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| Epicurean Cup Team Sunday, August 28, 2011 • Sofitel LA from noon-6pm |
8555 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048
On Sunday, August 28, 2011, organizers Bruno Laclotte of Hillside Wines and Kora Kroep of West Coast Event Productions presented the Los Angeles Epicurean Festival at the Sofitel Los Angeles, to give Epicurean Angelinos a chance to discover products made for Chefs, Sommeliers and Mixologists.
During the Festival the LA Epicurean Cup took place. Three groups were formed with one candidate per category. Each group was given a mystery basket and were asked to perform the following tasks: the sous-chef, prepare a duck confit salad; the sommelier, pair wine with the salad; the mixologist, concoct an aperitif, a summer cocktail and a beverage to go with the dessert; the culinary student, fabricate a tarte flambee (an Alsatian style pizza); and the pastry chef, prepare a dessert from Michel Richard’s cookbook “Sweet Magic”.
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| Founder of the L.A. Epicurean Festival & Celebrity Chef Michael Richard |
The judges for the festival, hosted by Valerie Laganiere and Bruno Laclotte were:
- Michel Richard, Chef/Owner of Citronelle and Central in Washington DC;
- Josiah Citrin, Chef/Owner of Melisse in Santa Monica;
- Sophie Gayot of GAYOT.com, Food Writer/Owner;
- Franck Savoy, Director of Restaurants of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
- Michel Cornu, Culinary Director of Raymond Vineyards in Napa Valley.
- Mark Mendoza, Head sommelier-wine director of David Myers group.
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| (L-R) Renee Faris, Son Ly, Matthieu Chamussy, Bruno Laclotte, Valeri Laganiere |
And the winners are:
- Sous-Chef Category : Alexandre Derenne of Hotel Sofitel
- Pastry Chef: Matthieu Chamussy, Chef Instructor for the Art Institute of California
- Student Chef: Matthew Dickson from Cordon Blue School of Culinary Arts
- Sommelier: Mark Sadr from BLT restaurant
- Mixologist: Tricia Alley from Providence restaurant, The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis (featured in Tasting panel Magazine).
Food Demonstrations by:
§ Keizo Ishiba, Chef/Owner of K-Zo Restaurant in Culver City
§ JF Meteigner, Chef/Owner of La Cachette Bistro in Santa Monica
Book Signing by Michel Richard of his latest book Sweet Magic.
Mixeology Classes and Oenologists were standing by to explain how to taste and recognize great wines and spirits. Attendees discovered over 500 boutique products in the following categories: wines and spirits, cheeses, spices, coffee & teas, charcuterie, olive oils, mushrooms, organic chocolate, meat, fowl, fish, and produce.
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| Bruno Laclotte (co-founder of LA Epicurean Festival) & Sandie Ward |
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| (L-R) Michael Cornu (Dir. of Raymond Vineyards Napa Valley) Michel Richard (Chef/Owner Citronnelle & Central in Washington DC) & Josiah Citrin (Chef/Owner of World Famous Melisse in Santa Monica, CA) |
Some of the new and exciting products at the Los Angeles Epicurean Festival:
- Pisco Porton: an ultra premium white spirit from Peru with 15 lb of grapes per bottle,
- Babas Pasta: locally produced handmade raviolis full of flavor,
- Bernard Magrez: with forty years of wine making under his belt, Mr. Margrez owns 35 estates worldwide, which are each ranked in the top four or five in its region,
- Angel’s Salumi & Truffles; a new line of high end, locally produced cured meats and foie gras products,
- Cuvelier Los Andes: family of winemakers in Bordeaux since 1804, and in Argentinia since 1998, produced with the help and advice of Michel Rolland.
- Yvan Valentin Chocolatier: some of LA’s finest chocolate truffles,
- Chateau Resseguier: the world’s oldest varietal from Cahors, France. In 92AD the Italian emperor gave the order to uproot the vines since they were competing with the Italian wines; luckily it was never carried out.
- Republica del Cacao: estate produced organic chocolate from Ecuador
- Debeikes Oakville: made by assistant wine maker of Opus One. Very limited production, only 225 cases made in Napa,
- Kendall Farms Crème Fraiche: made from rich, white cream from Holstein cows and Kendall Farms' patented heirloom starter culture,
- Malibu Estate Malibu: winery owned by Mr Mc Carthy of Michael’s Restaurant New York and Santa Monica,
- Fabrique Delices: artisan charcutier since 1985,
- Elicio: sustainable wine from Languedoc, France,
- Arger-Martucci: wine from Napa California with an European flair,
- Domaine Moillard: wine from Burgundy, France 150 years of wine making,
- Terra Andina: wine from Chili, one of the best quality-value wine.
Live Entertainment by various artists.
Win Your Weight in Wine. Attendees visited all booths for a stamp in their Passport to Savings for a chance to win. Seven cases of wine were awarded to the winner.
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