As the Santa Barbara region continues to grow as a world-class tourism destination, its culinary and cultural scene has also risen to new heights, giving locals all the more reason to love their hometown and visitors more reasons than ever to visit.
In an effort to continue this momentum, this spring, the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience, in partnership with the Julia Child Foundation, will present its first-ever, Taste of Santa Barbara, May 16 - 22, a county-wide celebration of all things food and drink in the Santa Barbara region.
Taste of Santa Barbara will feature a broad array of events and special happenings at restaurants, bars, farms, and wineries, as well as pop-ups, workshops, speaker panels, and more.
Signature events include a special screening of the documentary Julia followed by a conversation with Oscar-nominated directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen; Rebuilding Our Food System, a panel discussion with visionary leaders who are tackling the planet’s most pressing challenges to develop a more sustainable food system; and the signature Taste of Santa Barbara Wines event featuring wine tasting and conversations with winemakers at the historic El Presidio in downtown Santa Barbara.
Many of the region’s restaurants and bars will also participate in the Dine Around Town with Julia Child and Pub Crawl with Paul, where the public can enjoy tribute dishes or specials, as well as cocktails inspired by Julia and Paul.
“We’re so thrilled to bring back the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience through this thoughtfully curated and innovative celebration that really showcases the vast bounty of all things related to food and drink in Santa Barbara,” said Donna Yen, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience.
“Our goal was to create an annual event that’s accessible to our entire community, and also provide an educational platform for important conversations about our food systems, and what we can all do to be part of the solution. We think Julia herself would agree that the Taste of Santa Barbara honors her legacy, by educating and encouraging others to appreciate the joys of cooking, eating, and drinking well!”
The full Culinary Calendar of Events can be found online here.
Tickets for all events can be purchased online here.
