Riviera Magazine’s Second Annual To Live & Dine Chef’s Challenge @ SoCo Costa Mesa – Media Tasting

It’s not everyday one gets to meet 19 of the most talented chefs all in one night.  Allen and I were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend Riviera Magazine’s 2nd Annual To Live & Dine Chef’s Challenge hosted by Chef Jet Tila and Chef Stan Frazier at The OC Mix at South Coast Collection (SOCO).

The talented chefs served up their signature fares competing to earn the gold coins from attendees.  At the end of the night, chef with the most coins won.  This event also supported a worthy cause as portion of the proceeds would benefit Court Appointed Special Advocates of Orange County (CASA).

(Photos by Allen Taylor Photography)

Right after we checked in, we came upon Mastro’s table serving up smoked Scottish salmon with parsnip puree, shaved root veggies, crisp prosciutto, radish, and smoked tomato vinaigrette.

Brasserie Pascal served some beautiful oysters topped with microgreens.

Chef Alessandro of Mare and Alessa cooked up delicious Lobster Ravioli.

The well known food truck, Taco Maria, has now opened its brick-and-Mortar at SOCO and made this amazing soft cooked egg with green chorizo and shery cream.  And if you want extra seasoning, you will find peppercorns and sea salt at the bottom of the container. How cool was that?

ARC Restaurant made these small bites called Land.Sea.Air with pork, duck, quail, and caviar on crispy shells.

Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas, where you can watch a movie and dine, created Octopus Ceviche (pictured above left) and Crispy Pork Belly Sliders (pictured bottom right).  The Iron Press served skewered waffle, fried chicken, bacon, and tater tots (pictured above bottom left) on a toothpick and drizzled with sriracha ketchup. And Jizake Sushi (formerly Waiiha Sushi) made  Cucumber Rolls (pictured above upper right).

Bread Artisan Bakery made an assortment of beautiful breads.  I normally try to eat very little bread at tasting but these were too good to resist.  I even got a sample bag to take home.

We Olive at the OC Mart Mix set up a few samples for guests to try.  I really love their flavored olive oils.  Did you know if you bring the bottle back to refill, you get $6 off?

I recently did a tasting at Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop and tried these Grilled Deliciousness (grilled peach with peach puree, salted pecan-crusted burrata cheese, baby arugula, & prosciutto salad with balsamic reduction).  I was thrilled to see them again.  Needless to say, I had more than one.

Sandy’s of HB created a delightful layered seafood cocktail (lobster, shrimp, orange chili sauce, and avocado) in a cucumber cup.

Cocktails were served, too.  Unfortunately when it was our turn, they ran out of ice and couldn’t make anymore.  This happened at 2 of the 3 cocktail stations.  One of the bartenders offered shots instead.

The Cheese Shop made melted Raclette cheese over chips, topped with mini gerkins, pickled red onions, and prosciutto.

Wildfish’s Pan Seared Jumbo Scallops were presented on whole scallop shells that awed the guests.  I saw some people took the shells home afterward.

Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s smoked and cooked their Smoked Bulgogi Philly Steak Sandwich on a jalapeno mini brioche roll (pictured above top).  Wild Goose Tavern’s spicy slider on cornmeal buns and a side of black beans (pictured above bottom left).  The Winery, soon to open their second location in Newport Beach, proudly presented Duck Confit with Black Truffle over kale risotto.

The Ranch, winner of To Live and Dine 2012, did not disappoint this year, either.  Sea of Cortez Diver Scallop with Prosciutto wrapped fig, Heirloom Tomato Tortilla Soup (not pictured), and Hand Crafted Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches were all delicious!

However, the night belonged to Chapter One – The Modern Local! Chef Chicken Wang and his Lamb Neck Ragu over potato gnocchi topped with curry granola and kale crisps claimed the crown for this year’s event.  I have to say, this was not a surprise to me as I was telling everyone to make sure try this dish.  It was amazing!  Congrats to Chef Chicken Wang and his entire crew!

My sincere thanks to Kitchen Table Marketing and PR for inviting me, and to Riviera Orange Country Modern Luxury and all the sponsors and talent chefs for putting forth all the hard work in making this event so successful.  If you missed it,  keep an eye out for next year’s.  You won’t want to miss it again.  I know I won’t.