The Los Angeles food festival landscape demonstrates considerable shakeup from year to year, so every new incarnation offers format changes and surprises. This year, the Los Angeles Times went solo (following a former partnership with Food & Wine magazine) for its Labor Day festival, the Taste, which took to the Studios at Paramount in Hollywood and comprised five food and drink events over three hot days in town.
Rather than hosting a sprawl of events all over the city like last year, this year the Times set up five events at Paramount meant to underscore Southern California's culinary scene. Each offered unlimited tastings from notable local restaurants and chefs, as well as cooking and mixology demonstrations, wine seminars, and panel discussions.
A portion of ticket sales benefited Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona and the Los Angeles Times Family Fund’s Summer Camp Campaign.
Here's a look inside the holiday weekend's events.