This weekend, Los Angeles is hosting the first ever All-Star Chef Classic. Last night at Restaurant Stadium™ (inside a tent set up in a vacant lot in downtown LA) chefs Ludo Lefebvre (The Taste, Trois Mec) Alain Passard (L'Arpège), Marc Meneau (L'Espérance), Iñaki Aizpitarte, served a sold out crowd from a central, open kitchen set up to look a lot like Iron Chef's kitchen stadium.
Chefs Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn, SF), Wylie Dufresne (wd~50, Alder, New York), Nancy Silverton (Mozza, LA), Roy Choi (Kogi, POT, LA), Graham Elliot (Graham Elliot, Chicago), Gavin Kaysen (Cafe Boulud, New York), and 18 other chefs from all over the country popped in to cook a course, pose for a photo, or greet the crowd.
Austin chef and Top Chef: Chicago contestant Paul Qui was among the guests last night who raved about the experience on Twitter. Pastry chef Florian Bellanger (Cupcake Wars, Mad Mac, New York) finished the rich meal off with a surprise set of petit fours.
This afternoon, Restaurant Stadium™ hosted a lunch featuring some of the country's most noted female chefs, including Nancy Silverton and Dominique Crenn. Tonight, ten chefs, including Gabrielle Hamilton (Prune, New York), Donald Link (Cochon, New Orleans), Jon Shook (Animal, LA), and Ricardo Zarate (Mo-Chica, Picca, LA) will grill meats, vegetables, and more over an open flame. The weekend will finish off with a celebration of SoCal's farmers' market produce on Sunday. Chefs involved in the final cook-out include Jennifer Jasinski (Rioja, Bistro Vendôme, Denver), David Myers (Hinoki & the Bird, LA), and Alex Seidel (Fruition, Denver).
· LA's All-Star Chef Classic Lineup Announced with Crenn, Dufresne, Choi & Passard [-E-]
· All-Star Chef Classic [Official]