Foodies Gather at The Met for The Taste Costa Mesa - A Festival Elevating Your Palate
Alejandro Girron, left, Jonathan Schoeman, Alexa Girron and Teresa Girron sample the food and drinks during the second night of the L.A. Times' The Taste OC on Saturday. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times)
Foodies galore took to The Met, along with a huge appetite, to try samples from over 50 of Southern California's best chefs at The Taste Costa Mesa!
Deriving from the original LA Times The Taste, which takes place on the backlot of Paramount Studios, the food festival truly heightens your level of senses while challenging your palate. In addition to the unlimited tastings, this particular festival curated demos, talks, pop-ups, collaborations and pairings from chefs and restaurants you won’t be able to get anywhere else! It's a weekend of, 'YES!'
The festival paid homage to the life of the late Jonathan Gold, one of LA Times' top food reviewers. It was truly a beautiful experience celebrating one of the most well-deserved Pulitzer prized winning individuals who placed Los Angeles' cornucopia of diversity in culinary in the spotlight.
Needless to say, foodies worldwide will continue to honor his legacy and this festival was a nice start!
Filomena's Italian Kitchen and Market owner and chef Linda Johnsen prepares a Champagne chicken over white-wine risotto during her live demo. Photo Credit: Silvia Razgova / For The Times
Participating chefs over the weekend included: Descanso Restaurant, Tabu Shabu, Clay Oven, Grasslands, Portola Coffee Roasters, Billy's at the Beach, Habana, L.A. Brisket, and more! Hop Phan (Dos Chinos), Linda Johnson (Filomena's Italian Kitchen), Geeta Bansal (Clay Oven), Carlos Salgado (Taco Maria), Claudia Gonzalez (Chunk-N-Chip), all participated in live demonstrations!
Los Angeles Times The Taste has partnered with organizations to help raise awareness about hunger, food waste and sustainability, while doing what we can to make a difference. This year monetary contributions (Second Harvest Food Bank) are being made in addition to working with restaurants and attendees to compost as much waste as possible, rather than sending it to a landfill (Zero Waste Co).
The three-day instagrammable food feast brought enough flavors tonight to satisfy all of your senses. Newly expanded to the OC's culinary mecca, The Taste Costa Mesa is here to stay!