5 Chefs Dish on Why The Taste of LA is Simply the Best

Photo Credit: Courtesy photo

Over the last twenty years, Los Angeles has become a go-to destination for haute cuisine, which is why so many restauranteurs and celebrity chefs have chosen to open their eateries in the City of Angels. But what is it about L.A. that makes the city simply the best? Five celebrity chefs participating in The Taste—The Los Angeles Times’ annual weekend-long celebration of the Southern California culinary scene that takes place over Labor Day weekend with five distinct events that honor the unique flavors, restaurants and esteemed culinary personalities in Los Angeles and beyond which features unlimited food tastings and pours from wine, beer and spirits purveyors, and a selection of engaging cooking and mixology demos, wine seminars and dynamic panel discussions—weigh in on why Los Angeles’ foodie scene is simply the best.

Ted Hopson,The Bellwether:  “I have traveled to many major US food cities, and never have I seen such a diverse food scene as LA.  The best sichuan, tacos, korean, burgers, etc.. all right here.  Literally no other city can boast this.  Put all this diversity together with our proximity to the best produce in the nation, and you have one amazing event with The Taste.  It’s one of the reasons that Ann-Marie and I are so excited to be there again this year with The Bellwether.”

Brian Malarkey, Herringbone Santa Monica & Ivory on Sunset: “All eyes are on LA’s food scene right now. You really feel a sense of fearlessness amongst chefs here when it comes to experimenting with new dishes, ingredients, and techniques. I can’t think of an event in LA that better captures the city’s unbridled culinary creativity as well as The Taste.”

Mary Sue Milliken, Border Grill: “Los Angeles has always been an amazing food city- as evidenced by decades of Jonathon Gold’s mouth-watering reviews – and it’s continuing to explode with flavor. The city sits adjacent to farms where the best produce, meat and fish on the planet grow, and because it’s still affordable and attracting young creative souls- it makes sense that it would be regarded as our country’s food mecca right now.”

Michael Voltaggio (ink. and ink.sack): “LA was the first to offer fine dining where the tables are without cloths, the music is louder, the sleeves rolled up, yet there’s still an expectation that the food, beverage and service are executed at a very high level. The Taste offers all of that over the course of one weekend.”

Kevin Meehan, Kali “Having cooked in LA for over 15 years, there’s no doubt we’re in one of the most exciting culinary times here – not just for restaurants, but food in general. Whether it’s a street taco or sit-down meal, chefs here just keep upping the ante, and it’s been exciting to see how the rest of the country is taking note. Events like The Taste remind us just how diverse and creative the food community here is, and how lucky we are to live in one of best food cities in the world right now.”

The Taste takes place at Paramount Picture Studios from Sept. 2-4. For a detailed description of each event, visit events.latimes.com/taste/schedule. Tickets are available at events.latimes.com/taste/tickets