The Los Angeles Wine & Food Festival 2024 (LAWFF) kicked off its inaugural festival this year in Santa Monica. The 3 day event showcased an amazing lineup of amazing chefs in the LA culinary scene. With more than 90 chefs participating in this festival, tickets sold out fast!
What is the Los Angeles Wine & Food Festival?
Before you get confused and say, “But there’s been LA Food & Wine events before,” the Los Angeles Wine & Food Festival is not the same thing. This is its first year in LA! This festival celebrates the diverse food and art scene in LA. It highlights various culinary talent, art installations, wine and beverages. Some of the headliner chefs this year included Antonia Lofaso, Duff Goldman, Jet Tila, Stephanie Izard, Adam Richman, Geoffrey Zakarian, Andrew Zimmern, and many more!
LAWFF took place this year in March in conjunction with Frieze Week Los Angeles, which is an international art fair focusing on contemporary art. So not only did we enjoy delicious food and meet renowned chefs, but we saw some fun art collaborations and danced to the DJ sets.
What to expect at LAWFF?
Lots of delicious food and drinks and a fantastic time! Tickets to LAWFF are all-inclusive, so you can grab as many bites and drinks to your heart’s delight! However, I have to warn you to pace yourself. I felt stuffed before I made it to all the chefs’ tables.
Because the LA Wine & Food Festival took place in a tent, I was a little apprehensive before going. I imagined it being small, crowded, and with long lines everywhere. Surprisingly, it was the opposite! The event was very well-organized, and the setup made great use of the space. Although there were quite a few people, it never felt too crowded. There were hardly any lines for food unless a chef was prepping a new batch of food. I could definitely tell the event planners and the chefs came prepared. A couple places ran out of food, but for the most part, chefs made enough to keep it flowing the entire night.
There were some lines for the cocktails and wine, since people were either introducing the brand or making the drink to order. However, it was still very much manageable.
Highlights of the Wine & Food
Some of my favorite moments of the event were meeting Chef Geoffrey Zakarian and Chef Adam Richman! I grew up watching The Food Network, so getting to meet these celebrity chefs in person was awesome. They were friendly, warm and funny! Chef Zakarian made Tuna Tonnato with Cripsy Capers, Pickled Shallots, and herbs. So fresh and tasty! Chef Adam Richman made pulled pork egg rolls with sweet & spicy peanut dipping sauce. Crispy on the outside with juicy pulled pork inside – just the way I like it!
I also enjoyed the Dungeness Crab Leek Fonduta from Chef Ben Ford (you can’t go wrong with Dungeness crab!), smoked salmon cannoli from Donna’s EP, tuna tartare taro taco from STK Steakhouse, spicy rigatoni from Ospi Venice, Massachusetts bay scallop with kaluga caviar from Saltie Girl LA, and so much more.
For drinks, Icelandic Glacial provided sparkling water. Tastemade mixed cocktails featuring Una Vodka, Henebery Whiskey, and Kohana Rum. Various wine brands attended as well, like J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Paper Plane Wines, and Mizel Wines.
I highly recommend going to the Los Angeles Wine & Food Festival next year if you love good food and wine! You’ll taste top-notch bites and sips, catch some art, maybe meet celebrity chefs, and have a great time!
To see some video highlights, check out my IG video recap here. For more info, visit the LAWFF site here.
Would you go to this wine and food festival? Let me know in the comments!