Taking It All In: Masters of Taste 2018

The Masters of Taste event is top-notch – obtaining only the most sought after chefs, restaurants, sweet makers, mixologists, spirits and wineries – and it’s only their third year holding the event. My mouth waters in anticipation just writing this out…

The Invite

Walk the field of the Rose Bowl and enjoy unlimited samplings from some of L.A.’s most eclectic chefs and restaurants, wineries, craft breweries, mixologists and more! 2,500 influential food and beverage enthusiasts from all throughout the Greater Los Angeles area are expected to attend this exciting festival which will include spectacular offerings from over 50 Culinary Masters and restaurants, an array of signature sweets prepared by L.A.’s finest Sweet Masters, signature handcrafted cocktails and tastings from over 25 Beverage Masters which will include top cocktail bars, wineries, local craft breweries…

My Takeaways

It was a wee bit warm at the start of Masters of Taste, but soon clouds took over a good hour or so into it, and, as you will see from the photos I’ve shared, many people decided to take advantage of the weather and forgo the shaded tables just to lollygag on the grass – to eat, drink, socialize and even toss a football around!

This year the VIP end zones had chef and cocktail classes on one end as well as a Wolfgang Puck seated pop up wine-paired meal on the other. The four-course meal was absolutely inspired and fabulous, a real treat for VIP ticket holders.

Of course we drank and ate plenty, and had fun running into many friends including Liz and Bruce Pack, Joe Wehinger (for Daily Ovation), Adam Rubenstein (Viva LA Foodies), Danielle Salmon (Follow My Gut foodie blogger), Kevin Friend, Lee and Helen Williams (and their pack of helpers from Golden Star Vineyards), David Dinsmore (Ascension Cellars), Lawrence Moore (Lawrence Moore and Associates) and Anthony Duggan as well as making new friends on what proved to be a most memorable day.

Even with so many killer foods, drinks and desserts, the lines were more than manageable. This year they also challenged chefs to whip up something with Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Guests were given wooden chips to leave at the tables they wanted to cast a vote for. My fave was a chocolate Gelato with the Bourbon. (Come to find out the next day that they – Fatamorgana Gelato – won!)

We didn’t make it to every vendor, but of those we did make it to we enjoyed Fried Chicken n’ Beignets from Maple at Descanso Gardens, plant based “Lazy Sushi” at M Café, Dulce Vida Grapefruit Tequila, Deviled Turkey Salad Sandwich from Wax Paper, Mignon Chocolate Truffles, Crème Caramel, ZYR Russian Vodka, cocktails from The Raymond 1886, Chicken Pot Sticker from LiOrient, Spicy Baja Tuna Tostada from Pez Cantina, cocktails from Momed, Organic Tuscan Kale Salad from True Food Kitchen, a Salmon Belly Summer Roll from Garlic and Chives, Pad Thai Calamari from Bourbon Steak, Toasted Barley with Sugar Snap Peas (love this one!) from Derive, American Born Whisky, Carnitas Tacos from Mercado, cookies from Zooies, Burrata Stuffed Ravioli in a Red Beet Sauce from Celestino, Golden Star Vineyards, Wrath Wines, Hitching Post Wines and Ascension Cellars….

Culinary Vendors Include

Ardour Hospitality Chef Michael Hung (Los Angeles)

Alexander’s Steakhouse Chef Travis Flood (Pasadena)

Ayara Luk Chef Vanda Asapahu (Westchester)

Bacchus Kitchen & Eatery and Claude & Co. Chef Claud Beltran (Pasadena)

Bistro Mon Cheri Chef Kimmy Tang (Pasadena)

Bone Kettle and Komodo Chef Erwin Tjahyadi (Pasadena and Los Angeles)

Bourbon Steak Chef Kyle Johnson (Glendale)

Celestino Ristorante Chef Calogero Drago (Pasadena)

CHAYA Chef Joji Inoue (Downtown Los Angeles and Venice)

Church & State and Spring Chef Tony Esnault (Downtown Los Angeles)

Dérive Chef Shane Alvord (Pasadena)

Eat @ Rollin’ Joe’s Chef Mark Salazar (Los Angeles)

Fahrenheit LA Chef John McLellan (Los Aneles)

Garlic & Chives Chef Kristin Nguyen (Garden Grove)

Grill Em All Chef Ryan Harkins (Alhambra)

Gus’s Barbecue Chef Mike Stern (South Pasadena)

Jaffa Chef Anne Conness (Los Angeles)

Kato Chef Jonathan Yao (Los Angeles)

Li Orient Asian Bar & Restaurant and Triple 8 China Bar & Grill (Los Angeles)

Loquita Chef Peter Lee (Santa Barbara)

Lunasia Dim Sum House Chef Lee Hau Fu (Pasadena and Alhambra)

M Café Chef Atsushi Kenjo (Melrose and Beverly Hills)

Maestro Chef Elena Vega (Pasadena)

Maple at Descanso Gardens Chef Philip Mack (La Cañada Flintridge)

Mercado Chef Jose Acevedo (Hollywood, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Santa Monica)

Momed Chef Alex Sarkissian (Beverly Hills and Atwater Village)

Montrésor and The FLATS Chef Paul Shoemaker (Studio City and Beverly Hills)

Nerano Chef Michele Lisi (Beverly Hills)

Pez Cantina Chef Bret Thompson (Downtown, Los Angeles)

Poppy and Rose Chef Michael Reed (Los Angeles)

Prince of Venice Chef Alberto Bertoncin (Los Angeles)

Ramen Tatsunoya (Pasadena)

Redbird Chef Neal Fraser (Downtown Los Angeles)

Sweet Greek Chef Christina Xenos (Los Angeles)

The Bellwether Chef Ted Hopson (Studio City)

The Raymond 1886 Chef Tim Guiltinan (Pasadena)

True Food Kitchen Chef Sebastian Pfleging (Pasadena)

Wax Paper Chef Peter Lemos (Frogtown)

Wolfgang Puck Catering (Los Angeles)

World Empanadas Chef Matthew Hirtz (Burbank)

Sweet Masters

Butter Cake Shoppe, Chocolate Stars USA, Crème Caramel, Fatamorgana Gelato, Helados Pops, Mignon Chocolate, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Porto’s Bakery, Sidecar Doughnuts, The Dolly Llama, Zooies Cookies and others.

Brewmasters

Angel City Brewery, Brewyard Beer Company, Indie Brewing Company, Iron Triangle Brewing, Lincoln Beer Company, MacLeod Ale Brewing Co., Mt. Lowe Brewing Co., San Fernando Brewing Co. and State Brewing Co.

Wineries

Ascension Cellars, Cosentino Winery, Foris Winery & Vineyards, Golden Star Vineyards & Winery, Hitching Post Winery, Jax Vineyards, Kieu Hoang Winery, Lorimar Vineyards and Winery, Navarro Vineyards, Riboli Family Wines, Rutherford Ranch Winery, and Wrath Wines.

Bars

Ann-Marie Verdi of The Bellwether, Cameron Masden of 1886, Dan Garvin of Magnolia House, Devon Espinosa of Sunset & Vinyl, Feisser Stone of CHAYA Izakaya and world-class Barman Payman Bahmani.

Spirits

American Born Moonshine, Buzzbox, Dulce Vida Tequila, SelvaRey Rum, Smirnoff Spiked Sparking Seltzer, Woodford Reserve and ZYR Russian Vodka and many more.

Non-Alcoholic Bevvies

Bai, Boxed Water, Califia Farms, Dry Sparkling, Groundwork Coffee, Honeydrop Beverages, Humm Kombucha, Immordl, Nekter Juice Bar and Zico Coconut Water