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****POSTPONED TO OCTOBER 19, 2020 DUE TO CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS****
Deets: On March 30, 2020, LA Chef Conference returns to Los Angeles with a full day of programming featuring some of the culinary industry’s most prominent names engaging in topical panel discussions, cooking demonstrations, unprecedented pop-ups from sought-after restaurant concepts and chefs, and a big after party—all included in the price of admission ($190). LA Chef Conference is a production of Brad Metzger Restaurant Solutions—a Southern California-based hospitality recruitment and placement firm—in partnership with the James Beard Foundation and Food & Wine magazine. The unparalleled gathering is intended to be a forum for the best and brightest minds in the restaurant industry to connect as a community, convene on timely topics, share important industry knowledge and glean inspiration from one another, and revel in Los Angeles’ trendsetting restaurant scene.
The event’s esteemed panelists and moderators include three-Michelin-starred chefs David Kinch of Manresa and Chris Kostow of The Restaurant at Meadowood; James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur of Providence, Michael Cimarusti; acclaimed pastry chef, cookbook author, and TV personality, Sherry Yard; preeminent culinary pioneer of Los Angeles’ burgeoning cannabis dining scene, Andrea Drummer; legendary luminary on American cuisine and restaurateur Charlie Palmer; Food & Wine’s West Coast correspondent, Andy Wang; Time Out LA dining critic, Simon Majumdar; Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” winner and celebrated chef/owner of Nightshade, Mei Lin; iconic frontman of LA’s fine dining scene and prolific Michelin-starred restaurateur, Josiah Citrin; legacied restaurateur of one of LA’s most beloved Oaxacan restaurants, Guelaguetza, Bricia Lopez; chef of the buzzy Venice concept Yours Truly, Vartan Abgaryan; champion of Mexican food and chef of some of the world’s best restarants including Pujol and Cosme, Enrique Olvera; beloved Thai chef and restaurateur, Jet Tila;and many more.
This year’s unparalleled programming includes:
· Panels – Spanning industry-affecting topics including “Stirring the Pot” (the Infusion of Cannabis into LA’s Dining Scene); “What’s at Steak” (seafood, meat, and the rise of the plant-based alternatives); “Six Figure Sous Chef” (crisis in the labor market); “When Dinner is the Show” (food as performance art); and many more
· Documentary Screening – Showcasing three-Michelin-starred Manresa chef David Kinch’s new documentary, “A Chef’s Voyage,” which documents his team as they travel to France for four-hand dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants and celebrate Manresa’s 15thanniversary, followed by a panel featuring David Kinch himself along with Manresa General manager Jenny Yun and Head Pastry ChefCourtney Weyl, and moderated by Sherry Yard
· Cooking Demonstrations – Taking place at The Gourmandise School and featuring Wes Avila with Aussie Lamb; Travis Swikard, the acclaimed Chef/Owner of Callie; FOX’s “Hell’s Kitchen” winner Ariel Fox with Certified Angus Beef; Tuan Lee alongside cocktail luminary Hope Ewing, with Vervet Cocktails; and beyond
· Breakfast and Lunch (included in ticket price) – Featuring the LA Chef Con Meat Fest, with Burt Bakman of SLAB and Trudy’s Underground BBQ, Charcoal Venice Chef de Cuisine Joe Johnson, and Benjamin Udave; Santa Monica Seafood breaking down a whole 6-8-foot swordfish during registration, which Majordomo Executive Chef Jude Parra-Sickels will include in his lunch dish; coveted culinary concepts Gus’s Fried Chicken; Traci Des Jardins popping up with Impossible Burger; Salt & Straw Ice Cream with an LA Chef Conference flavor sneak peak; Pitfire Pizza; breakfast by Bakers Kneaded Pastries; and more
· After Party (included in ticket price) – hosted by Brad Metzger Restaurant Solutions and Callebaut Chocolate and featuring top pastry chefs Valerie Gordon, Sally Camacho, Gemma Matsuyama of n/naka, and many more; a highly coveted pop-up from Tacos 1986; FUKU with an original fried chicken slider available only at the LA Chef Conference After Party; an expansive raw bar curated by Santa Monica Seafood; bites by Superba and burgers from The Window; and beyond, with special guest DJ Wes Avila of Guerrilla Tacos
Also new and noteworthy this year is the debut of the LA Chef Conference James Beard Foundation Culinary Scholarship. 15% of ticket sales from the event will fund the scholarship which will support an LA-area C-CAP (Careers Through Culinary Arts) student to pursue their culinary education.
LA Chef Conference events are held at ArcLight Cinema and The Gourmandise School, situated on the third floor of Santa Monica Place in Santa Monica, CA. The day-long event commences at 9 a.m. with registration, coffee, and pastries, as well as the breaking down of the swordfish, and wraps at 5 p.m., followed by an after party from 5-9 p.m. at 1212, an expansive restaurant space on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. Tickets are priced at $190 per person and include access to panel discussions; cooking demos; meals including breakfast, lunch, and after party; as well as the documentary screening.
Who You May Spot: David Kinch, Chris Kostow, Michael Cimarusti, Sherry Yard, Andrea Drummer, Charlie Palmer, Andy Wang, Simon Majumdar, Mei Lin, Josiah Citrin, Bricia Lopez, Vartan Abgaryan, Enrique Olvera, Jet Tila
Hint For The Average Socialite: UPDATE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS
Tickets to LA Chef Conference 2020 will be available atwww.lachefconference.com.
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