The Four Seasons Resort Orlando presented a media lunch by Executive Chef Fabrizio Schenardi and Capa Chef Gabriel Massip for Los Angeles press members at Culina in the Four Seasons Beverly Hills to introduce some of the highlights from their resort at Walt Disney World in Florida. ‘A Taste of Magic’ included select plates for a three-course tasting extravaganza.

Celebrate and be part of the fifth annual Masters of Taste, L.A.’s premier outdoor, luxury food and beverage festival taking place on Sunday, April 5th, 2020 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm on the field of the Iconic Pasadena Rose Bowl. Masters of Taste 2020 is introducing Chef Vanda Asapahu as Host Chef of Masters of Taste 2020 which also happens to mark the 5th Anniversary of this celebrated event

For a limited period only, there is a South City Fried Chicken Pop-up happening in downtown's Preux and Proper, which specializes in bringing southern cuisine to Los Angeles. If the regular menu available here wasn't enough enticement, the new pop-up will have you lining up. at a sneak peek for media, they revealed the new menu and some of the fun offerings. On the menu now are six types of fried chicken sandwiches, baby iceberg salads including a chicken bacon Cobb, sustainable seafood options such as Dungeness crab hushpuppies and cajun popcorn rock shrimp, southern snacks including fried chicken livers and jerked Colorado lamb ribs, fried chicken plates including chicken and waffles and crispy braised Dr. Pepper wings, sides such as braised collards and cajun fried pickles and finally sweets such as banana pudding' and strawberry shortcake. Just look at some of the plates below and make your way over now!

​The Lexus All-Star Chef Classic with BBVA hosted the Spanish Masters Dinner this year with Ellen Bennett acting as master of ceremony for the evening. The five course dinner was an extravagant affair with chefs and their teams preparing in real-time and the whole operation performed in front of the dinner audience, along with four large stadium screens airing the whole shebang from start to finish. Sort of dinner and a movie but at a whole other level. 

CURRENT: LA FOOD is a month-long arts initiative taking place throughout Los Angeles from Oct 5 - Nov 3. The 15 arts installations are in 15 neighborhoods throughout the city. The initiative allows visitors to interact with never-before-seen art experiences from a replica of an Iraqi palace as well as see live performances by the S.H.I.N.E. Mawusi Women’s African Drum Circle and participate in fermentation workshops, among other community-driven and celebratory food events. Here are a few of the highly anticipated sites!

The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles hosted an exclusive media preview for the annual Taste of Italy fundraiser. The cicchetti cena (Venetian small-plates style dinner) was held in Hermosa Beach at Sosta Cucina, helmed by Executive Chef Luca Manderino. The cozy evening was a culinary treat featuring some of chef’s highlights. If this is any indication then the Taste event is sure to be a blast! Check out the gallery for some of the dinner action...

Mobile Passport will celebrate World Tourism Day on September 27, 2019 by offering its app for $9.99. For each upgrade to the Mobile Passport Plus paid app, $5 of that $9.99 will then be donated to nonprofit Tourism Cares' disaster recovery fund to support Hurricane Dorian recovery efforts. This will apply to all new Mobile Passport Plus purchases on Friday, Sept. 27's flash sale. Read on for next steps!

The Kaua’i tourism board hosted a press luncheon at Palm Restaurant to update media on the latest happenings on the Garden Island. The afternoon featured a few speakers and presentations over the course of a casual supper enjoyed together and blessed by one of the staff members. Kaua’i is the northernmost island and the oldest of the islands. It is the fourth largest and has a human heart shaped appearance on the map. 

Volunteers can help improve public lands around the country for the 26th annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD) on Saturday, September 28. More than 100,000 volunteers are expected to join in trail maintenance projects, park and river clean ups, tree planting activities, invasive species removal projects, as well as hikes and other fun activities. Events are in 49 states in local parks, state parks, battlefield parks and many iconic national parks, including Grand Canyon, Everglades, Mt. Rainier, Grand Teton, Zion, Joshua Tree, Shenandoah, Rocky Mountain and Yosemite. The Yosemite event even involves rappelling to remove trash from the edges of El Capitan and Mount Watkins. The day is a fee-free day for all national parks as well as many state and local parks.

Las Vegas is known for its shows, some more famous than others, but it’s a known fact that if you are headed to the Strip then that’s a top priority. Over the years I have watched a few shows during my visits including the Blue Man Group, a few Cirque de Soleil shows and then some. So I was plenty thrilled to be invited to a media preview of a performance by Xavier Mortimer, previously with Cirque but now a Las Vegas Strip headlining magician!

The 8th Annual Sunset & Dine Festival celebrating Hollywood’s eclectic neighborhood, a popular hub for restaurants, historic theaters, retail shops and entertainment studios, is coming up. Under the stars of Tinseltown, savor the unique flavors from Hollywood’s best eateries, including Cleo, Delicious Pizza, Farm Fresh To You, My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream, 25 degrees, Urban Masala, Intelligentsia Coffee, Rubies and Diamonds, and Wood & Vine, among others and enjoy variety of entertainment curated by Amoeba Music.
 
Where: Columbia Square Parking Lot, 1538 N Centro Ave, Los Angeles CA
When: Thursday, September 26, 2019 from 6-9 p.m.
Ticket Price: $50 available for purchase here
 
Tickets are available now through September 26, 2019. General Admission tickets are $50 which include food, beverages and entertainment. Children under 12 can attend free of charge. Proceeds from the event will benefit The Center at Blessed Sacrament, a nonprofit dedicated to ending isolation and homelessness in Hollywood by offering evidence-based wellness programs, building community, and connecting people to housing. See you there! 

Enter the “'One Dish, One Story' Presented by BBVA” contest for a chance to win a trip to Spain to shadow the legendary Roca Brothers at their world-renowned restaurant - El Celler de Can Roca - and 2 tickets to the sold out BBVA Spanish Masters Dinner on October 3 at L.A. LIVE. Chefs who have confirmed attendance and will be cooking at the exclusive event include Jamie Bissonnette, Seamus Mullen, Holly Jivinand Culinary Emcee Ellen Bennet.

Chef Pano Karatassos of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group based in Atlanta, Georgia was in Los Angeles for his new cookbook, Modern Greek Cooking: 100 Recipes for Meze, Main Dishes, and Desserts, fresh from his win on Beating Bobby Flay on The Food Network. He also launched a new line of products that he sourced from Greece – olive oil, feta, olives and greek honey. They all have a story and he personally traveled to each city in Greece to source the products. He held a private dinner on the occasion at Otium in Los Angeles.

My introduction to Autry happened almost more than a year or two ago I believe when I first attended a press event there and made a mental note to return but never did until yesterday. Unfortunately they didn’t have free entry on Tuesdays anymore as mentioned on their website but luckily the fee was only $14 so I didn’t have to turn back after having driven over to spend the day there. This isn’t a very large space to cover in a day but if your interested are in western history then you might spend a lot of time in just that area. Thankfully that’s their permanent exhibit so you can back often if you live in the vicinity. 

Located conveniently across the street when you get off at Little Tokyo station on the Gold Line, this museum’s permanent exhibit offers a much-needed introduction to the role of the Japanese community in the US. While this occupies prime square footage, there are other visiting or rotating exhibits as well. The museum is open to the public all week long but offers free entry every Thursday 5pm-8pm and full day free entry on the third Thursday of the moment. They do have a donation box out to pay what you can/want at the entrance. 

It all began as a roadside berry stand and Chicken Dinner Restaurant in the 1920s that has now evolved into one of Southern California’s most popular theme park destinations, attracting millions of visitors each year - Knott's Berry Farm. Four themed areas are filled with rides, shows, and attractions here with truly something for everyone. There’s also the Knott’s Soak City Water Park theme park which is perfect for summers. And guess what? 

Beach destinations are always a great option to enjoy some much-needed rejuvenation and relaxation so with the Memorial Day long weekend coming up soon (and July 4thlong weekend following not too far away), here are a few getaways to plan for if sandy shores and ocean blues are calling your name. Although I admit, you might want to spend much longer than the weekend at some/all of these spots!

Sparkling wine tasting was the agenda for the day as producers participated in this premier American showcase for the very finest in champagne and sparkling wines. While distinguished producers poured bubbly for guests. Chef Nancy Silverton and team prepared bites for the brunch portion of the event. Some of my favorites included Acinum Prosecco NV, Boschendal Wine Estate’s Brut Rose, Colmant Cap Classique’s Brut Reserve, Hakkaisan Sake Brewery’s clear and sparkling sake, Ken Forrester Wines’ sparklehorse, M. Bonnamy’s Rose, Pisoni’s Trentoc 2013, DSimonsig Wine Estate’s Brut and Tenuta Pederzana’s Lambrausco Gibe 2017.   

Dine GPS, the Greater Palm Springs Restaurant event of the year, is coming up end of this month and you need to be well versed with the area and what’s in store to make the most of your time when there. Of course, dining is going to be the highlight of your visit if you head over during the festival but there’s so much more within the different cities that make up the GPS area, which consists of Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs, Palms Springs, Palm Desert, La Quinta and Indian Wells, Indio, and Rancho Mirage. I learned more about their plans for this year’s edition at a sneak peek press preview organized in Los Angeles, where we recreated some of the menu items from this year's many offerings. GPS is just a few hours drive away from L.A and a quick/easy weekend getaway if you’d like to head out on a whim. It is also a great additional road trip if you are visiting the city of angels. Here are a few more ways to enjoy the ten days of the event...

The Los Angeles Times Food Bowl in association with Japan House Los Angeles presented Satoyama Photography Exhibition at Union Station highlighting Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa’s dedication to all things natural. Narisawa is considered to be among the best restaurants in the world, and one look at Satoyama Scenery will give you an idea why! While invited guests were privy to a guided tour of the Satoyama Exhibition with Narisawa at Union Station, a few others were lucky to lunch with chef at a ticketed event in Orsa & Winston, which also featured a Q&A with local food critic Jonathan Gold. Also in attendance was Brazilian photographer Sergio Coimbra who brought the photography collaboration to life.

For Angelenos or those visiting the city of angels, celebrating mom with a special meal should be a no brainer given all the fantastic eateries and other dining options available here within minutes of any popular area. Make reservations at one of these venues to enjoy a fun day out with mom on May 12, just a few days away. The specials are certainly worth the visit and the food is definitely served to impress. Enjoy, and let us know in the comments where you celebrated!

Effervescence, America’s leading epicurean event centered solely around Champagne and sparkling wines is back in Los Angeles May 3-5, 2019. A great way to celebrate the first weekend in May and Cinco de Mayo as well. The three-day festival kicks off May 3rd with a once-in-a-lifetime dinner hosted by Krug and festivities pour into the weekend with the Grand Champagne Tasting featuring top Champagne producers, and master classes taught by leading experts. An exclusive Gala Dinner at Jar will be hosted by California’s leading female celebrity chefs: Suzanne Tracht, Nancy Silverton, Dominique Crenn and Dahlia Narvaez. To top it off, Nancy Silverton will host the More Bubbles brunch featuring sparkling wines from around the world for collectors, winemakers, and enthusiasts.

According to the National Recreation and Park Association, 55 percent of Americans choose picnics and al fresco dining as their favorite summertime outdoor activity, followed by 40 percent who enjoy going to the beach. I think I am in both categories – come spring and summer, I love heading to the beach for a weekend bike ride and then a picnic brunch. Not surprising then that Santa Monica’s ocean-facing Shore Hotel has a new Spring Picnic At The Shore package so you can do both! 

The second edition of this event series included a stop in Los Angeles, bringing together women in hospitality for a full day of sessions, panels, workshops, Q&A and networking. Topics included latest trends, success stories, branding, finances and more. Author Cyndie Spiegel opened the event while Chef Missy Robbins was the closing conversation. Here are a few scenes from the day!