All Photos by Billy Bennight for The Los Angeles Beat
This year’s Masters of Taste is one of a kind outdoor luxury food and beverage festival set to happen on Sunday, May 7th, 2017 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm on the field of the Pasadena Rose Bowl! I was fortunate enough to experience a preview of the May 7th event with a press launch in the Rose Garden. We arrived in a timely manner and promptly explored the different food and beverage options offered for the evening. The press preview offered bites and drinks from a select group of culinary masters and restaurants for the upcoming 2nd annual Masters of Taste. This evening’s participants included: 118 Degrees Chef Jenny Ross (Tarzana), Bone Kettle and Komodo Chef Erwin Tjahyadi (Pasadena and Los Angeles), SpireWorks Chef Kuniko Yagi (Westwood Village and Eagle Rock), Indie Brewing Company Brewer Connor Forbes (Boyle Heights), Mama Lion Chef Michael Hung (Koreatown), The Raymond 1886 Chef Tim Guiltinan (Pasadena), Cafe Dulce Chef James Choi (Little Tokyo) and Birds & Bees Mixologist Bethany Ham (DTLA). The bites were divine besides, being exotic and inventive. We found the beverages were unique and delicious, as we flitted from cocktail to cocktail across the Rose Garden. We found the bites and drinks of Culinary and beverage masters set an exceptional tone setting of our expectations for the upcoming 2nd Annual Masters of Taste we are both planning to haunt.
The 2nd Annual Masters of Taste will be offering tastes from 40 Culinary Masters and restaurants. In addition to the Culinary Masters there will be delectable sweets offered by L.A.’s top Sweet Masters. There will be signature handcrafted cocktails and tastings from over 30 Beverage Masters, including L.A’s top bartenders and cocktail bars, local California wineries, local craft breweries, pressed juices, hand roasted coffee with a fine mix of live entertainment and so much more. Be sure to watch the video highlights to get the full wondrous effect of the Masters of Taste’s preview of beverages and sample of delicious bites.
100% of the proceeds will directly benefit Union Station Homeless Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Union Station is part of a premier group of human services agencies committed to helping homeless men, women and children rebuild their lives in Los Angeles County that are leading the way to end homelessness in our community. Union Station offers an array of services including street outreach, meals, shelter, housing, case management and career development. Erasing homelessness is a noble quest! Masters of Taste 2016 raised over $435,000 for Union Station Homeless Services, and this year Masters of Taste hopes to grow that number to $560,000. The numbers of homelessness in the Pasadena area has dropped from 1,200 to 575 in the last year. Make you plans to attend, it’s so the money is well spent!
