Category Archives: Food Finds

VIDEO: Behind The Scenes Of Baker CakeMaker & LA Cookie Con

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la-cookie-sweets-show-main-logo

L.A. Cookie Con and Sweets Show is coming this Sunday! This means unlimited tastings of a variety of gourmet sweets, lots of demos and other fun activities going on, plus a guest appearance from Ron Ben-Israel of “Sweet Genius” on Food Network. For anyone with a sweet tooth, this is the must-attend event of the year, and I’m not even sugar coating!

I am so excited to be an official blogger, and it was a pleasure to be invited to the planning meeting last week for a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to successfully pull off such a huge event. There are over 3,000 sweet lovers coming to attend this weekend, and the planning meeting meticulously ensured that everything will go as smoothly as possible, with vendors preparing to offer plenty of delicious samples for all.

L.A. Cookie Con Official Blogger Badge Tanaya's Table

It was great to meet so many of the vendors who were passionate about their creations… I’ve put together a video below to give you a peek into what our day was like.

Also, here’s the most exciting part: Nancy Tei of L.A. Cookie Con was sweet enough (pun intended… ha ha) to set up a code for my followers, so anyone who enters ‘TANAYASTABLE’ will get $3 off their GA or VIP tickets. UPDATE: The event is now sold out, but I will do a giveaway of some items from select vendors of L.A. Cookie Con in the coming week!

Here’s a peek into the planning meeting at AMLI Lex on Orange in Glendale:

Click above for a peek into the L.A. Cookie Con planning meeting with all the wonderful vendors!

Click above for a peek into the L.A. Cookie Con planning meeting with many of the wonderful vendors!

One of my favorite new sweets purveyors, Baker CakeMaker (who also will be at the show) gave us an inside tour of the bakery. The video, choc-full of ensaymadas, Oreo-stuffed cookies and more, is below.

Baker Cakemaker opened not too long ago, but the unique bakery is already setting itself apart from existing bakeries around the Hollywood area. What makes it so unique is that it doesn’t focus on your typical French pastries like many of the bakeries in Los Angeles do. Instead, owner and chef Aris Rodriguez has decided to fuse Filipino and other Asian influences along with European and American baking techniques and flavors.

The results are below. See you at L.A. Cookie Con!

Going behind the bakery with Chef Aris, owner of Baker CakeMaker

Going behind the bakery with Chef Aris, owner of Baker CakeMaker – check out those ensaymadas!

L.A. Cookie Con ~ A baking, pastry and sweets extravaganza ~ Sunday, January 25th 10 a.m. -5 p.m. ~ Pasadena Convention Center

For more information on the sweetest event in SoCal, visit the L.A. Cookie Con official website or follow them on Twitter.

Stay tuned for coverage after the event as well. Hope everyone is having a good start to 2015!

VIDEO Sneak Peek: Unique LA Returns For The Holidays

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Note: If you’ve noticed my absence, it has been due to a family emergency I’ve been dealing with on an ongoing basis… but I’m back for now, or at least trying to be as much as possible.

Thanks for your understanding and patience, and I’m looking forward to sharing more good eats, events, behind the scenes videos and recipes with you all! Much love.

Featured items in my Huffington Post article on the first ever Unique LA.

Featured items from my Huffington Post article on the first-ever Unique LA back in 2012

When I covered the first ever Unique L.A. a couple years ago, I found everything from red velvet ding-dongs, bacon-banana macarons and raspberry-habañero jam, to DIY headbands, gingerbread donuts and all-natural smoked tuna cat food flakes… plus lots of locally crafted items resembling moustaches, octopi… and octopi with moustaches.

You can see what other peculiar, adorable and intriguing items were featured at the inaugural Unique L.A. in my coverage piece, published on the Huffington Post.

Although we can only time travel back to past Unique L.A. experiences by reading about them, the good news is there’s another weekend of fun coming to downtown L.A. starting tomorrow. And even better than just reading about it, this time I will share a video with highlights as well!

A couple weeks ago, I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek — or should I say, a “snack peek” — at some of the artisanal food crafters who will be selling at this weekend’s Unique L.A. thanks to my Tastemade crew.

Here’s a look at some of the treats you can expect to find… including pumpkin spice donuts from Donut Snob, Meyer lemon pie from Sugar Pie Honey Buns, chipotle dulce de leche macarons from Soft Peaks, and so much more:

Tanayas Table Unique LA Donut Snob etc Sneak Peek Tastemade Video Image

Check out this 1-minute video for a sneak preview of what unique treats you can find at this weekend’s Unique LA! (Blooper alert!)

Good times, bloopers and all! Also, here’s a bonus feature I did on Bon Puf’s all-natural, organic cotton candy in interesting flavor combinations like mango chili, salted caramel and lychee green tea. Plus, I get to try my hand at making some cotton candy as well! Join the mini adventure here:

The sweet folks at Bon Puf show me how to make my own Mango Chili cotton candy!

The sweet folks at Bon Puf show me how to make my own Mango Chili cotton candy! Check out the video right here ^

To find out more and to grab your tickets to food, entertainment and DIY workshops, check out the Unique L.A website. See you there!

Copyright Tanaya Ghosh 2014

VIDEO: How Chicken And Waffle Cones Are Made – Behind The Scenes Of A Food Truck Pop-Up

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So here it is, the insider coverage + video exclusive on this highly anticipated chicken & waffle cone pop-up event!

Update to the previous post alerting you to the amazing chicken & waffle cones pop-up from Carb & Nation: Due to such high demand and continuous long lines, Carb & Nation will be serving both versions of their savory chicken & waffle cones for one more night– next Saturday night (10/4/14) to be exact, on the second night of their Tested LA Saturday night residency!

A common question that may come to mind is, how does one eat a savory waffle cone full of chicken and layers of other good stuff? Well, the guys offer forks with the cones, but from our experience we could just bite into the cone without it breaking apart.

The cone is sturdier and less sweet than your traditional waffle cone, as a result of the chefs’ unique recipe to cut the sugar in half without losing the crispiness of the cone. It’s amazing, actually!

So nope, no problems eating it straight out of the cone, and it’s actually quite delicious as you bite it and get layer by layer of complementary flavor. You can see the layers detailed in the photos below.

Check out the one-minute pre-opening video of their first (and epic) chicken and waffles pop-up yesterday. We even got to get a sneak peek of how they make their chicken & waffle cones (both American & Indonesian versions!) thanks to Chefs Fata Wijaya and Kevin Micheli.

Reporting straight from inside the food truck as they prepped to serve the gigantic line outside, Tanaya’s Table brings you the scoop on a new kind of food in a cone!

Copyright Tanaya Ghosh 2014

Tanaya’s Table brings you an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how these innovative chefs make their savory cones… right from inside the food truck!

Here’s a photo of the American Cone, which has figs three ways. Fresh, dried… and in a Guinness beer reduction. Oh yes:

Copyright Tanaya Ghosh 2014

The American Cone, right before we devoured it.

And as promised, here is a breakdown of each cone and its layers of flavor and textures that all work so well together:

Copyright Tanaya Ghosh 2014

The Chicken and Waffle Cone Pop-Up Menu: The American Cone and Indonesian Cone

I highly recommend checking them out at Tested LA next weekend, as Oct. 4 will be your last chance to get your hands on these special cones! You can go anytime between 5-11 p.m. but I would suggest going early, as they ran out due to such large crowds on their first (and only, as originally planned) day of cone service.

One cone is definitely a meal in itself, costs $9 each and is totally worth the wait in line, judging from the reaction of the people I spoke with. We were fortunate to get the first cones of the day, as a result of filming them being built (woo hoo!), and I felt just a wee bit guilty walking by, biting into my cone while people in line fawned over it.

I assured them the wait was worth it, though… and it definitely was.

More photos and location details can be found in the preview post. Go get ’em while you can!

Food Protip: Chicken And Waffles. In A Cone. One Night Only!

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Fried chicken cone indonesian

UPDATE 9/27: Due to such high demand and continuous long lines, Carb & Nation will be serving both versions of their savory chicken & waffle cones next Saturday night (10/4/14) on the second night of their Tested LA residency!

Fried chicken nestled in a waffle cone, in two globally inspired flavors. Who could possibly be the mastermind behind this fascinating food creation coming to Los Angeles this weekend?

That would be chef innovators Fata Wijaya and Kevin Micheli of the Carb & Nation food truck. The event will mark the kickoff to their Saturday night residency at Tested LA, and therefore although the chicken & waffle cones will be a pop-up event, Carb & Nation will actually be back with new goodies every Saturday night.

Here are all the details you need to get your hands on this extremely limited time– and extremely delicious– fusion fare:

Who: Carb & Nation

Where: Tested LA – 3329 Division St. Los Angeles 90065

When: Saturday, Sept. 27 ~ 5 p.m. – 11 p.m.

I had the pleasure of meeting Carb & Nation chef Kevin Micheli at the ROAM Food Truck Academy seminar as part of the Western Foodservice Expo last month, and I’m excited to say that if you are unable to make it to the Glassell Park location, you can still partake in the hype via exclusive coverage right here, as I will be doing a pre-event collaboration with the chefs prior to their opening!

Stay tuned for the post, along with behind-the-scenes video coverage. I will also be posting live updates along with other foodie news as usual, on the Tanaya’s Table Twitter (@TanayaG) & Instagram accounts (@MsTanayaG). Connect with me on those social media handles to get the scoop firsthand, as always. On each platform I share exclusive food tips and content, and love having foodie conversations with all of you!

In the meantime, I present you with a visual sneak peek to get your tastebuds primed and ready for this Saturday night:

The American Waffle Cone

fried chicken cone modern american

Fried chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, goat cheese fondue, fig syrup and an apple slaw with lemon-coriander dressing. Tip: ask to add the housemade buttery habanero hot sauce if you like heat! (source: Carb & Nation)

 

The Indonesian Style Waffle Cone

Fried chicken cone indonesian

Indonesian fried chicken, coconut rice, pickled vegetables, coconut-kaffir lime syrup and sambal chili sauce. (source: Carb & Nation)

Other cities, be jealous. Or, just stay tuned for the Tanaya’s Table exclusive inside Carb & Nation’s chicken & waffle cone pop-up! 😉

An Update From L.A. Food & Wine

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Well hello there! So I’m in the midst of 6 (yes, SIX!) different food events this weekend, and I’ve got two down so far. Talk about a blissful food coma!

Here are some of the fun highlights from L.A. Food & Wine’s Asian Night Market. Cameos include talented chef personalities Jet Tila, Aarti Sequeira and Nguyen Tran… plus I eat coconut curry snails. Yes, SNAILS! Check it out here:

Copyright 2014 Tanaya Ghosh

Click above to see my favorite moments of L.A. Food & Wine Asian Night Market… and to see how the snails were!

Phew! More highlights and photos of all the innovative food and creative cocktails to come (peanut butter matcha sesame oil cocktails, say what?!). Alright, I’ll be priming my stomach for more food now, because I’m off to the Lexus Grand Tasting and will be reporting back shortly!

For realtime updates, you can always follow me on Instagram and Twitter for some other fun, exclusive tidbits from each of the events… and my crazy, unpredictable foodie life in general. I’d love to connect with you guys and see what you’re eating and experience, too… Cheers!