A cool event where you can see—and taste the talents of—celebrity chefs and the latest foodie trends kicks off March 7 in downtown Los Angeles. The annual All-Star Chef Classic (March 7–10), held across the Staples Center at L.A. Live, features a lineup of 49 big-name chefs, including Jose Andres, Ludo Lefebvre (of LudoBird and Trois Mec), Duff Goldman, and San Francisco’s Michael Mina.
The four-day event is comprised of Masters Dinners as well as Strolling Events, where you can nosh on upwards of 20 small bites while enjoying adult beverages and watching cooking demos. No doubt, dinners tend to sell out ahead of time, though there are easy-to-get-on waiting lists.
The good news: Staff at the event say that there are still some regular slots left for the Vegetable Masters Dinner (paired with cocktail and sparkling wines), featuring Southern California chefs Michael Voltaggio, Josef Centeno, and Richard Blais.
You can also still go to the strolling-style Middle East Feast, featuring Mina as well as Long Beach native Jessica Koslow, chef of acclaimed Silver Lake breakfast spot Sqirl. “This year’s new tasting event,” say the folks at the All-Star Chef Classic, “will feature the culinary world’s emerging and established names of Middle Eastern cooking—alongside some of LA’s best chefs—dishing up their takes of this delicious and revitalized cuisine.” And we agree: As we recently noted from an L.A. Times article, Middle Eastern cuisine is one of the top food trends of 2018.
