, the end result is sublime. Their ultimate goal is to please and entertain us through their incredible skills and delicious food. Can you tell I am a fan?
Each restaurant provided a “bite” of something that exemplified their unique restaurant. Craig and I would often share a bite and we did not visit every booth, there were so many that it was just physically impossible. However, the really nice thing is that there was something for everyone and for every taste or culinary desire, one or more of the chefs fulfilled that need.
How did they know we loved “adventure”?
A delectable burger and beer (we got to keep the glass)!
A curry dog from Dog Haus
A beautiful and heavenly vegetarian bite from Freshology.
It was too pretty to eat!
Top Chef C.J. Jacobson
In addition to eating all of the great food, we were able to see and interact with several chefs that I have admired from afar. It was so fun to hear from C.J. Jacobson, a contestant on Bravo TV’s Top Chef and owner of Girasol. He was funny, engaging and shared how he felt about food, as well as anecdotes from the show. Craig and I were able to talk with him afterward and he was so easy to talk with and very funny.
We were delighted by a demonstration from Nancy Silverton, an award winning chef, author and restauranteur who recently received the 2014 James Beard award for Outstanding Chef. She is a legend in the industry and yet so approachable, sweet and endearing. It was an honor and a privilege to learn from her in such an intimate setting. She told stories, shared practical cooking tips and I was disappointed when the 45 minutes were up!
The legendary chef: Nancy Silverton
Additionally, another incredible highlight for us was to attend “20 Years of the French Laundry” with Thomas Keller, another legendary chef and restauranteur. Joining Chef Keller on the panel were Jeff Cerciello of Farmshop, David Breeden of The French Laundry, and Timothy Hollingsworth from the Broad Museum Restaurant. Each of these young chefs spent many years at the French Laundry before they traveled on an amazing culinary trajectory launched by their incomparable experience with Chef Keller. The panel was moderated by the Food Editor of the Los Angeles Times, Russ Parsons, who is always charming and spearheads this event. It was a remarkable opportunity to listen to these accomplished chefs talk about their craft and their experiences. I was spellbound and a bit star-struck!
The Chefs Panel for “20 Years of The French Laundry”
Minutes before The Chefs panel for The French Laundry event
The chef from The Church Key preparing delicious bites
Chef Ricardo Zarate from my very favorite restaurant in Los Angeles: Picca
Chef Zarate’s delicious dumplings with lobster and shrimp
Sunday Brunch: An omelette on your waffle bite – It was seriously good!
Cinnamon Rolls from Farmshop
Chef Keizo Shimamoto with The Original Ramen Burger and his million dollar smile!
Delicious cocktails made with icy cold watermelon sorbet, lemon verbena and No 209 Gin – DIVINE
Savory meatballs from Angelini Osteria
The ending of a perfect culinary adventure in Los Angeles
I love that you had these exotic bites on paper plates. I’ll bet you felt like a judge on Top Chef (certainly Padma, Gail and Tom would love to have you join them, yes?). Looks awesome (and loved following you on Instagram too).
Kim: We did feel very special, like we had discovered a secret place (albeit with 8,000 other people) The space was large enough that the crowd wasn’t a problem. The event was very eco-friendly and everything was recyclable or compostable and soooo tasty!
Looks like a serious amount of fun! You know how to have a great time!
Yes Carol – food and fun and alcohol creates a great time!We truly had a blast! Thanks for reading and commenting!
I’ve been to wine and food festivals but never a festival dedicated only to food. The photos you’ve shown us are mouthwatering – and the whole affair looks like a great way to explore LA. Good to have an excuse to visit as well. Maybe a PhD program will keep you returning for years.
Thank you Leigh! They tasted as good as they looked! I think my son will stay in LA when he graduates, we are safe for now. I will suggest the advanced degrees however… 🙂
I just love the tastings tours and shows. Here in San Diego one of the best is at Torrey Pines Lodge, Celebrating the Craft – elegant, delicious and vast. What a great way to get to know your area indeed.
Thanks Elaine! I will need to check out the event in San Diego. It is a great way to get to know the city, as well as support the local business owners.
mmh, I think it’s time to make some lunch! Some of these dishes look sooo delicious and stirred my appetite.
Yes – I need to provide a hazard sign: Warning this post will make you hungry!
Oh I love foodie events and if I was in the area, I would make a beeline for this….looks like it was a real fun and filling experience and those sliders, yummy!
Noel: Do you have any events you can recommend in your area? Or any favorites in other cities?
This looks like my kind of event and your photos make everything look so delicious!
Thank you Vicki! It was a delicious event!
Thank you Vicki!
Los Angeles is a great foodie town and this looks like a special event. Great photos!
Thank you! LA is really an amazing place to eat!
It looks like you had an amazing weekend! Thanks for the restaurant recommendations – we’re always looking for new places to try in L.A.
Sharon: You are welcome! There are so many great restaurants in LA!
The Taste sounds like a really exceptional food festival. In L.A., I have found you really have to do research to find a good restaurant. But many good ones are there to be found. This is my favorite recent discovery, http://travelswithcarole.blogspot.com/2013/07/huckleberry-cafe-1014-wilshire-blvd.html
Were they at The Taste?
Thanks Carole – I love the Huckleberry Cafe too! I don’t believe they were at the event.
Suzanne, it all looks so wonderful, what an awesome weekend you had! The food looks delicious, but I bet the panels were incredible. What a fun “adventure”!
Mary – You will have to go next year! It was heavenly!
I can see now that I’ve missed out on one of life’s all-time experiences – a food tasting event! What a fun way to sample so many fabulous and tasty extravagances. My mouth is watering!
Anita – find one near you. They are delicious and fun!
Those photos of all the different dishes was mind boggling. Besides sampling, were there surveys or ways to rate each food? Which restaurant was your favorite, as they all seemed to be so great tasting. From now on I’m making a list of when there’s a food event in an area we’re visiting so I can enjoy this fun time too.
Those dumplings with lobster and shrimp look amazing. And that watermelon cocktail? Divine! What an event to mark on the calendar for my next visit to Los Angeles.
The food all looks incredible, but I think hanging out on the Paramount Backlot might be the coolest thing of all! Sure looks like a great time!
It was seriously cool. We also saw one of the Kardashians… Woo Hoo!
I haven’t been to any food festivals lately. It seems I’m always watching my weight and it doesn’t help that I’m a vegetarian. I am wondering how you maintain your slim figure! Well, now I’m headed to the kitchen to hopefully find something remotely as good as your photos show 🙂
Hi Michelle: Thank you for reading. I don’t eat red meat and very little fowl. I do love fish however. It can make a food festival challenging. As for for my fitness – thank you. I work out a great deal and when I am not traveling – we eat really healthy.
This was a great post, Suzanne, but am I the only one who thinks Craig looks like George Clooney in his shades? Hubba hubba! 🙂
HI Betsy! Yes, we hear it a lot. Craig has a dee voice like George as well. After 30 years he still makes my heart flutter!
Oh dear. You must really have to pace yourself. I attended a chocolate festival in Honolulu where each ticket provided the opportunity for 10 tastings. I was such a wimp. I only made it through 8.
Suzanne you really do have to pace yourself. I think making it through 8 is great! Not wimpy!