It’s all about food at The Times’ Taste festival

Watch top chefs cook; taste food from some of Southern California’s best restaurants; listen to discussions of food issues. You can do any or all of these things starting Saturday at the Los Angeles Times’ fourth annual festival of food and wine, the Taste, at the Paramount Studios back lot.

Tickets for the events, each of which will feature complimentary tastings from dozens of restaurants, wineries and spirits brands, are $85 and are available online at latimes.com/taste or at the site.

Featured chefs at Saturday’s “Field to Fork� session with Times food editor Russ Parsons include Providence’s Michael Cimarusti, Alma’s Ari Taymore, Helms Bakery’s Sherry Yard and Fig’s Ray Garcia and a discussion of sustainable seafood. Saturday evening’s “Flavors of L.A.� with Jonathan Gold features Lukshon’s Sang Yoon, Bäco Mercat’s Josef Centeno, Spice Table’s Bryant Ng and Hudson House’s Brooke Williamson. There will be a panel discussion on the ins and outs of pop-up restaurants, with Craig Thornton from Wolvesmouth, Nguyen Tran from Starry Kitchen and Gary Menes from Le Comptoir.

Sunday’s family-friendly “Labor Day Block Party� with Test Kitchen director Noelle Carter will include Mozza’s Nancy Silverton, KCRW’s Evan Kleiman and D’elish’s Fred Eric. There will also be the championship of Times columnist Steve Lopez’s Firehouse Cookoff and a panel discussion on competition barbecue. Sunday evening’s “Cocktail Confidential� with deputy food editor Betty Hallock and Destination Cocktail columnist Jessica Gelt will feature chefs such as Acabar’s Octavio Becerra, Rivera’s John Sedlar, Hinoki & the Bird’s Kuniko Yagi and Ink’s Michael Voltaggio and mixologists Matthew Biancaniello, Allumette’s Serena Herrick, Lucques’ Christiaan Rollich, Hinoki & the Bird’s Brandyn Tepper, Ink’s Gabriella Mlynarczyk and 1886’s Brady Weise.

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