Save the Date: LAT 2020 FOODBOWL Kicks off with Mexican Tribute

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Mexico City with its historic, extraordinary cuisine will be honored on the first night of the Los Angeles Times FOOD BOWL that takes place during the entire month of May this year.  Opening night, April 30, kicks off with an ambitious evening of night tacos and talks about the connections between the sister cities of L.A. and CDMX, created in partnership with Enrique Olvera, a celebrated Mexico City chef who is set to open restaurants here later in 2020.

Participating chefs and events in this fourth annual Food Bowl monthlong festival celebrate the city’s diverse ethnic food scene. Think of the term “bowl” as a sporting event rather than a quinoa concoction.  The month will combine the best of local restaurants and world-renowned culinary talent, featuring 31 days of dining pop-ups, collaborations, panel discussions, and other food-inspired events across Los Angeles.

Ethnic chefs who will participate in the bowl. Israeli Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis (Bavel and Bestia) and Hispanic Josef Centeno (Bar Ama, Orsa & Winston, Bäco Mercat, Amá•cita), for example, will host events and one-off collaborations. Other Los Angeles restaurants such as Apollonia’s Pizzeria, Guelaguetza, Hui Tou Xiang, La Morra Pizzeria and Mian will also participate.

Visiting chefs — including Ana Roš (Hiša Franko, Slovenia), Zaiyu Hasegawa (Den, Japan), Sean Sherman (The Sioux Chef, USA) and Ben Shewry (Attica, Australia) — will make rare local appearances as part of the festival.

Festivities kick off April 30 with the announcement of the annual Gold Award and Restaurant of the Year winner. The festival will also highlight issues of food access, sustainability and waste reduction. The full event lineup will be announced in April at lafoodbowl.com.

Food Bowl highlights will include:

Food Bowl Opening Night: Collaboration Lab, April 3o launch this year’s festival, chefs and restaurants will come together to create special bites for this tasting event.

“I’ll Have What She’s Having: The Jewish Deli”, May 1 in connection with The Jewish Deli exhibit coming to the Skirball Cultural Center.
promises to be amusing with the line from the film, “When Harry Met Sally” An evening featuring tastings and storytelling themed around the history of the (now fading into extinction) Jewish deli.

Food Bowl Night Market, May 14-17 in Grand Park is a popular, jam-packed  free-to-attend outdoor food market — featuring dozens of food vendors, musical performances, art installations and DJs. Themed ticketed events will include Middle East Feast, LAFiesta, Pizza & Pasta, Dumplings, Noodles & Rice, and All-Star BBQ. 

Dentucky Fried Chicken’s Chef Zaiyu Hasegawa from the restaurant Den in Tokyo will bring some of his signature dishes to town for a series of events with Japan House Los Angeles.

Outstanding in the Field is aseries of long-table feasts inspired by locally-sourced ingredients set in spectacular locations, including downtown L.A. and Weiser Family Farms in Tehachapi.

Additional events for this year will include the return of Wine Bowl, curated by Eric Wareheim;Vespertine Symbiosis with chef Jordan Kahn and special guests; a collaborative dinner with visiting chefs Sean Sherman (The Sioux Chef) and Ben Shewry (Attica); panel discussions at Now Serving with The Times Food team; UCLA’s Science and Food lecture series; dinners at select restaurants from The Times 101 Best Restaurants list; and food-themed neighborhood walking tours spotlighting the city’s cultural diversity.

Food Bowl is sponsored by founding partner Citi along with All Nippon Airways (ANA), House of Suntory and Braun. Charity partners include L.A. Regional Food Bank, FoodForward and Westside Food Bank.

As a whole FOOD BOWL brings together the world’s top chefs and L.A.’s best restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels and markets in tasting and talk events.  The goal to showcase Los Angeles as the  giant mosaic of cuisines, cultures and ingredients from across the world in a month of food events allows attendees to discover and support L.A.’s impressive restaurants and chefs.   In the words of its mission statement, “From long-table feasts to chef collaborations, parking lot pop-ups to Night Market in Grand Park, FOOD BOWL is a month-long celebration of the extraordinary people and produce that make L.A. the most exciting food city in the world.”