The Taste at sunset. Photo by Emily Rifkin.

A four-day gastronomic extravaganza provided guests with unlimited tastings from Los Angeles’ top restaurants and the opportunity to mingle with celebrity chefs such as Giada DeLaurentiis and Duff Goldman.  

Nine different events took place in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and Downtown L.A. in order to make room for the large appetite of hundreds of the city’s gourmands.  Everyone, foodies and chefs alike, came together to speak the same language: food.

The relaxed atmosphere at The Taste was indicative of the casual mindset of the Los Angeles food scene. The event’s attendees strolled from stand to stand, letting sauces drip down their chins and stick to their fingers.  

Long lines formed for some of the more popular bites, but spirits were not dampened as guests happily chatted away over a glass of wine.  At a panel titled “Food City: The New Language of L.A.,” Sang Yoon, executive chef of Father’s Office and Lukshon, discussed Los Angeles’ approach to dining.  

“L.A. is all about casual.  We want to eat the way we live,” Yoon said on Sunday afternoon.  “I saw restaurants open with more communal tables, louder, tighter, less fussy fine dining restaurants.  I saw the white table cloth disappear.  I saw a lot chefs let down their hair and want to cook in more casual environments.”

The festival also demonstrated the tremendous variety of cuisines found in Los Angeles. Some events focused on certain types of food, such as burgers or tacos, while others provided a smorgasbord of dishes from different cultures. Gnocchi, flatbreads, pierogies, and tamales were all offered, proving Jet Tila’s point that “L.A. is the ultimate melting pot.”  

Tila, the chef and owner of Wazuzu in Las Vegas, commented on the advanced palates of those in Los Angeles, “We are way ahead…If you go to Kansas, they’re still in Chow Mein-ville.  And they might be getting into Pad Thai-ville, but we’re in Khao Soi-ville.”

Los Angeles is also one of the more progressive food cities for the way its chefs blend different types of cuisine.  Lukshon, located in Culver City, is Yoon’s take on Chinese food with influences from his surrogate Jewish grandmother.  (How else can one explain the presence of matzoh ball soup on the menu?)  

While this has traditionally been known as fusion, Tila has encouraged us to find another term for it.

“We need to coin a new phrase for this food that is L.A," he said. 

Roy Choi, famous for grandfathering the food truck scene with his Kogi truck, offers his suggestion, “Just call it comida.  That’s it.  Let everyone else catch up and figure it out.”

If food is a language, then The Taste was successful in bringing together people who speak it fluently.

“Food is a great connector,” said Yoon.  “It doesn’t matter what actual language you speak.  I’ve always learned about cultures by traveling, eating in places.”  

The Taste allowed people to explore the food of Los Angeles, which in turn, gave people access to food from around the world.  It was a celebration of culture, community, and the constant growth of the Los Angeles food scene.

Contact Cara Rifkin here.