Food & Wine Events

Masters of Taste

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The seventh annual Masters of Taste returns to the Iconic Pasadena Rose Bowl  on Sunday, April 7th, 2024.  The event is expected to bring over 3,000 food and beverage enthusiasts to sample signature dishes and handcrafted drinks, wines, craft brews, and non-alcoholic drinks  from over 100 Culinary and Beverage Masters. Live entertainment will add to the festivities. 

Participating Culinary Masters and Restaurants include Pez Cantina Village and Pez Coastal Kitchen Seafood Village, 1212, Arth Bar + Kitchen, Agnes Restaurant and Cheesery, Alexander’s Steakhouse, Ayara Thai, BAAR BAAR, Beachy’s Food Truck, BOX Chicken,  Casa Cordoba, Celestino Ristorante, Cerda Vega Tacos,  Champion’s CURRY,  Chaaste Family Market, City Club, Armando Quiroz, Emporium Thai,  Fat Boys, Gabi James,  Georgia’s Restaurant,  Granville,  Gus’s World-Famous Fried Chicken,  Harold & Belle’s,  Italia Pasta e Pizza, La Bohéme, LAVO Ristorante,  Lunasia, MAMA M SUSHI, Marina, Mercado, Panda Inn,  Poppy + Rose, Rice Balls of Fire, Room Service Neighborhood,  Santa Monica Seafood,  Soulmate, StopBye Café, Taishi Hainan Chicken,  The Peppered Goat,  UCHI, YAKIYA, Yardbird,  and Yuca’s Restaurant. 

Sweet Masters showcasing desserts include Bachan’s Shave Ice, warm chocolate chip cookies from Bake Some Noise, Beard Papa’s, Bertha Mae’s Brownies, Faith Café, Gooey Center Bakery, Happy Ice LA, Läderach, custom cakes from Cakes By Chanté, cupcakes from Lark Cake Shop, Magpies Softserve, Marsatta Chocolate, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Pops Artisanal Creamery, Pazzo Gelato, and Porto’s Bakery & Café.

Participating Beverage Masters offering fine spirits include Dead of Night Distillery, Dulce Vida Tequila, Empress 1908 Gin, Knox & Dobson, La Bay Gin, Laurel Canyon Spirits, Lunetta, Mario’s Hard Espresso, Mezcal 33, Neft Vodka, Nosotros Tequila & Mezcal, Old Hillside Bourbon Company, Smoke Lab Vodka, The Raymond 1886, Ventura Spirits and Angeleno Spritz, Vintage Distilling, and Xoloitzcuintle Tequila.

Brew Masters presenting ales, lagers, pilsners include All Season Brewing, Arrow Lodge Brewing, Arts District Brewing Company, Big Noise Beer, Boomtown Brewery, Pasadena’s Cerveceria Del Pueblo, Kanazawa Hyakumangoku Beer, Arcadia’s first Microbrewery Mt. Lowe Brewing Co., Nova Brewing Co., Over Town Brewing Co., San Fernando Brewing Co., and Tarantula Hill Brewing Co.

Wine and Sake Masters showcasing t varietals include Ascension Cellars, Bodegas de Santo Tomas, BONDLE Wines, CRŪ Winery, Golden Star Vineyards, Hitching Post Wines, LMA Wines, Moraga Canyon Vineyards, Anderson Valley’s Navarro Vineyards, NON (Non-alcoholic Wine Alternatives), Sake Akagisan, Sake High!, San Simeon Wines, Stephen Hemmert Wines, Warson Wine Company, and Wiens Cellars.

Beverage Masters Premium providing non-alcoholic drinks to  hydrate, caffeinate and regenerate include Perfect Hydration Alkaline Water, Yerba Mate from Erva Brew Co., Koe Kombucha, boba milk tea from Sunright Tea Studio and Bearology, and Unincorporated Coffee Roasters.

This year’s event is hosted by husband and wife team of Chef Bret Thompson and Lucy Thompson-Ramirez, who have made a significant impact on LA’s culinary scene. In 2015, they opened Pez Cantina, a seasonal, modern, coastal-inspired Mexican restaurant and bar in downtown Los Angeles, and in 2021 expanding with LA Burrito in Montebello. This year they will open Pez Coastal Kitchen in Pasadena featuring seasonal sea-to-table and farm-to-table California cuisine, and specializing in  cured, smoked and dry-aged meats and seafood. 

The annual culinary extravaganza benefits Union Station Homeless Services, whose mission is to create lasting solutions for homelessness through housing, support services, and community connections in 38 cities from Eagle Rock to Pomona. Its Housing First model has achieved a 97% success rate.  Masters of Taste has raised approximately $3 Million over the last six years.

Masters of Taste 2024 is a 21+ and completely outdoors; all guests will receive their  own utensils and hand sanitizer.   A VIP Power Hour from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm precedes General Admission from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. 

For more information and tickets, please visit  www.MastersofTasteLA.com.

Have Some Madeira M’dear!

Mona Day Food & Wine Events

Have Some Madeira M’dear! This was the message of a wine tasting event on Tuesday, October 24 at The Maybourne Beverly Hills. 

The event was hosted by five Madeira wine producers that included Justino’s Madeira Wines / Broadbent Selections, Blandy’s / Cossart Gordon / Miles, Henriques & Henriques, Vinhos Barbeito / The Rare Wine Company, and D’Oliveiras / The Rare Wine Company.

A fortified wine made on the Portuguese Madeira Islands off the coast of Africa, Madeira has a long history dating back to the end of the 15th century when the islands were a standard port of call for ships headed for the New World or East Indies. To prevent the wine from spoiling, neutral grape spirits were added, and on the long sea voyages, the wines would be exposed to excessive heat and movement which transformed the flavor of the wine. This was discovered when an unsold shipment of wine returned to the islands after a round trip.

The wine is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be enjoyed on their own as an apéritif, to sweet wines that usually go with dessert. Cheaper versions often flavored with salt and pepper are used for cooking.

Madeira is touted as a wine for everyone and every occasion, and to educate you on the subject, the hosts organized a series of seminars.

Pairing Madeira Wine with Food:  The seminar was lead by Sommelier and Wines of Portugal brand ambassador Eugénio Jardim.  From dry to sweet, Madeira is a wine with intense freshness as a result of its typical acidity and a bouquet of aromas that develop during the aging process, producing complex, rich, and intense wines. As a result, Madeira can be paired with many types of foods, and five styles of Madeira were paired with five different food flavors.

Madeira and Cocktails:  While typically served as an aperitif or a dessert, Madeira wines are a great mix for cocktails.  Camron Robertson, General Manager of Thunderbolt LA, showed how Madeira’s well-rounded flavor profile and balanced level of sweetness and acidity can enhance a range of cocktails.

Aged Madeira: Madeira’s unique aging process uses temperature to slow oxidation and promote longevity. Examples of wines in bottles over 300 years old maintain their quality practically unchanged. While the seminar did not serve any 100-year-old bottles, it did serve selections 25-35 years old.

A walk around tasting from 12-5pm with more wine selections from the producers and more  food for experimentations in pairing rounded out a day full of take-aways on getting more enjoyment from your Madeira.

7TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL CHAPÍN LOS ANGELES

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The 7th Annual Festival Chapin will return to Lafayette Park in Los Angeles on Saturday August 26 & Sunday August 27. The free festival celebrates Guatemalan culture and  its vibrant community via the country’s historic folklore, music, arts & crafts and gastronomy.

Chapín is a word that many Guatemalans use to describe their ethnicity with pride, and the history of the word dates back to the 15th century, when Chapines were a type of popular platform in Spain. The footwear f eventually disappeared but the name persists as an adjective for a person from Guatemala.

Metro Los Angeles is also home to several notable Guatemalans, including the prominent street artist Mauricio “Cache” Reyes, as well as a plethora of Guatemalan restaurants serving up delicious traditional dishes. Many of them will be represented at the Festival.  Food available for purchase will including the rich, traditional foods of Guatemala like  garnachas (similar to a Mexican ‘sope’), shucos (Guatemalan-style hot dogs), chicken pepian, enchiladas, and hilachas (stewed meat).

Footwear, pottery, jewelry, clothes, tablecloths, and traditional purses.  A health fair will provide health information from L.A. Care, Dignity Health, Molina Healthcare, Party Time Pediatric Dentist, Smile California Medi-cal Dental insurance, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and Los Angeles County Office of Immigrant Affairs among others.

Musical Talent will include:

Marimba Orquesta “Alegría Chapina ” https://youtu.be/TzJprOGwLWE

Raúl Acosta y Oro Solido https://youtu.be/evPr3yjGa_w

Dennis Arana – Ganador del cuarto lugar de la Academia TV Azteca (2020)   https://youtu.be/fzmoioEZiDU

Las Divas del Swing, https://youtu.be/9zPSBlQu_rw

Los Miseria Cumbia Band https://youtu.be/XkpuxmiTtTE

Ballet Folklórico del Inguat https://youtu.be/Z5DiZOJQCEs

Juanko de Guatemala

Cesar Alvarado y International Match

The Central American country of the Republic of Guatemala historically formed the core of the Maya civilization, one of the most highly developed societies in the history of the Americas and the world. After being subjugated by Spanish rule, Guatemala became an independent republic in 1821. A decades-long civil war that began in the 1950s provided the impetus for generations of Guatemalans to seek a better life abroad, often in states like Florida, Texas, and California.

Metro Los Angeles is home to one of the largest Guatemalan populations outside of Guatemala. 

Communities with substantial numbers of Guatemalans include the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hawthorne, Palmdale, Inglewood, Paramount and the unincorporated communities of Lennox and Val Verde.

Chapin Summer Festival Inc. is a non-profit organization based in California that’s committed to promoting the art and culture of Guatemala abroad. Its mission is to offer resources to educational institutions in Guatemala that help to promote the education, health and well-being for children from less-advantaged homes in the country.

For more information, please visit www.festivalchapin.com

Concern Foundation’s  Annual Block Party

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Concern Foundation’s  Annual Block Party

Photo credit: Chad Villaflores 

Concern Foundation will host its 48th Annual Block Party  themed  ‘The land before time: the extinction of cancer’ Saturday July 8 on the back lot of Paramount Studios in Hollywood. The event is expected to draw 4,000 guests to raise $2 million dollars for cancer research.

The evening will honor the Kallick Family with the Lifetime of Giving Award and salute Cedars Sinai Cancer for its groundbreaking work on cancer. 

Food and beverage stalls lining the famous studio streets include long standing Block Party mainstays like Vibrato Grill Jazz, The Grill on the Alley, Factor’s Famous Deli, A.O.C., Fogo de Chao, Someone’s In The Kitchen, Dulan’s Soul Food, Nobu Malibu, STK, Porta Via, Maria’s Italian Kitchen, H & H Brazilian Steakhouse, Milagro Tequila, Deutsch Family, and Pink’s Famous Hot Dogs.  Newcomers include Calajo Catering, Brique LA, The Breakfast Club, The Hideaway, Leona’s Sushi House, The Village and Firefly. 

Musical and interactive entertainment on multiple stages  include the Tom Nolan Band on the main stage, D’ City Sound & Events on the Yabba Dabba DJ Stage presented by the Hirsch Family Foundation and the Vibrato “Grotto” Grill Jazz stage.

Scattered over the venue, will be photo studios, lounges, casino style gaming, and beauty services by the Beauty Bus Foundation. 

Online silent and live auctions sponsored by Zacuto Group will feature items, packages and unique experiences that include  concert and event tickets, restaurants, staycations, and golf packages.

A staple for the last 17 years, The Best of LA 2023 on Los Angeles magazine’s street will feature lounges, photo booths, food stations, and DJ dancing. 

For more information about the Block Party, please visit: https://www.concernfoundation.org/block-party.html

Food Bowl Returns

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Food Bowl Returns

In May, the Los Angeles Times will present its fourth annual Food Bowl. The  month long festival will celebrate the city’s diverse food scene for 31 days of dining pop-ups, collaborations, panel discussions, and other food-inspired events across Los Angeles, with over a hundred events across Los Angeles that will include a mix of hometown favorites and international culinary talent.

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