Come Hungry: LA Food and Wine Festival

LA’s sprawled out city and driving culture points it more as a tossed salad than a melting pot. We have bigger and more segregated ethnic enclaves—and more choices. This means there isn’t just one Chinatown. You’ve got a smaller version of it in downtown but a grander scale in Alhambra.

Here, we don’t really come across different neighborhoods unless we’re intentional about it.  So this is the dilemma: You want to taste different authentic foods of the world but the trek is too much of a hassle or you don’t know what’s offered so you stay in your comfort zone. You can’t just hop on a subway and be on your jolly way to a scrumptious meal. You need to decide on a place, map out the directions, drive there in traffic, and then pay to park. Welcome to LA.

LA-ers, you’ll be happy to hear that on November 5 to 7, Taste of the World Festival by AyQueChevere Productions is coming to the city. It’s still a month away, so mark your calendars for this one-stop hop where it’s like traveling the world in a single day. Five continents are constructed over a 22-acre movie studio to celebrate food, wine, music and dance from Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and the Americas. And it’s expected to draw out a crowd of about 75,000 people.

Upon entering, attendees exchange US currency for “Cheveres” and are given an Event Passport that gets a stamp for each taste purchased. Seven-inch taste plates from ethnic cuisines range from $1 to $7. But food and wine is not the only draw of the event. Expect to be entertained by professional and amateur talents performing in The Next Celebrity Chef, The Next Superstar and “Dancing with the Salsa Stars” competitions.

Taste of the World Festival began about four years ago by Ray Jelley, who is the founder and president of the production. “The inspiration was the World’s Fair and Epcot Center in Orlando… We are taking their concept to a more practical 21^st century level and are bringing the world to Los Angeles for three days, starting at $10!”

*To purchase tickets or find out more, visit TasteOfTheWorldFestival.com.

Event Location:

Los Angeles Center Studios

1201 West 5th St.,

Los Angeles, CA 90017

Dates:

Fri, November 5 |  5pm -11pm

Sat, November 6 | 11am – 11pm

Sun, November 7 | 11am – 9pm