Pasadena Rose Bowl

Masters of Taste 2022 Preview Promises!

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(Gerry Furth-Sides) The invite that arrives this year signaled the transition of lockdown to a party!

The invite two years after the last preview party to the Masters of Taste 2022 preview party!

The festive and fun 5thAnniversary Masters of Taste preview promises the L.A.’s premier outdoor, luxury food and beverage festival will be the welcome back public event after two years. The Sunday,April 3rd, 2022, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm takes place on the field of the iconic Pasadena Rose Bowl! 

VIP tickets are already sold out for the Masters of Taste 2022

The food at the preview, in the locker room of the historic Rose Bowl. In the locker room! (due to threat of rain). This is the ultimate behind-the-scenes experience and you get the same exhilarating feeling at the Masters of Taste event itself.

Love at first bite: Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery’s the Cornbread Cupcakes with almond, chicken liver mousse, luxando cherries and chive sprinkles are alone worth coming to the Masters of Taste 2022! “That’s why I am the head cheese! says Agnes.
Horrible glare lights, a camera in a hurry and the most refined, decadent cornbread cupcakes in the world by Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery at the Masters of Taste 2022 preview party!
Gabi James’ Albondigas lush Chimayo at the Masters of Taste 2022 preview party
Gretchen’s festive southern Jambalaya from Georgia’s Restaurant at the Masters of Taste 2022 preview
Cru winery’s 2017 Vineyard (@cruwinery) Montage Pinot Noir Noodle, is a natural pairing with Ayara Thai’s (@ayarathai) Chef Vanda Asaphahu’s Boat Beef Noodle Soup

Masters of Taste is introducing Chef Vanda Asapahu as it’s first-ever female Host Chef of Masters of Taste, which also happens to mark the 5th Anniversary of this celebrated event. This year, Masters of Taste falls in April, during which Thai New Year, Songkran, is also celebrated. Chef Vanda has invited 3 other L.A. Thai restaurants, to participate in the SongkranThai SELECT Pavilion, a celebration spanning the Rose Bowl’s end zone.

Masters of Taste 2022 happy media, here Jose Martinez of LA

The special pavilion will feature traditional Thai sundry general store and Songkran festival. As a culinary challenge, each Thai restaurant will prepare a dish, dessert, and/or cocktail using a common paste, sahm kler (which translates to “3 buddies”), and comprises white peppercorn, garlic, and cilantro root. This aromatic mixture is used in a variety of Thai dishes and is quite possibly the reason why Thai food is so special.

100% of the proceeds from Masters of Taste 2022 will directly benefit Union Station Homeless Services, a nonprofit organization committed to providing permanent solutions to end homelessness and rebuild lives. Headquartered in Pasadena, CA, Union Station has served the community for nearly 50 years. Today it is the San Gabriel Valley’s largest social service agency assisting homeless and very low-income adults and families.

Cheers! Masters of Taste has raised over $2 Million in support of Union Station Homeless Services life-saving programs.

Union Station Homeless Services’ mission is guided by the belief that everyone deserves a life of dignity and a place to call home. In the last four years Masters of Taste has raised over $2 Million in support of Union Station Homeless Services life-saving programs.

VIP tickets are sold out. It was so touching to hear the Mission representative tell the story of how he thought to give the event a chance five years ago as an alternative to the more tried-and-true methods of fundraising. And how phenomenal it was to see the successful response.

And to go from Master’s of Taste Preview Party 2022 is everyone’s regional favorite: a Brownie, this one from Bertha Mae’s Brownies with Sea Salt & Caramel

This year Masters of Taste 2022 will partner with Careers Through Culinary Arts Program, Los Angeles (C-CAP LA) to bring high school volunteer assistance at the event. Named a National Apprenticeship Program by the U.S. Department of Labor in 2021 , he non-profit Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) provides culinary, job, and life skills to over 20,000 middle-and-high school students in seven regions across the United States: New York City, Newark, Philadelphia and Camden, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington D.C.,Maryland,Northern Virginia, and Arizona, including 7 Navajo Reservation schools.   

The Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) team headed up by Gail Carney, Lisa Fontanesi and Lori Wessell are professional-level volunteers at the Masters of Taste 2022

   

Masters of Taste 2019 Masterpiece Preview

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(Gerry Furth-Sides) It literally was a “dark and stormy night” for the media preview of Masters of Taste 2019 this year.  After a two-hour drive to the Rose Bowl, the excitement of the event started right at the gate where the chefs hailed us from their cooking in  a temporary outdoor kitchen in a drizzling rain, and continued throughout the heart-warming event in the – surprise — men’s locker room, usually unavailable even to non-sports press, when rain forced the event indoors.  I have not had this much fun since internationally famous jockey Lafite Pincay propelled me into the men’s locker room at Santa Anita Racetrack to show that even eating ice cream with me didn’t make the scale go higher.  

Everyone was in a great mood from the time you walked inside the locker room doors

L.A.’s premier outdoor, luxury food and beverage festival takes place on Sunday,April 7th, 2019from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm on the field of the Historic Pasadena Rose Bowl.

Masters of Taste 2019 is also introducing Chef Michael Hung as the event’s first-timeHost Chef. 2017 and 2018Masters of Taste Culinary Master.  The chef told a moving story about how $40 separated him from being homeless after a fire in his San Francisco apartment.  It was representative of the communal bond between the event participants on the presenting and receiving side. In the last three years Masters of Taste has raised over $1.5 Million in support of Union Station’s life-saving programs.

“I have been a participant in Masters of Taste for the past two years and it is spectacular. Cooking and serving people on the field of the Rose Bowl could be a once in a lifetime dream, but I have been lucky enough to get to do it for the past two years, and this year, the honor to be able to formally host the event,” says Hung. “And, while the festivities are amazing, what is most impressive is that Masters of Taste donates 100% of proceeds from this event to Union Station Homeless Services each year. Homelessness deserves our attention, focused work and finances, and Union Station Homeless Services and Masters of Taste are truly leaders in helping those who are in need.”

Chef Michael Hung told us why the Union project means so much to him

Chef Michael Hung’s illustrious career credentials include time spent with Traci Des Jardins’s James Beard Award-winning team at San Francisco’s Jardinière and overseeing the kitchen at Roland Passot’s Michelin-starred La Folie. Chef Hung then left San Francisco to open the local and nationally acclaimed Faith & Flower in Downtown Los Angeles (still) under his leadership before he moved on to Viviane in the Avalon Hotel Los Angeles and then his own company Ardour Hospitality 

The evening featured a festive Fat Tuesday menu of the top chefs, Hung, Chef Sammy Monsour of Preux & Proper; Chef Jonathan Aviles of Salazar, Chef Jon Hung, The Raymond 1886.  Sweets were served by Lark Cake Shop and Mignon Chocolate (see below). Beverage Masters included East Imperial; San Fernando Brewing Company, San Simeon Wines and Ventura Spirits.

Salazar Chef Jonathan Availes’ “Coctel de Camarón”

Chef Sammy Monsour’s “Fat Tuesday” gumbo with faro replacing rice served at Preux & Proper. Nice.

 

Seared Sea Trout prepared by Chef Jon Hung of The Raymond 1886

Roasted Prime Striploin on Bordelaise Sauce by Chef Michael Hung of Faith & Flower.

Red Velvet Cupcake by Lark Cake Shop in Silverlake

A lush Miniature Variety Chocolate box from Mignon Chocolates’ Joe Terpoghossian

Masters of Taste2018 attracted nearly 2,800 guests and garnered media attention throughout Southern California and beyond. Masters of Taste 2019 features the finest fare from over 45 Master Chefs including returning Culinary Masters Chef Erwin Tjahyadi (Bone Kettle), Chef Kyle Johnson(Bourbon Steak), Chef Calogero Drago (Celestino Ristorante), 2019 Host Chef Michael Hung (Faith & Flower) and Chef Lee Hau Fu (Lunasia Dim Sum House) just to name a few.  L.A.’s top Sweet Masters, signature handcrafted cocktails and tastings from over 40 Beverage Masters complete the list with  spirit brands and bars, a premier 50 yard-line cocktail bar featuring four of L.A.’s most distinguished drinking destinations and their Master Mixologists, select wineries, local craft breweries, live entertainment and much, much more.

100% of the proceeds from Masters of Taste2019 will directly benefit Union Station Homeless Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to helping homeless men, women and children rebuild their lives. Union Station is part of a premier group of human services agencies in L.A. County that are leading the way to end homelessness in our community.  Services include street outreach, meals, shelter, housing, case management and career development.


Ticket Information:  Masters of Taste 2019 will take place on Sunday, April 7th, 2019 and is a 21+ event.  VIP Power Hour runs from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. General Admission from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. For more information on Masters of Taste 2019, please visit www.MastersofTasteLA.com. 

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