Chef participants in this weekend’s festivities include Jet Tila, Duff Goldman, Roy Yamaguchi and Michael Voltaggio
Malibu’s Saddlerock Ranch will host the first Malibu Food & Wine festival.Credit: All photos courtesy Malibu Food & Wine
This weekend, from Sep. 5-7, the first Malibu Food & Wine festival will take over the iconic Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu. The weekend promises an unforgettable mix of tastings, immersive dining and curated activations. The three-day culinary destination event, with host Adam Richman, features an all-star lineup of celebrity chefs, Michelin and James Beard restaurants, acclaimed vintners and culinary creatives, all coming together to celebrate the spirit of Angelenos.
Chef participants will include Jet Tila, Duff Goldman, Joe Sasto, Roy Yamaguchi, Sherry Yard, Jay Kumar, Ricardo Zarate, Celestino Drago, Michael Voltaggio, Bryan Voltaggio, Bruce Kalman, Arnie Marcela, Ben Ford, Marcel Vigneron, Brian Malarkey, Rose Previte, Carlos Anthony and more.
Chef Jet Tila will participate in this weekend’s Malibu Food + Wine festival.Credit: By Ken Goodman
Former Top Chef star Marcel Vigneron and his wife, entrepreneur/PR guru Lauren Rae Levy, co-founded the event along with partner Rob Pausmith. The married couple, who share an interest in food and wine festivals, came up with the idea during the COVID-19 lockdown, with the hopes of bringing it to fruition when the time was right. After the Palisades Fires, the Malibu residents felt this year was the perfect time to bring the community together. With PCH reopened, the event aims to honor local eateries negatively impacted by the fires and help restore business.
“These businesses suffered so much that we wanted to honor them and highlight them and welcome them to show what they’ve got to some new faces,” Levy says. “Our hope is that we can bring some new attention to their businesses and give them all the love that they deserve.”
The event will also feature seven local artisans from Topanga and Malibu, vending handcrafted items such as jewelry, blankets and knives.
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“We’re hoping that people will support those businesses and shop with them while they’re here,” Levy said.
In partnership with the Culinary Careers Program (C-CAP), the event will also include a mentorship program where culinary students are paired with celebrity and local chefs, giving future culinary artists the opportunity to create strong mentor-student relationships.
A portion of proceeds will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu, a trusted local nonprofit supporting youth, families and disaster recovery in the community. In addition to being a pillar of the community for over 25 years, offering after school programs and free mental health counseling, the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu has aided in long term recovery for those affected by the fires, according to Levy, who also happens to be a Board member. Their retail space known as Third Space allows victims who lost everything to gather necessities. On a larger scale, they have donated over $200,000 in direct cash funding to impacted families.
“We wanted them to be our partner for that reason” Levy says. “They have been out there working nonstop [toward] longterm recovery, so it’s been amazing to be a part of that, and for us to know that we are contributing in that way is just such a beautiful thing.”
Lauren Rae Levy and Marcel VigneronCredit: Courtesy Malibu Food + Wine
Menu items were crafted to celebrate California’s bounty, with seafood like lobster, scallops, salmon and hamachi. Dishes will also reflect California’s diversity, with various cultural influences such as Thai, Japanese and Italian.
“A lot of global flavors, just because California is such a melting pot of culture,” Vigneron says. “We’ve got everything from three Michelin chefs to smash burgers; it really kind of runs the gamut.”
The couple made sure to cater to all audiences, with the event offering daily vegan dishes. Additionally, two non-alcoholic options will be available each day at Diane Mina’s activation. The wife and partner of acclaimed chef Michael Mina is said to have been perfecting her Bloody Mary blend for over 25 years.
The founders have made an effort to partner with sustainable brands. In partnership with Tesla, all out of town chefs will be traveling in the electric vehicle to minimize environmental impact. Saratoga water will be served as well, given Sustainable Saratoga’s environmental initiatives.
Various lounge activations, included with ticket purchase, are as follows:
Diane’s Bloody Mary trailer, by Diane Mina (wife of Chef Michael Mina) – Incredibly delicious daily cocktails, as well as nonalcoholic options
House of Suntory – Sustainable Japanese Whisky and Roku Gin
Saratoga Lounge – Where guests may find their favorite blue glass bottles
Flecha Azul (tequila) Lounge – Frozen margaritas, tequila with only three ingredients and no additives
Aspen vodka- Organic and sustainable martinis and fries
Wally’s Lounge- Champagne and caviar
“It was really important to keep as much as we could sustainable,” Levy said. “Thats one of our core values and we wanted to make sure that that was something we didn’t compromise on.”
Surprise guest Jacob Nowell of Sublime will be performing on Sunday.
Saddlerock Ranch is beloved by locals, known for hosting memorable events like weddings and the Malibu Wine Safari. The venue is a working winery with vineyards of Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot and Chardonnay. The setting features a lush green lawn, oak trees and a range of farm animals including turtles, goats and a majestic peacock, making the atmosphere picturesque.
“With all that devastation that we experienced in the last year, we just wanted to be with our community and support them through the difficult times,” said Vigneron. “We thought, ‘what better way to bring people together than with food and beverage, in such an iconic setting’.”
Dates are as follows:
Friday, September 5th 5-10 p.m.| 5:00 p.m. Early Access | 6:00 p.m. General Admission | 21+ Only
Saturday, September 6th 5-10 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. Early Access | 6:00 p.m. General Admission | 21+ Only
Sunday, September 7th 12-5 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. Early Access | 1:00 p.m. General Admission | All Ages
Saddlerock Ranch is located at 32111 Mulholland Highway, Malibu.
For more information please visit malibufoodandwine.com and Instagram @malibufoodandwine
Dining and Cooking