Food, Wine & Hospitality Industry Events Southern California 2019

Coastal Luxury Management owns and produces the culinary festival, presenting it with founding partners Food & Wine and Lexus. Last year’s eighth-annual event, which spanned various venues from Santa Monica to Downtown L.A., drew roughly 18,000 people. Programming included a new “power lunch” series featuring chef collaborations at Viviane, Rossoblu, and more, plus culinary demonstrations and other events with the likes of Curtis Stone, Susan Feniger, Mary Sue Milliken, and more. Next: August 2019

The newspaper’s nine-year-old Labor Day festival, held annually at the Paramount Pictures Studios backlot, draws about 8,000 people over three days. Highlights in 2018 included an exploration of L.A.’s pop-up and underground restaurants and a tribute to the beloved late food critic Jonathan Gold. Proceeds benefit the Collins College of Hospitality and the L.A. Regional Food Bank. In October, the Los Angeles Times hosted the inaugural Orange County edition of the Taste in Costa Mesa. Next: August 30-September 1, 2019

Billed as one of the biggest food and wine festivals in the nation, the weeklong event focuses on sustainable seafood, fermentation, and the gastronomy of San Diego’s bordering Baja region. The festival highlights 60 local chefs and draws upward of 10,000 guests; it’s the only culinary festival with an accompanying multiday educational conference, the beverage trade-focused SommCon. For its 15th anniversary event in 2018, organizers honored Graham Elliot and other local and national celebrity chefs. Next: November 10-17, 2019

The three-day event draws more than 9,000 restaurant and foodservice professionals and 430 vendors for education and exhibits covering menu trends, design, and decor. The 83-year-old event, which is owned by Clarion UX and sponsored by the California Restaurant Association, takes over the Los Angeles Convention Center each summer. New for 2018 (and continuing in 2019), the event was co-located with the Healthy Food Expo West and Coffee Fest; one badge provides access to all three events. Next: August 25-27, 2019

Up from #6
In 2018, the All-Star Chef Classic drew award-winning chefs including José Andrés, Nyesha Arrington, Chris Bianco, and Alon Shaya. The signature facet of the six-year-old event is intimacy and access, with each event as part of the program allowing guests to get up close and personal with the chefs; the Chefs Tasting Arena and Restaurant Stadium venue has stadium seating, lights, cameras, and LED screens, giving fans clear sight lines throughout the space. The 2019 event will expand its footprint further into the L.A. Live campus, allowing for what organizers call a “refreshed attendee experience.” Next: October 2-5, 2019

The 40th edition of Planned Parenthood’s annual culinary event, held in March in Santa Monica, raised $1.3 million. Roughly 2,300 guests came for food and drink samples from more than 150 Southern California restaurants, caterers, and spirits providers; the event honored chef Helene An. Food Fare began in 1979 with a cooking demonstration by Julia Child. Next: March 2020

Top chefs and mixologists donate their time and talents to the event at Media Park in Culver City aimed at ending childhood hunger in America. Attendees come for samples from more than 50 restaurants, breweries, wineries, and mixologists with host chef Bruce Kalman. The 30th-anniversary event, held earlier this month, included a lounge from sponsor Citi, kid-friendly activities, and a special tasting from chef Chris Bianco. Since 1988, Taste of the Nation has raised over $100 million to support hunger relief efforts. Next: May 2020

New to the list
The Taste isn’t the L.A. Times’ only high-profile food event: The third edition of Food Bowl, which is taking place now through the end of May, blankets the city with almost 200 dinners, parties, tours, and pop-ups, plus a five-day night market in Grand Park. The latest iteration’s opening-night event, Mesamérica L.A., was the first incarnation of chef Enrique Olvera’s popular symposium to be held outside of Mexico. Sponsored by Citi, the 31-day event’s charitable partners are the L.A. Regional Food Bank, Food Forward, and Midnight Mission. Next: May 2020

More than 2,500 people, including 100 chefs and mixologists, attended the event in 2018. The annual cookout raised a record-breaking $1.5 million for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which supports childhood cancer research; live and silent auctions alone raised more than $650,000. The event takes place annually at Royce Quad at U.C.L.A. Next: September 14, 2019

The 24th edition of the U.C.L.A. Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation’s signature event took over the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in April with wine tastings, food, entertainment, and a live auction. Lionsgate Television Group president Sandra Stern was honored, while OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder performed and journalist Soledad O'Brien hosted. The event, which had a “Culinary Journey Through Asia” theme curated by chef Helene An, raised money for highest-priority cancer research at the university. Next: April 2020

The 30-year-old wine event and tasting dinner benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; in 2018, it drew 1,400 attendees and raised $1.74 million. Ranked as one of Wine Spectator’s top 10 U.S. charity wine auctions, the event takes over the Midwest Street backlot at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank. About 50 international chefs and 75 California wineries participate in the event, which has raised about $30 million in support of the mission of the foundation. Next: May 18, 2019