Tailgating, fall and football have arrived, giving lots of folks a reason to get in one last summer food fling.
Los Angeles Food & Wine CEO and cofounder David Bernahl joined local celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis to toast a famed lineup including Michael Chiarello, Scott Conant, Duff Goldman, Georgia Hardstark, Thomas Keller and many more.
There were famous faces in the crowd, such as Anthony Anderson, Erin Andrews, Neil Patrick Harris and Ali Larter, among others.
There was also lots of music to delight the crowd, including a performance by Josh Guerrero of the LA Opera and special guest DJ ?uestlove.
The four-day eating extravaganza kicked off with Giada and her “Festa Italia” offering up the tastiest bites around. Superstars of the entertainment and culinary world mingled on the red carpet before digging in.
There was fine fare from 25 chefs as well as a sampling of great grapes from 200 international wineries.
And what would a food fair be without a little something sweet? That’s why Duff Goldman surprised Giada on stage with a custom cake, in celebration of her birthday, followed by a serenade from the LAO’s Josh Guerrero.
The epicurean adventure salutes the best of the best, and has featured everyone from Food Network mega stars like Giada, Guy Fieri and Tyler Florence, as well as top tastemakers like Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz and Daniel Boulud, and local favorites like David Lefevre, Michael Voltaggio and Nobu Matsuhisa. The gourmet graze-a-thon has been off to a delicious start, giving food fans a chance to sample first-class cuisine from around the world. What’s more, it’s all delivered by the best of the best. Yummy!
Getting in the Spirit
Across town the American Cancer Society held its XXIX California Spirit Awards with another sensational celebration of food and wine. Foodies flocked to the Pacific Design Center to help the ACS celebrate 100 years of caring, research and support.
Every year Barbara Lazaroff and Sherry Lansing put out a spectacular spread. The event featured top tastes from chefs at Angelini Osteria, Cut, The Foundry on Melrose, the Hotel Bel-Air, Matsushisa, Osteria Mozza, Red O, Spago Beverly Hills and many more.
This year’s festivities honored John Shaffner and Joe Stewart, as well as top docs Philomena McAndrew and Soloman Hamburg. No matter where you went it was an adventure in fun and fine dining and all for a good cause.