Sunday, May 6th was a gorgeous day on the field of the Historic Pasadena Rose Bowl at the 3rd Annual Masters of Taste, a luxury food and beverage festival. From 3 PM to 7 PM, we sampled and enjoyed some of LA’s finest fare from 50 Master Chefs and restaurants, Master Mixologists and California’s most eclectic wineries and local craft breweries! Masters of Taste contributes 100% of all proceeds to support Union Station Homeless Services, a non-profit organization committed to helping homeless individuals and families rebuild their lives.

Young’s Market of LA , Beth Thompson (account manager)

Here are some highlights from our favorite offerings. Young’s Market of LA was pouring a few wines.  Most enjoyable was the Foris 2016 Pinot Gris from Oregon. With hints of apple and pear, and aromas of wildflowers and clover honey, it had a nice balance and fresh style. The 2016 Cabernet Franc Lodi (Cosentino Winery) had a robust oaky flavor as well.

The Cucumber Salad was fresh and crunchy and the Hong Long Style BBQ pork was tender and delicious from Triple 8 China Bar & Grill in downtown LA. We paired it with the 2016 Viognier from Golden Star Vineyards of Littlerock, California. It was light and flavorful. The Salmon Mousse with Meyer Lemon Gelée, Smoked Créme Fraîche topped with Trout Roe was light and delicate from Montresor in Studio City and The Flats in Beverly Hills. It went well with the 2015 Maddalena Monterey Chardonay from the San Antonio Winery of LA, which had ripe fruit aromas and good balance.

Next we had a taste of the Artisan Italian Gelato from Fatamorgana of Studio City – I tried the Venezuela Chocolate and the Stracciatella – these are handcrafted, gluten free and super delicious! The handmade truffles from Mignon Chocolates of Glendale were beautiful and packed a lot of flavor! Last wine taste of the day was the 2017 Siren Rosé from Ascension Cellars of Paso Robles, which was refreshing with subtle nuances of crisp fruit and a smooth peach-filled finish.

The meatballs from Momed had a delicate flavor and we enjoyed with a taste of the 2015 Fermata Wrath Chardonnay, their Estate vineyard, from Monterey with an aroma of lemon and lime and a smooth finish.

A delicious meatball from Momed (Beverly Hills and Atwater Village);

Finally, from Spring and Church and State, we enjoyed the Tahitian vanilla panna cotta, mango, passion fruit coulis with coconut – so light and delicious, my absolute favorite of the day! As we were leaving, we stopped by Zooies Cookies and left with a generous assortment of sugar, chocolate chip, oatmeal, Butterscotch Blondie brownie and peanut butter which was my favorite – chewy, moist and just the right amount of peanut butter. By the way, here’s how Zooies describe a Zooie: “A Zooie is a foodie. They would almost rather watch the cooking channel or try a new recipe than win the lottery.” Once we were out of the field, we stopped by Fahrenheit LA. Owner John Fahrenheit travels with his own outdoor pizza oven on wheels and makes some incredible thin crust pizza – we sampled the Margherita topped with fresh basil – yum!

It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon of indulgence, deliciousness and joy. Be sure to check the website so you don’t miss next year’s event. https://mastersoftastela.com