Taste of Beverly Hills Promises an Epic Long Weekend of Food & Fun

Photo by ajaybabber via Flickr

Photo by ajaybabber via Flickr
For its inaugural event, the Taste of Beverly Hills is going all out with four days of tastings, cooking demonstrations by hot local chefs, live music, and much more.Basically six food and wine events rolled into one, the Taste of Beverly Hills, presented by Food & Wine, runs from September 2nd to 5th, and will showcase some of 90210's top restaurants, as well as some hefty help from neighboring zip codes. The "epic" Labor Day Weekend event aims to "recognize the diversity of neighborhoods that have shaped and inspired the Los Angeles culinary scene."

The schedule is staggering: Larry King will emcee the kickoff "9.02.10 Beverly Hills Celebration Event," with a live performance from Natasha Beddingfield; cooking demos from some of LA's most celebrated chefs, like Michael Voltaggio, Ray Garcia, and Ludo Lefebvre; appearances from famous food personalities from television, print, and restaurants all over the country; themed sessions curated by KCRW's Evan Kleiman; music performances organized by KCRW's Jason Bentley; and food--glorious food!--and wine.

120,000 square feet of space will be set up for the Taste of Beverly Hills, which will be held right across from the Beverly Hilton. The event will benefit the Beverly Hills Education Foundation.

Tickets are $125 per person, with advance purchase, for a day session, pass; $150 per person, with advance purchase, for an evening session pass; and $500 per person for an all-access weekend packages that will allow guests into afternoon and evening sessions, seminars, how-tos, chef demos, competitions, and more (with the exception of the “90210 City of Beverly Hills Celebration” which will be an individually ticketed event).

Here are some schedule highlights:

• “The Art of Mixing” (Friday evening)—this evening will feature the city’s top mixologists and DJs “mixing” their talents.
• “Secrets From the Kitchen and Cellar” (Saturday afternoon)—chefs and master sommeliers will showcase the tricks of their trades.
• “Taste of Something Better” Cooking Competition (Saturday afternoon)—during the competition, which is hosted by LG Electronics, three finalists will vie for the crown of “America’s Top Amateur Chef” and compete to represent the United States in the 2010 LG “Life Tastes Good” global cooking competition in Seoul, South Korea, this fall.
• “Date Night” (Saturday evening)—this will be an enjoyable evening of good food, wine, music, and one-on-one time with master sommeliers and vintners.
• “The Art of Brunch” (Sunday afternoon)—guests will enjoy free-flowing brunch cocktails, live gospel and jazz performances, a 50-foot grand table featuring the city’s finest pastries and breads, along with KCRW’s annual pie contest* hosted by “Good Food” Host Evan Kleiman.

*You do not need to purchase a ticket to the Taste of Beverly Hills to enter or be a spectator of the KCRW Pie Contest.