“Taste of Santa Barbara”Announces Complete Lineup of Events, Including Farm Tours, Cooking Classes, Panels, Pop-Ups & More!

A variety of new events have been added to the culinary celebration, presented by the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience in partnership with the Julia Child Foundation

This spring, the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience, in partnership with The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, presents its first-ever, Taste of Santa Barbara, May 16 – 22, a county-wide celebration of all things food and drink in the bountiful Santa Barbara region. A robust lineup of new events and programming has been added to this culinary celebration, open to the entire community. From an evening with Julia Child’s grandnephew, Alex Prud’homme, and niece Phila Cousins, and Julia-inspired cooking classes, dishes, and drinks, to

farm-to-table dining experiences, Julia screening with the directors, and more, Taste of Santa Barbara offers a delicious and educational way to discover the rich bounty of Santa Barbara County.

Through a special collaboration with the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network, attendees will also have the opportunity to attend a panel on rebuilding our food system, tour county-wide farms, and visit farmers’ markets to experience first-hand how food producers are building resilience in our region.

Tickets for Taste of Santa Barbara signature events are on sale now and can be purchased online here. The complete lineup of signature events and featured partner events is as follows:

May 16 – 22
Dine Around Town with Julia Child and Cocktail Crawl with Paul

Julia Child inspired so many of our local Santa Barbara chefs and her passion for good food made with local ingredients will forever echo from their kitchens. Julia and Paul Child often entertained friends with cocktails, many of them crafted by Paul Child, who was known for his custom libations. Explore Santa Barbara County’s loved bars and restaurants for specials in honor of these two love birds.

More info: https://sbce.events/dine-around-town-with-julia/

May 16 – 22
Santa Barbara Restaurant Week

Participating restaurants will present Julia-inspired pre-fixe menus priced at $30, $40, and $50 all week long.

More info: https://www.sbrestaurantweeks.com/

May 16 at 6:00 p.m.
Two Baking Brits – Homage To Julia

Join Pascale Beale, chef and owner of Pascale’s Kitchen, Sandra Adu Zelli, chef and owner of Gipsy Hill Bakery as they team up for a new Two Baking Brits event. The chefs will prepare a special Julia Child Provencal-inspired winemaker dinner with Sonja Magdevski from Casa Dumetz Winery featuring a springtime five-course tasting menu with wines paired for each course and organic produced sourced from the Santa Barbara Farmers Market.

More info and tickets: https://www.pascaleskitchen.com/events-and-classes.php?Events

May 18, 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
A Taste Of Santa Barbara Cooking Workshop

Join Chef Robin of A Taste of California for a live cooking workshop featuring classic Julia Child-inspired dishes: Tapenade + Anchoïade with Homemade Crackers, Salmon Niçoise with Olive-Caper Vinaigrette, and Cherry Clafoutis.

More info and tickets: https://privatechefrobin.com/product/a_taste_of_santa_barbara/

May 19 at 6:00 p.m.
Julia Child Santa Barbara Seafood Stew

Join Apples to Zucchini Cooking School for a hands-on cooking class where you will learn to create Julia Child’s “Santa Barbara Fish Stew.” The meal will begin with Roasted Romanesco in Sauce Veloute and end with Fresh Strawberry Tart. Ingredients will come from local farmers and local fishermen. The class is limited to 12 participants to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to learn techniques and tips at each stage of cooking the meal.

More info and tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/julia-child-santa-barbara-seafood-stew

May 19 at 6:30 p.m.
Wine & Dessert Fireside Chat with Julia Child’s Family

Join us for a night under the stars by the ocean, honoring Santa Barbara legend Julia Child. Guests will enjoy a fireside chat with Julia Child’s My Life in France co-author and grandnephew, Alex Prud’homme, and niece Phila Cousins. Conversation led by author, co-producer of Inside Julia’s Kitchen podcast and Director of Outreach for The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, Lauren Salkeld. Tickets include a Fess Parker wine tasting, along with a dessert flight from Hilton’s Executive Chef, Yesica Arredondo.

More info and tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wine-dessert-fireside-chat-with-julia-childs-family-tickets-333831016557

May 19 – 20
A Taste of Cuyama

A specially-curated event in Cuyama Valley to experience a local food system in action. The event will start off with a local beverage tasting experience with Cuyama Beverage Company surrounded by valley views, followed by a 3-course, farm-to-table dinner featuring ingredients from the local farms and area ranches with optional wine pairings at Cuyama Buckhorn. The next day will feature a regenerative farm tour at Rock Front Ranch, a local ranch featured at the tasting and dinner for a full circle experience, followed by a breathtaking drive back to Santa Barbara through Santa Barbara County’s high desert.

More info and tickets: https://www.cuyamabuckhorn.com/happenings/a-taste-of-cuyama

May 20 at 11:30 a.m.
Farm Tour: Rock Front Ranch and the Cuyama Valley Food Action Network

Join Rock Front Ranch to see first-hand how regenerative practices are applied in a high desert climate. Farmer Alisha Taff will discuss how to cultivate the finest, purest, most healthful honey in the world, why jujubes are an ideal superfruit to grow in the Cuyama Valley, and how together, farmers in her community are developing a resilient food system model via the Cuyama Valley Food Action Network. Tour is part of the Taste of Cuyama Package offered by the Cuyama Buckhorn and includes a honey tasting.

More info and tickets: https://www.cuyamabuckhorn.com/happenings/a-taste-of-cuyama

May 20 at 2:00 p.m.
Farm Tour: Piedrasassi Wine & Bread (21yrs+)

Join farmer, miller, and baker Melissa Sorongon and winemaker Sashi Moorman at their winery/bakery Piedrasassi, located in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. Learn how Melissa transforms locally grown grains into artisan bread, naturally fermented with grapes from her vineyard. Learn about heritage wheat, see how grains are milled, and taste the tang of traditional fermentation. Do a barrel tasting with the winemaker, then come back to the tasting room to taste finished wines and bread. Tour includes wine and bread tasting and take-home sourdough starter. Attendees must be 21 years or older to participate.

More info and tickets: https://tasteofsb.ticketsauce.com/e/piedrasassi-wine-bread-21yrs

May 20 at 7:00 p.m.
JULIA Screening and Directors Q&A
At Garvin Theatre, Santa Barbara City College

Join Oscar-nominated directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen for a screening and conversation about the first feature-length documentary about Julia Child. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the directors moderated by Todd Schulkin, Executive Director of The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts and host of the Inside Julia’s Kitchen podcast.

More info and tickets: https://tasteofsb.ticketsauce.com/e/julia-screening-and-directors-q-a

May 21 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Santa Barbara Farmers’ Market Program

Join us at one of the most diverse farmers’ markets in California to see, smell, and taste the bounty of our region. Visit the Taste of Santa Barbara booth for seasonal food demonstrations and tastings, an immersive scavenger hunt, and a live recording of the Inside Julia’s Kitchen podcast featuring local chefs Pascale Beale and Jeremy Tummel. Connect with the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network and meet food system actors who are helping build a more resilient foodshed.

Free event; More info: https://sbce.events/saturday-farmers-market/

May 21 at 3:00 p.m.
Rebuilding Our Food System
Garvin Theatre, Santa Barbara City College

Learn from local, national, and global leaders who are tackling our most pressing food-related challenges about how place-based, community-led, cross-sector collective action can build a more sustainable, resilient food system in Santa Barbara and beyond.

Join Santa Barbara County Food Action Network Executive Director Shakira Miracle, U.S. Congressman Salud Carbajal, Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg, and a panel of regional food system changemakers moderated by Julia Child Foundation Executive Director Todd Schulkin:

• Sarah Koyo is Šmuwič (Chumash) and Tohono O’odham, working to revitalize her community’s connections to traditional foods and medicines through food sovereignty, ethnobotany, and traditional Indigenous knowledge.
• Stefan Selbert is a next-generation farmer and operations manager at Las Cumbres Ranch where he is rebuilding the soil with cows via rotational grazing and closed loop systems that give back to the land more than they take.
• Melissa Sorongon, owner and farmer at Piedrasassi Wine & Bread, coordinates a cooperative equipment sharing alliance that provides farmers with the critical regional infrastructure they need to get food from their farm to your table.
• Jessica Vieira, Senior Director of Sustainability at Apeel Sciences, leads the company’s sustainability efforts by applying data-driven analyses and life-cycle thinking to maximize Apeel’s positive impacts related to climate change and food waste.

The discussion will be followed by a reception featuring beverages and light bites showcasing the bounty of the region.

Those who want to see first-hand how resilience is being built into our local food system from the ground up can join regional farm tours on Friday or Sunday. Tours of countywide farms, ranches, community gardens, and processing facilities will demonstrate regenerative and sustainable agriculture and food production practices.

More info and tickets: https://tasteofsb.ticketsauce.com/e/rebuilding-our-food-system

May 22 at 10:00 a.m.
Farm Tour: Restoration Oaks Ranch and Santa Barbara Blueberries

Join farmer and rancher Ed Seaman at his family’s more than 900-acre ranch to learn how they have applied agroecology principles to produce food in partnership with nature. See how limited resources such as water and topsoil and wild habitats are carefully managed – and meet the thousands of worms who transform local food scraps into “black gold” that builds soil fertility. If the berries come early, stay after the tour to pick – and taste – blueberries in the u-pick fields. If not, tour will include a complimentary

$10 coupon for picking when the season does start. Keep in mind most years start in early June.

More info and tickets:
https://tasteofsb.ticketsauce.com/e/restoration-oaks-ranch-and-santa-barbara-blueberri

May 22 at 10:00 a.m.
Farm Tour: Center for Regenerative Agriculture at Jalama Canyon Ranch

Join Jesse Smith, White Buffalo Land Trust’s Director of Land Stewardship, and other members of the WBLT team at their 1,000-acre Center for Regenerative Agriculture, where they are working to restore the ecosystem via agriculture. Visit their vineyard and learn how what you eat (and drink) can improve the world. Enjoy tasting products from WBLT’s regenerative food brand, Figure Ate, and discover how these delicious products address ecological needs.

More info and tickets:
https://tasteofsb.ticketsauce.com/e/center-for-regenerative-agriculture-at-jalama-cany

May 22 at 10:00 a.m.
Farm Tour: Rodeo Farms Strawberry Field Day

Join grower Luz Gudino in the strawberry field to learn how this sweet fruit is grown and harvested. See first-hand how Rodeo Farms employs sustainable practices, such as drone technology for pest management, careful pruning to keep plants healthy, and organic amendments to boost soil health. Pick your own sun-ripened Monterrey and Cabrillo strawberries off the vine to take home – and taste them dipped in chocolate or topped with whipped cream. Tour includes a two-pound clam shell basket to pick your own take-home strawberries.

More info and tickets: https://tasteofsb.ticketsauce.com/e/rodeo-farms-strawberry-field-day

May 22 at 11:00 a.m.
Farm Tour: Trinity Community Gardens and Organic Soup Kitchen

Join Trinity Community Gardens and the Organic Soup Kitchen to see first-hand how non-profit organizations can work together to grow food, provide nourishment, and build community. Tour the three-acre organic garden and “food forest” orchard, learn about small-scale sustainable practices and closed-loop systems that any gardener can employ, and taste a variety of delicious garden-to-bowl soups. Tour includes soup tasting.

More info and tickets:
https://tasteofsb.ticketsauce.com/e/trinity-community-gardens-and-organic-soup-kitchen

May 22 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Route One Farmers’ Market Program

Join us at the newest farmers’ market in our region to see, smell, and taste the bounty of Santa Barbara County. Visit the Route One and Santa Barbara County Food Action Network booths for seasonal food demonstrations and tastings, a tour of the mobile farmers market truck that is expanding food access in North Santa Barbara County, and meet food system actors who are helping build a more resilient foodshed. Live music and food trucks will be on-site to make this the perfect stop to lunch from and learn about our food system.

May 22 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Taste of Santa Barbara Wines
El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park

Learn and taste what makes Santa Barbara County wines unique from the rest of the world. We’ve hand-picked twelve wineries from six federally-sanctioned American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) to pour in the Presidio Orchard. Winemaking panel discussions will be throughout the afternoon inside the Presidio’s historic chapel. Attendees will get to hear directly from our growers and winemakers! While you’re tasting, stop by Heritage Goods and Supply’s special pop-up store, which will feature books and

products from local authors and artisans as well as specialty foods available for purchase.

More info and tickets: https://tasteofsb.ticketsauce.com/e/taste-of-santa-barbara-wines

The full Culinary Calendar of Events can be found online here.

About The Santa Barbara County Food Action Network

The Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN) connects, aligns, and activates food system changemakers to develop a robust local food economy, a healthy and just community, and a

well-stewarded, resilient foodshed. Formed in 2019, SBCFAN supports efforts to advance goals of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan, a countywide, community-driven strategic plan that assessed and provided recommendations for how we grow, distribute, consume, and dispose of food.

About The Santa Barbara Culinary Experience

The purpose of the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience (SBCE), in partnership with The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, is to shine a light on our local culinary, hospitality, tourism, artisan, and small business communities.

About The Julia Child Foundation

The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts was created in 1995. Its mission is to educate and encourage everyone to appreciate the joys of cooking, eating, and drinking well.

Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, the Foundation has granted nearly $3.0 million to non-profits supporting research in culinary history, scholarships for professional culinary training, food writing and media as well as professional development and food literacy programs.