Manhattan Beach Food & Wine founder Shelby Russell recently announced the launch of the inaugural Manhattan Beach Food & Wine at a press event conference at the Westdrift Manhattan Beach hotel.
The inaugural is planned as a spectacular two-night strolling culinary extravaganza with an Opening Night celebration on Friday October 11, and a Grand Tasting on Saturday October 12. The gourmet festival will bring together the industry’s top tastemakers and connoisseurs to celebrate an all-star lineup of chefs, restaurants, wineries, spirits, cocktails, breweries, and non-alcoholic beverages, along with live entertainment.
The venue is a 40,000-square-foot outdoor space in Manhattan Village located at the end of the Veterans Parkway Greenbelt Path. The venue features a beautifully landscaped trail that runs through Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach, letting guests walk or bike to the event. Although Manhattan Village will offer complimentary parking, guests are encouraged to use rideshare services.
The culinary extravaganza will feature a lineup of 50 of the Best Chefs representing not only the local cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Los Angeles, but state-wide from Solvang, Palm Springs, San Francisco and beyond – from across North America, from Denver, New York, New Orleans, Vancouver, and Mexico.
The all-Star Chef Lineup has already enlisted impressive talent that includes:
- Event Host Chef Neal Fraser: Redbird, Vibiana – Downtown Los Angeles, CA
- Chef Vartan Abgaryan: Momed – Los Angeles, CA
- Chef Jose Acevedo: Mercado – Manhattan Beach
- Chef Nyesha Arrington: Native By Nyesha – Los Angeles
- Chef Wes Avila: Ka’teen – Los Angeles, CA
- Chef Joey Campanaro: Little Owl – New York City, NY
- Chef Brendan Collins: Boa Steakhouse – Manhattan Beach, CA
- Chef Sandra Cordero: Xuntos – Los Angeles, CA
- Chef Chris Cosentino: Nick’s Cove – Sonoma
- Chef Dominique Crenn: Atelier Crenn – San Francisco
- Chef Dom Crisp: Lonely Oyster – Los Angeles
- Chef Shaun Dry: BrewCo Social – Manhattan Beach
- Chef Fred Eric: Fred62 – Los Angeles
- Chef Elizabeth Falkner – Los Angeles
- Chef Chris Feldmeier: Love & Salt – Manhattan Beach
- Chef Susan Feniger: Border Grill, Socalo – Santa Monica
- Chef Steven Fretz: Coast Range – Solvang
- Chef Rostislava Garafano: Malibu Meringue – Los Angeles
- Chef Jeffray Gardner: Marsatta Chocolate – Old Town Torrance
- Chef Suzanne Goin: A.O.C. – Los Angeles
- Chef Ray Hayashi: Ryla – Hermosa Beach
- Chef Michael Hung: Palm Springs Surf Club – Palm Springs
- Chef Ruffo Ibarra: Oryx Restaurante – Tijuana, Mexico
- Chef Jackson Kalb: Jemma, Ospi, Jame – Los Angeles
- Chef David LeFevre: Fishing with Dynamite, MB Post, The Arthur J, AttaGirl – Manhattan Beach
- Chef Lord Maynard Llera: Kuya Lord – Los Angeles
- Chef Antonia Lofaso: Black Market Liquor Bar, Scopa Italian Roots, DAMA – Los Angeles
- Chef Bernhard Mairinger: Lustig – Culver City
- Chef Chris Park: The Strand House – Manhattan Beach
- Chef Steve Samson: Rossoblu, Superfine – Los Angeles
- Chef Aarón Sánchez: Johnny Sánchez, Showbird, Adobo Cantina – New Orleans
- Chef David Schlosser: Shibumi – Los Angeles
- Chef Warren Schwartz: Magpies Softserve – Los Angeles
- Chef Alex Seidel: Mercantile Dining & Provisions, Fruition – Denver, CO
- Chef Jimmy Shaw: Loteria Grill – Los Angeles
- Chef Hiroshi Shima: Sushi Roku – Manhattan Beach
- Chef Matthew Stowe: JOEY Restaurants – Vancouver, BC Canada
- Chef Jet Tila – Los Angeles
- Chef Johnny Tran: Intercrew – Koreatown Los Angeles
- Chef Dustin Trani: J. Trani’s, Trani’s Dockside Station – San Pedro
- Chef Sherry Yard: Bakery by the Yard – Manhattan Beach
A VIP Power Hour will be held from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm and Regular Admission will be from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The event is strictly 21+ event as the event is serving alcoholic beverages.
This year’s event beneficiary is Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP). Long co-chaired by chef Marcus Samuelsson, C-CAP is a workforce development nonprofit that provides underserved teens pathways to pursue careers in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Annually, C-CAP provides culinary, job and life skills in 186 schools across the United States across the entire state of Arizona, as well as in Baltimore, Camden, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City & Long Island, Newark, Philadelphia, suburban Maryland, and Washington DC.
This year’s Founding Partners include Delta Airlines as the official Airline, with westdrift Manhattan Beach as the official Hotel, La Brea Bakery as the Bakery and Manhattan Village as the official Shopping and Dining Center.
For more information on the Manhattan Beach Food & Wine, please visit www.ManhattanBeachFoodandWine.com.