Los Angeles Times ‘Food Bowl’ Returns for a Fourth Year

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Firehouse Hotel in the Downtown LA Arts District played host to members of the food and media worlds on Tuesday, February 4^th, as the Los Angeles Times held an industry launch event to formally unveil the lineup for the 4^th annual LA Times Food Bowl. A 31-day cavalcade of culinary creativity, the Food Bowl is a series of tastings, panels, pop-ups, collaborations, workshops, and other food-inspired events, to be held across Los Angeles throughout the month of May.

Foodies and media members alike were treated to a morning of industry mingling, complete with savory brunch hors d’oeuvres, mimosas, and more, provided by event sponsors All Day Baby, Bon Temps, Spoon by H, Zoe Food Party, and Suntory Whiskey, and Braun coffee. The Los Angeles Times Food team then revealed the lineup and participating chefs for the 4^th annual iteration of the Food Bowl. Highlights include:

• Events hosted by local, Los Angeles-based chefs, including Jordan Kahn (Vespertine), Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis (Bavel and Bestia), and Josef Centeno (Bar Amá, Orsa & Winston, Bäco Mercat, Amá•cita). Additional participating local restaurants to include Apollonia’s Pizzeria, Guelaguetza, Hui Tou Xiang, La Morra Pizzeria, and Mian.

• Events hosted by visiting chefs from across the globe, including Slovenia’s Ana Roš (Hiša Franko) Japan’s Zaiyu Hasegawa (Den), Minnesota’s Sean Sherman (The Sioux Chef), and Australia’s Ben Shewry (Attica).

• Food Bowl Opening Night: Collaboration Lab, April 30A kickoff event where chefs and restaurants from across LA come together to create special bites for a tasting event.

• “I’ll Have What She’s Having: The Jewish Deli”, May 1
  An evening featuring tastings and storytelling themed around the history of the Jewish deli. The event is presented in connection with The Jewish Deli exhibit coming to the Skirball Cultural Center.

• Food Bowl Night Market, May 14-17 in Grand Park
  Always a crowd favorite, the Night Market is a bustling, free-to-attend outdoor food market, featuring dozens of 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
  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 
  A series 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 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; a Science and Food lecture series presented by UCLA; dinners at select restaurants curated from The Times’ ‘101 Best Restaurants’ list; and food-themed neighborhood walking tours centered on showcasing the city’s cultural diversity.

Since relaunching last April under the leadership of Editor Peter Meehan and Deputy Editor Andrea Chang, the Times’ standalone ‘Food’ section has attracted readers with new and innovative approaches to storytelling, page design, illustration, and photography. The ‘Food’ section now features twice as much cooking content as before, with brand-new video series creations and other forays into digital journalism, such as Off Menu with Lucas Kwan Peterson and The Bucket List with Jenn Harris.

The ‘Food’ section also provides local showcase features and functions, such as the incredibly popular, annual ‘101 Best Restaurants’ piece and The Taste, as well as in-depth reporting from core Food staff contributors and top foodie freelancers. As of January 5^th, the Los Angeles Times ‘Food’ section has also moved from Thursdays to Sundays.

The LA Times Food Bowl is a monthlong series of events celebrating everything that makes Los Angeles one of the premier foodie destinations on the planet. Festivities are set to commence on April 30^th with the announcement of the annual Gold Award and Restaurant of the Year winners. The festival will also highlight and promote issues of food access, sustainability, and waste reduction. The full event lineup will be announced in April at lafoodbowl.com.

Tickets to individual events will be made available on ticket agent sites (Eventbrite, etc.) and through Food Bowl beginning in April. 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. Event submissions for Food Bowl and food vendor submissions for Night Market remain open until February 21^st. For additional information, visit lafoodbowl.com. To learn more about the Los Angeles Times ‘Food’ section, visit latimes.com/food.