GAYOT's Blog

by Sophie Gayot

The next GAYOT Dinner Series will be a musical one. Join me at THEBlvd, at the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel, on May 18th.

The dinner is priced at $185, and will be well worth it. The evening will start at 7 p.m. with a red carpet entrance. The meal includes a Champagne toast and a special Black Grouse cocktail to finish the soirée. Don’t worry, you will not have to change seats during the four-course dinner prepared by the hotel’s executive chef Gilles Azur. The entertainment will come to you! At 9:30 p.m., singer Margo Rey will perform her songs in the dining room.

To purchase tickets, go to https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/249766. Pricing doesn’t include tax and gratuity. I hope to see you there!

25 Years of Food at its Best

by Alain Gayot and David Farley

The first week of May is often dominated by thoughts of where to go for the long Memorial Day weekend at the end of the month. Or about summer travel, in general. For foodies, though, it’s about one thing: the James Beard Awards. As per usual, the awards took place this week at Lincoln Center and were a glorious gala of the country’s best of the best in the food industry.

Chefs and attendees flew in from across the country, but the home team did very well. New York was well represented in the winner’s circle with Eleven Madison Park’s chef, Daniel Humm, taking the cake, or, rather the top award for Best Chef while Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi took home honors for Rising Chef. In the Best Chef NYC category, Gramercy Tavern’s Michael Anthony was the big winner. Other Big Apple restaurants and individuals that received awards included Terroir’s Paul Grieco for Outstanding Beer, Wine, and Spirits Professional and La Grenouille for Outstanding Service.

Continue reading “2012 James Beard Foundation Awards” »

by Barb Rybicki

Where can you attempt to get five dozen passport stamps in a single weekend with no jet lag? Passport to Dry Creek Valley, of course. Now in its 23rd year, the sold-out annual wine and food tasting event, held the last weekend of April in Northern Sonoma County, California, once again offered visitors a spectacular whirlwind tour of one of California’s loveliest wine appellations.

The “Zinfamous” region celebrates a century of Zinfandel growing, often by multi-generational families. Boutique, small production wineries lie just around a bend from renowned cult producers. The weekend open house allows eager passport holders to sample the remarkable variety of nuanced conglomerations of grapes, terroir and individual winemaking philosophy.

Continue reading “Passport to Dry Creek Valley” »

by Sophie Gayot

Once again, I have been honored by being asked to serve as the Honorary Chair of the annual Flavors Culinary Gala of the Los Angeles Division of the American Liver Foundation. The sixth edition of the fundraiser will be held on May 20th at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, starting at 5:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception and a silent auction, followed by a sit-down dinner. The worthwhile gathering will also be the tenth GAYOT.com Dinner Series.

This culinary event is unique, as the chefs are actually cooking right in front of you at a table of only ten guests. It’s like enjoying your own private chef for the evening. You can ask them all the questions that you want, learn a few tricks and get some recipes, all while supporting a true cause.

Continue reading “Tenth GAYOT Dinner Series” »

by Sophie Gayot

UPDATE 5/06/12 : The winner is Ben Ford, Ford’s Filling Station in Culver City. See photos of the event in the gallery below.

Once again, I enjoyed judging the competition!

On May 6, five top LA chefs will each prepare a 175-pound, heritage-breed hog from head to toe for a friendly competition called Cochon 555. This ten-city touring event is the only culinary competition of its kind in the country and will help family farms sustain and expand their businesses. Competing in the LA stop will be Neal Fraser, Ben Ford (Ford’s Filling Station), Jason Neroni (Superba Snack Bar), Micah Wexler (Mezze) and last year’s winner, Chad Colby (Osteria Mozza). To support the event and its worthy cause, I will be there with other local judges to determine a winner based on presentation, utilization and overall best flavor. Continue reading “2012 Cochon 555 Competition in Los Angeles” »

by Sophie Gayot

Central Michel Richard at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, which opened in November 2011, is spearheaded of course by chef Michel Richard, one of GAYOT.com’s Top 40 U.S. chefs. The restaurant is so well-regarded that it made GAYOT.com’s 2012 Top 10 New Restaurants in the U.S. and is also one of our Las Vegas Top 10 24-hour restaurants.

May I suggest two ways to discover the restaurant: watch my exclusive video interview above with executive chef Todd Harrington, or, better yet, join me at the GAYOT Dinner Series to be held there on May 10th. I will be there along with the debonair Michel Richard.

Continue reading “Ninth GAYOT Dinner Series” »

Top Form at 40

It was 40 centuries ago that the production of wine took place in what is today Armenia and Iran and, yes, China most probably had been making fermented fruit juices another 40 centuries earlier. At 40 years young, John Jordan and Jordan Winery are following in our ancestors’ footsteps and more recently his Mom and Dad, Sally and Tom Jordan, who gave birth to the winery and their son forty years ago. And what an enterprise it is. It took a fortune made in the oil and gas exploration business to power its development. Tom, a geology engineer, had to keep his hands and feet underground to satisfy his thirst.

Continue reading “Jordan Winery Celebrates 40th Anniversary – Wine News” »

A Brave New Wine

Native Americans and early settlers hunted animals with bows and arrows so they could feed themselves and their families. But a lucky few wielding those old-school weapons were able to enjoy a gourmet wild game meal on Sunday, washed down by fine Napa Valley red wines, no matter how badly they aimed.

The occasion was the exclusive launch party for the new Mt. Brave wine label at the Houdini Estate in Los Angeles, where three wines and a mini-archery range magically appeared. Mt. Brave winemaker Chris Carpenter, who has worked on other top Kendall-Jackson Napa mountain vineyards such as Lokoya and Cardinale, introduced the inaugural 2008 vintage, which includes 1,000 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon ($75), 100 cases of Merlot ($60) and 100 cases of Malbec ($60).

Continue reading “Mt. Brave Wines – Wine News” »

by Sophie Gayot

Yesterday, six movies were shown at COLCOA (City of Lights City of Angels), the French Film Festival in Los Angeles. I chose to watch “Les Adieux à la Reine” (Farewell My Queen) by director Benoit Jacquot. I am not sure it was the best choice…

Farewell My Queen takes place in Versailles over four days, starting with the decisive date of July 14, 1789. Through the eyes of Sidonie Laborde (Léa Seydoux), we follow queen Marie-Antoinette (Diane Kruger) during the beginning of what will become the French Revolution. Sidonie, who is the queen’s reader, walks us through the magnificent Hall of Mirrors of the castle of Versailles, through the dirty private hallways and shows us the intrigue between Marie-Antoinette and the infamous aristocrat Gabrielle de Polignac (Virgine Ledoyen).

Continue reading “Another Day at the 2012 COLCOA Edition” »

by Sophie Gayot

To celebrate the rich diversity of the French gastronomic tradition, Frédéric Lefebvre, French Secretary of State for Trade, SMEs, Services, Tourism, the Professions and Consumption, created La Fête de la Gastronomie last year. I had met Mr. Lefebvre at Les Etoiles de Mougins, during the 6th Festival International de la Gastronomie, in September 2011.

This year, for the second edition of La Fête de la Gastronomie, Mr. Lefebvre wants to expand to the U.S. Watch my exclusive video interview with Mr. Lefebvre to get a very first taste of what will take place on September 22, 2012.

Continue reading “La Fête de la Gastronomie 2012 in the U.S.” »

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