Epicurean Angelenos recently took to the Sofitel Los Angeles Hotel to discover products made for chefs, sommeliers and mixologists. Organizers Bruno Laclotte of Hillside Wines and Kora Kroep of West Coast Event Productions presented the Los Angeles Epicurean Festival.
During the festival, the L.A. Epicurean Cup took place. Three groups were formed with one candidate per category. Each group was given a mystery basket and asked to perform
the following tasks:
· Sous-chef: Prepare a duck confit salad. The winner: Alexandre Derenne of Hotel Sofitel.
· Sommelier: Pair wine with the salad. The winner: Mark Sadr of BLT restaurant.
· Mixologist: Concoct an aperitif, a summer cocktail and a beverage to go with the dessert. Tricia Alley of Providence restaurant.
· Culinary student: Fabricate a tarte flambee (an Alsatian-style pizza). The winner: Matthew Dickson of Cordon Blue School of Culinary Arts.
· Pastry chef: prepare a dessert from Michel Richard’s cookbook “Sweet Magic.” The winner: Matthieu Chamussy, chef instructor for the Art Institute of California.
The judges for the festival, hosted by Valerie Laganiere and Laclotte, were Michel Richard, chef/owner of Citronelle and Central in Washington, D.C.; Josiah Citrin, chef/owner of Melisse in Santa Monica; food writer Sophie Gayot of GAYOT.com; Franck Savoy, director of restaurants of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; Michel Cornu, culinary director of Raymond Vineyards in Napa Valley; Mark Mendoza, head sommelier-wine director of David Myers group.
Food demonstrations were performed by Keizo Ishiba, chef/owner of K-Zo restaurant in Culver City and J.F. Meteigner, chef/owner of La Cachette Bistro in Santa Monica. Mixology classes were held and oenologists explained how to taste and recognize great wines and spirits. Attendees discovered more than 500 boutique products, including wines and spirits, cheeses, spices, coffee and teas, charcuterie, olive oils, mushrooms, organic chocolate, meat, fowl, fish and produce.