As the L.A. Times Test Kitchen director, Noelle Carter oversees the testing of all recipes that appear in The Times. She is also part of The Taste held on the Paramount Pictures Studios backlot over three nights during Labor Day Weekend.

On Sunday night of The Taste, Noelle is performing a Southern Cooking Demonstration with Chef Sean Lowenthal of Little Beast.

“This Labor Day weekend, join the Los Angeles Times for 3 evenings of amazing food, wine, spirits and chef experiences, plus unique culinary pop-ups and collaborations. Dozens of hand-picked local restaurants each evening will showcase our city’s rich and diverse culinary scene by serving you their best. Sip, savor, and celebrate Southern California’s most inspired food and drink. 21 and over only.”

In addition to her Test Kitchen duties, Noelle writes features, pens the “Culinary SOS“ column, and contributes daily kitchen tips, recipes and videos to Food’s Daily Dish blog, and is also a regular contributor to “The Splendid Table” radio program. A native Southern Californian, she also holds a degree in film from the University of Southern California and, when she’s not cooking, loves watching old movies.

Noelle puts down her trusty spatula for an enticing preview.

Chef Romeo Garcia of Romeo Chocolates in Downtown Long Beach is a Master Chocolatier with a global reach. He is so highly regarded in Long Beach that the buildout of the retail shop was partially underwritten by a successful Kickstarter Campaign.

In addition to decadent chocolates (artisan bars & truffles) his chocolate boutique serves a variety of appealing chocolate beverages and decadent plated desserts. Think Frozen Hot Chocolate, an incredibly rich ice-blended beverage.

Romeo Chocolates also offers creative chocolate pairings with wine and beer.

“It’s easy to fall in love with chocolate. Romeo became enamored with the artistry of design, flavors, and the richness of the story of chocolate-making from around the world. An avid learner and traveler, Romeo graduated from Ecole Professional School of Chocolate Arts, completed the Master Chocolatier Program in Belgium, and traveled across Europe, South Pacific, and other regions to carefully source chocolates and ingredients. Proudly made in Long Beach, California. Enjoy our artisanal, micro-batch chocolate bars and confections!”

Chef Romeo Garcia is our guest.

Chef Andrew Gruel, the founder of The Slapfish Restaurant Group, joins us with another installment of “Ask the Chef.”

Did you know China is the biggest exporter of seafood to the United States? Most surprising is that a major portion of this seafood ($900 million annually according to a recent piece in The Wall Street Journal) is fish harvested from American waters and then processed in China. Tariffs are on the horizon, too…

We’re uncorking it again with our distinguished wine expert, Kyle Meyer of Santa Ana’s Wine Exchange.

Is there a relationship between quality and price when it comes to California’s cult wines? What is the pricing model? Where is the value to be found if it can perhaps be found at all?

Most of the cult wines of California are coming from the elite Napa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is King! In the rarified growing areas of Napa there is very little room to expand vineyards.

Sally Camacho-Mueller (ex-Jonathan Club and Hotel Bel-Air) is Executive Pastry Chef / Partner of Tesse on the Sunset Strip at La Cienega Blvd. It is modern French cooking using California ingredients under the direction of Executive Chef Raphael Francois.

“Sally Camacho Mueller graduated with honors from both the Culinary and Baking & Pastry Programs at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. She returned to her home in Los Angeles, to work with Donald Wressell at The Four Seasons Beverly Hills and from there went on to work at numerous award-winning resorts and fine dining restaurants including The Wynn Las Vegas, Bradley Ogden at Caesars Palace, the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort in FL, Wolfgang Puck‘s WP24, the Hotel Bel-Air, and the Jonathan Club. In 2015 she joined as the Culinary Institute of America Greystone in Napa Valley as pastry chef and baker instructor.”

Her work has been featured in numerous publications and in 2011 she was a cheftestant on Bravo‘s Top Chef: Just Desserts where she came away as a finalist and runner-up.

We’ll meet her.

It’s the return of our thirst quenching “Ask the Brewers” segment. Joining us is Golden Road Brewing’s Brewmaster, Victor Novak, and Anaheim Head Brewer, Steven Torres.

Barrel-aged beer is a popular trend on the craft beer scene. Think aging small lots of beer in whiskey barrels…We’ll find out what it’s all about from our experts. Our Brewers will tap the barrel on this fun little side project.

Steven Raichlen is synonymous with barbecue. The James Beard Award-winning author of an impressive array of New York Times bestselling cookbooks, a Barbecue Hall of Famer and international PBS star has shaped America’s obsession with live-fire cooking for decades. Following the success of Project Smoke, Raichlen returns to the subject that earned him his reputation as a pioneer of the grill with PROJECT FIRE: Cutting-Edge Techniques and Sizzling Recipes from the Caveman Porterhouse to Salt Slab Brownie S’mores.

After thirty books, seven TV series – including a new one out this May, Project Fire on PBS – two decades of Barbecue University classes, 60 countries and 6 continents traveled, one might wonder what else Raichlen could possibly say about grilling. Turns out, it’s a lot. Never before have American home cooks used a wider range of grilling techniques, nor had access to a more diverse array of flavors and ingredients.

Delivering both a complete step-by-step handbook to mastering the latest techniques and equipment alongside a collection of over 100 innovative recipes for grilling every kind of food, Project Fire is the modern grilling treatise. A stunning collection of recipes and techniques, Project Fire provides a wealth of information for how we want to grill today.

Steven Raichlen is the author of the New York Times bestselling Barbecue! Bible® cookbook series, which includes the new Project Fire; Barbecue Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades; Project Smoke, The Barbecue Bible, and How to Grill. Winner of 5 James Beard awards and 3 IACP awards, his books have been translated into 17 languages. In 2016, he was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame.

We’re firing up the grill with Steven Raichlen.

The 2018 Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo will be held Sunday, August 19 – Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The tradeshow and conference will provide 9,000+ industry professionals with access to the hottest menu trends, state of the art design and decor, a renowned education program, special events, and 450+ of the leading vendors and purveyors dedicated to serving the restaurant & foodservice community.

The tradeshow and conference, started in 1936 is managed by Clarion UX and sponsored by the California Restaurant Association.

The 2018 event will be co-located with Coffee Fest and Healthy Food Expo West, and attendees will have access to all three events.

“Our attendees have become accustomed to seeing the most influential names in the restaurant industry on Center Stage and our 2018 event will not disappoint the thousands of restaurant and foodservice professionals attending the upcoming Western Foodservice Expo,” said Tom Loughran, Vice President for the Clarion UX Food & Beverage Portfolio, “We are thrilled to be welcoming a terrific line-up of celebrity chefs who are involved with some of the leading restaurants in the country to Center Stage as well as present the Beacon and Torch Awards, and watch two exciting competitions.”

Representing the Expo is Tom Loughran, Vice President for the Show.

Newly arrived in DTLA is South City Fried Chicken, where not one, but eight great Southern cities are uniquely represented via the most delicious mother cluckin’ Fried Chicken Sandwiches this side of the Rio Grande! Guests have the opportunity to get lost in their nuanced mouth-watering, finger-lickin’ Fried Chicken Sandwiches prepared with the highest-quality ingredients and packed with the finest flavors the South has to offer.

“After a year on the road getting in touch with their roots and cultivating the essence of Southern cuisine, South City Fried Chicken Co-Owners Joshua Kopel and Chef Sammy Monsour returned to Los Angeles with the innovation and grit to tackle their second venture together. “South City Fried Chicken is the canvas on which to experience a story that is important to Josh and I,” says Monsour. “Our food honors Southern culture, the people we come from, and connects us with our guests.””

“Setting out with the intent to not only create the most delectable Fried Chicken Sandwiches in the West, but as an homage to the people of the South, Chef Sammy set his standards high from the get-go with an adamant motto: No heat lamps, no freezers, no excuses. Everything on the South City Fried Chicken menu is made-to-order, maintaining farm-to-table concepts by utilizing the same local vendors as fine dining big sister restaurant Preux & Proper. No detail is too small, from the homemade pepper mixes and sauces, to the employment of Jidori chicken, an artisan-take on poultry farming by utilizing hand-pulled methods over machines, and brioche buns from La Brea Bakery.”

Each Fried Chicken Sandwich begins with succulent Jidori chicken in marinade and buttermilk brine, marinating together for a minimum of 24 hours. When it is finally ready to go, the last step is dredging the chicken in the “stay crispy batter” before getting fried to perfection and seasoned according to each sandwiches destination. Described by Chef Sammy as “A love letter to the South written in flavor,” the South City Fried Chicken Sandwich Menu highlights nine crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside offerings, eight of which feature namesake cities that are major players in Southern cuisine.

Owner Joshua Kopel and Partner & Executive Chef Sammy Monsour join us to crow about the opening.

Now an enticing preview of Saturday’s abundant show. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case, upon careful reflection, that’s probably a pretty good thing…

Newly arrived in DTLA is South City Fried Chicken, where not one, but eight great Southern cities are uniquely represented via the most delicious mother cluckin’ Fried Chicken Sandwiches this side of the Rio Grande! Guests have the opportunity to get lost in their nuanced mouth-watering, finger-lickin’ Fried Chicken Sandwiches prepared with the highest-quality ingredients and packed with the finest flavors the South has to offer. Owner Joshua Kopel and Partner & Executive Chef Sammy Monsour join us to crow about the opening.

The 2018 Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo will be held Sunday, August 19 – Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The tradeshow and conference will provide 9,000+ industry professionals with access to the hottest menu trends, state of the art design and decor, a renowned education program, special events, and 450+ of the leading vendors and purveyors dedicated to serving the restaurant & foodservice community. This year it’s co-located with Coffee Fest and Healthy Food Expo West. Representing the Expo is Tom Loughran, Vice President for the Show.

Steven Raichlen is synonymous with barbecue. The James Beard Award-winning author of an impressive array of New York Times bestselling cookbooks, a Barbecue Hall of Famer and international PBS star has shaped America’s obsession with live-fire cooking for decades. Following the success of Project Smoke, Raichlen returns to the subject that earned him his reputation as a pioneer of the grill with PROJECT FIRE: Cutting-Edge Techniques and Sizzling Recipes from the Caveman Porterhouse to Salt Slab Brownie S’mores. We’re firing up the grill with Steven Raichlen.

It’s the return of our thirst quenching “Ask the Brewers” segment. Joining us is Golden Road Brewing’s acclaimed Brewmaster, Victor Novak, and Anaheim Head Brewer,