Showing posts with label national kidney foundation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label national kidney foundation. Show all posts

Monday, November 10, 2008

Great Chefs of LA. Great Food, Great Fun.

This year's Annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles was held in the CBS Studio Center. Tents were set up outdoors among the bungalows of the studio. It was such a nice day to walk around outdoors sampling food while gawking over the chefs like celebrities (I wasn't the only one, I swear!)

Food and drinks were everywhere. Andrew's Cheese Shop was offering five different cheeses with bread and quince paste.
andrewscheese

As far as drinks go, besides the numerous wineries, Sauza offered up margaritas, Courvoisier Cognac and Starbucks liqueurs, and Absolut LA was also there.
Non-alcoholic offerings from Izze sodas, Steaz for organic tea, water from Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, and POM pomegranate juice were also available. Dehydration was definitely not a problem here :)

Among the tastings there were (clockwise) cochinita pibil from Ciudad Catering, Ahi tuna (which will later be topped with caviar!) from Mark Kearney Group, a caramel apple with white chocolate from Melissa's World Variety Produce, kabocha squash agnolotti from BLVD 16.
foods1

Josie was also there serving some amazing gruyere quiche!

For La Terza, Chef Gino Angelini brought over his slicer and served up some prosciutto and salami parmiggiano!
Angelini

The Dragos were also there. Yes, all four of them, and many of their different restaurants have their own booth. I think they probably took up half of the booths ;)
Dragos
The Drago restaurant served wild boar with soft polenta and fig sauce (left). It was a bit cold already but we loved the combination! If only it was a bit warmer it might've been our favorite of the day. Another of the Drago restaurants (Tanino?) served smoked scallops with pomegratanes.

Other highlights from the events are the Pork Belly from Animal (the Two Dudes were there serving) and pork rib grilled cheese sandwich from 8 oz.
foods2
Both were delicious! The 8 oz sandwich is definitely going to bring me there for a real visit!

8 oz also had their bartender, Ryan, there, serving up some Pomegranate Sidecar and Orange Ginger cocktail! Strong and yummy.

Neal Fraser was there manning his booth for Grace and giving out dungeness crab salad with shiso on these cute little plastic spoons.
grace
I got seconds, and also got a picture with Neal (to distract him from me grabbing a second spoon!)

Fraiche had an amazing chocolate dessert that the girl there didn't really tell us the name of - but it was great and despite my bad first experience there during a company dinner, I may now give it a second try.

Indulging in food and drinks aside, let's not forget that this event is a fundraiser for the National Kidney Foundation of SoCal. The restaurants and sponsors not only have donated the food and drinks, they also donated some great items for both the silent and live auction!

I bid on the dinner for 4 at Grace and BLD but, alas, did not win :(
I also debated on a basket of Sauza, Plymouth, Cruzan rum, and Courvoiser but then wasn't sure if that was such a good idea after all :P At least not for my liver. And brain.

Some highlights of the live auction: A dinner for 20 cooked by chef Gino Angelini went for $5000. To top it off, a lady who originally lost this auction asked if he would do a second one for $5000 too! Gino said yes, and there you have it. Two dinners for 20 at your home for $5000 each! Go NKFSC!
4 people will get to spend 8 hours in the kitchen of Animal with Jon and Vinny, ending with a dinner and "all the wine you care to drink" (in the TwoDudes' own words) went for $1250.
A day with Chef Govind Armstrong from picking the produce all the way to dinner at Table 8 went for $1750.

One of these days I'll start making real money and can actually bid on these things ... Til then I will offer my small support on the silent auction items! Oh, and eat all the good food.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Great Chefs of LA Go Green

Here's another upcoming event to keep in mind! It's certainly one that I would looo~ve to go to! With chefs from Grace, Josie, and Animal, this is bound to be an event your tastebuds would remember.

Tickets ain't cheap at $150, but it does benefit the National Kidney Foundation of So Cal. AND it also promotes eco-friendly products and organic foodstuffs. Good causes indeed!

Here are some facts from the Press Release:

WHAT:
The 22nd Annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles brings together the city's most celebrated chefs, tastemakers and vintners for an afternoon of great food, wine, music and auctions to benefit the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California. This year’s "Go Green, Go Organic" theme promotes eco-friendly and recyclable products as well as conscious living and sustainability, and emphasizes organic foodstuffs throughout the event.

WHO:
Honorary Chairs and George and Ann Lopez host the afternoon’s festivities. Host Chef Govind Armstrong of 8 oz. and Table 8 and Chef of Honor Gino Angelini of Angelini Osteria and La Terza lead a stellar lineup of top toques from around town, with entertainment provided by DJ Mike Palmieri.

Featured chefs and tastemakers include:
• Tim Goodell, 25 Degrees
• Andrew Steiner, Andrew’s Cheese Shop
• Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo, Animal
• Simon Dolinky, Blvd 16 at Hotel Palomar
• Raymond Alvarez, Border Grill
• Calogero Drago, Celestino Ristorante & Panzanella
• Celestino Drago, Enoteca Drago, Il Pastaio & Drago Ristorante
• Jason Travi, Fraiche
• Neal Fraser, Grace
• Manuel D. Medina, West at Hotel Angeleno
• Josie Le Balch, Josie Restaurant
• Frank Leon, La Loggia Ristorante
• Tom Fraker, Melissa's Produce
• Henri Abergel, Mistral
• Joachim Weritz, Moonshadows
• Alberto Morello, Olio e Limone
• Giacomino Drago, Piccolo Paradiso & Il Pastaio
• Ann Hickey, Plush Puff Gourmet Marshmallows
• Joni Fay Hill & Denise Daclan, Saltistry
• Tanino Drago, Tanino Ristorante & Panzanella
• Brian Moyers, The Blvd at Beverly Wilshire
• Nicola Mastronardi, Vicenti Ristorante

Wines will be provided by:
• August Ridge
• Banfi Vintners
• Bernardus Winery
• Buttonwood Farm Winery
• Chalone Vineyard
• Cobblestone Vineyards
• Duckhorn Vineyards
• FIFTYROW
• Frank Family Vineyards
• Frog's Leap Winery Goldeneye
• Grgich Hills Estate
• Jaffe Estate Wine
• Laetitia Vineyard and Winery
• L'Aventure
• Vintage Point
• Paraduxx

WHEN:
Sunday, November 9, 2008
12 to 3:30 p.m.

WHERE:
CBS Studio Center
4024 Radford Dr.
Studio City, CA 91604

TICKETS:
$150 per person
To purchase, visit www.kidneysocal.org.

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