Photo by Noelle Carter.
Los Angeles, long known for movie making and star- gazing, is also home to a vast array of culinary delights. And the LA Times is celebrating ‘those delights’ by sponsoring the LA Food Bowl—a month long festival that is guaranteed to have you eating out of the hands of some of LA’s top chefs.
The pre-food bowl or “Chef’s Fable”— kicked off inside the historic Wiltern Theatre—and the vibe was hipster gourmet and the attendees were foodies. I even spotted ‘Desperate Housewives’ star Terri Hatcher.
With a variety of food to choose from, the boyfriend I were wide-eyed– everything from Roy Choi’s Kogi BBQ to Prova Pizza and Salt and Straw’s creamy ice-cream– as well as the Crispy Cuban—billed as the ‘best’ Cubano sandwich outside of Cuba loomed in front of us. The event was all for a good cause: to raise money for LA Kitchen.
Author and her BF.
By the time we took our seats for the conversation and film—my foodie BF took another lap around the lobby and discovered Pico House—(a new gourmet food truck that serves up the tastiest grain bowls ever.) My pants tightened after the pizza and ice cream—so I waited patiently sans fork in my seat.
The show started off like a rock concert. Two rap artists took to the stage to rap about—food— of course. When the chefs along with the LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold entered the stage, the crowd went wild—seriously I thought Springsteen was about to walk out with them.
(from left to right) David Gelb (director of “Chef’s Table” and “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”), Amy Scattergood (Los Angeles Times Food Editor), Jon Favreau (actor, producer and director of “Chef”), Jonathan Gold (Los Angeles Times restaurant critic), Chef Massimo Bottura, Chef Magnus Nilsson, Chef Niki Nakayama, and Chef Roy Choi attend LA Food Bowl Chef’s Fable at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.
Gold was joined by actor/director/foodie Jon Favreau—who was in attendance to talk about, and screen, his 2014 film ‘Chef,’ but it was the real chefs: Niki Nakayama (owner and chef of n/naka), Magnus Nilsson, (head chef at Faviken in Sweden), Roy Choi (Kogi BBQ/Chego) and Italian chef Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana) who stole the show. Nakayama, Nilsson, and Bottura are all featured on the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Chef’s Table.
The delicious grain bowl.
Bottura is a food poet and a man ‘who finds emotion in tortellini.’ Nilsson called the cooking of food ‘a craft’, and Nakayama said it’s about, ‘Kaiseki’– or showcasing Japanese cuisine along with attention to the local food grown in southern California.
Choi reminisced about tutoring Favreau for his film, Chef, which some consider the consummate cooking movie. He also admitted he was a ‘bit of an ass-hole’ to Favreau while teaching him to cook. Choi also served as co-producer on the film and oversaw all the menus.
The evening wrapped with a screening of Chef. The place was packed and the people were satiated, and after the credits rolled—Craig and I waddled back to our car.