Third Annual LA Food And Wine Festival Comes To Downtown

Over 120 chefs and 200 wineries will converge beginning August 22 for four days and nights for the third annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival taking place along Grand Avenue, in Santa Monica and in Beverly Hills.  Tastings, seminars, cooking demos and live music are all part of the city's largest epicurean gathering.
 
The festivities kick off with Giada's Festa Italiana (Thursday, August 22, 2013; 7-10PM; $195 GA/$250 VIP). Hosted by the Food Network star along the cultural hub of LA on Downtown's Grand Ave., guests will enjoy the flavors of Italy by some of the city's most renowned chefs including Gino Angelini (Rivabella), Fabio Viviani (Café Firenze), and Ori Menashe (Bestia), and vintners that include Barrymore Wines, while serenaded by a pop-up performance from the Los Angeles Opera's Josh Guerrero.

The Power Lunch Series (Friday, August 23, 2013; 12:00-2:30PM, $125) begins Friday's activities. Held across town in some of the city's most desirable dining rooms, the "Power Lunch" series includes  Richard Reddington, George Mendes and Benjamin Dayag at L'Ermitage Beverly Hills; the dynamic duality of Michael Mina and Scott Conant plating at Scarpetta at Montage Beverly Hills; the partnership of Peter Armellino, Matthew Accarino and Sven Mede at Shutters' One Pico restaurant; and a meal at Hinoki & The Bird featuring dishes from Charles Phan, David Myers & Kuniko Yagi with cocktails crafted to complement the meal by Mixologist Chris Hopkins of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
 
A bounty of famous chefs will be present, including Thomas Keller, Ziggy Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Curtis Stone, David Lefevre, Josef Centeno, Neal Fraser, Susan Feniger, Mary Sue Milliken, Roy Yamaguchi, Michael Chiarello, and Ricardo Zarate, participating in events such as Eater Presents: Asian Night Market (Friday, August 23, 2013; $125 GA/ $175 VIP); Lexus Live on Grand Hosted by Curtis Stone (Saturday, August 24, 2013; $250 GA/$350 VIP) with a performance from Gavin DeGraw and the Lexus Grand Tastings (Saturday, August 24, and Sunday, August 25, 2013; $150 GA/$195 VIP). The Third Annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival benefits local charities including Share Our Strength. Tickets for the gastronomic gathering are available on-line and at the door to each event, and purchasing tickets is available at www.lafw.com