Star chefs give standout performances at BeachLife Festival

Dressed successful his room whites, David LeFevre was engaged making his rounds done the tables astatine his Redondo Beach spot connected Friday evening, chatting up diners, sometimes taking a spot adjacent to them to speech astir their four-course meal.

The celebrated South Bay cook wasn’t astatine 1 of his restaurants, but alternatively the BeachLife Festival’s DAOU SideStage Experience pop-up arsenic New Orleans set The Revivalists played connected the adjacent main signifier a fewer feet away.

He talked to immoderate diners astir the euphony and conscionable the excitement of being backmost astatine a unrecorded performance earlier taking immoderate clip to himself to look the signifier and ticker the band.

“It’s been awesome, the euphony has been incredible, the guests person been dancing and having a blast. This is the epitome of the South Bay, the upwind is perfect, the prima is mounting close now. I mean, it’s conscionable perfect,” LeFevre said.

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Just similar the inaugural festival successful 2019, the SideStage pop-up edifice this twelvemonth includes a trio of prima chefs displaying their cooking skills alongside the main signifier musicians with each cook serving a $274 per idiosyncratic prix fixe paper connected antithetic nights of the Sept.10-12 lawsuit astatine Seaside Lagoon successful Redondo Beach.

LeFevre, who is down the MB Post, Arthur J and Fishing With Dynamite, returned to navigator for his second time astatine the pop-up connected Friday portion connected Saturday the SideStage belonged to Brendan Collins, formerly of Michelin star-winning Melisse edifice successful Santa Monica who served diners arsenic acts specified arsenic Counting Crows and Men astatine Work were acceptable for the  main stage.

South Bay autochthonal Tyler Gugliotta, existent chef/owner of Baran’s 2239 successful Hermosa Beach and Tigre’s Fuego successful Redondo Beach, volition closing retired the SideStage connected Sunday nighttime arsenic Ziggy and Stephen Marley perform.

While Friday nighttime was cleanable for LeFevre, returning to BeachLife has been acold from a cleanable roadworthy due to the fact that of the pandemic and its peculiarly devastating effects connected restaurants.

Like different edifice owners during the pandemic, LeFevre had to pivot his concern exemplary to past by serving to-go meals during the lockdown and opening patio spaces wherever it was imaginable earlier indoor eating returned.

“Manhattan Beach has been truly supportive; each of our restaurants are inactive unfastened and they’re thriving close present but yea it’s been a pugnacious year,” helium said successful an interrogation earlier the festival.

And with the pugnacious twelvemonth successful mind, LeFevre wanted to service thing amusive and lively that would spark conversations astir the array during the pop-up, truthful helium looked to Friday nighttime headliner Jane’s Addiction for inspiration.

“We wanted to support it eclectic and benignant of funky. We’re doing immoderate hamachi that’s amusive with coconut and Southeastern flavors and abbreviated ribs glazed successful pomegranate that’s a truly amusive agleam entree. We were truly reasoning of Jane’s Addiction and reasoning what we could bash to lucifer their vibe.”

The euphony is besides the inspiration for Gugliotta’s meal, who is cooking erstwhile the Marley brothers execute connected Sunday.

“I’m going with a batch of Caribbean flavors, immoderate jerk flavors connected the entree and a amusive ceviche with watermelon and hibiscus,” said Gugliotta, who saw Ziggy Marley execute astatine the inaugural fest successful 2019.

While Sunday volition beryllium each astir celebrating his favourite artists and food, similar LeFevre and different edifice owners, Gugliotta had to beryllium originative to past the past twelvemonth and a half, serving everything from to-go dinners to meal burritos to bring successful revenue.

With everything that’s happened since the pandemic, Gugliotta said cooking astatine the festival volition consciousness adjacent much special.

“It’ll conscionable beryllium bully to beryllium retired with radical from the South Bay and different places and seeing them conscionable bask themselves listening to bully euphony and having bully food,” helium said.

On Friday nighttime the ambience was festive for SideStage diners specified arsenic Bobby Hartry, 54, and his woman Jenn Hartry, 49, of Rancho Palos Verdes, who sat astatine 1 of the tables closest to the signifier finishing their abbreviated rib dinner.

“It’s conscionable astonishing here. We’re large fans of David LeFevre,” helium said. “Normally astatine these kinds of things you’re benignant of distant from the signifier but this is ace chill due to the fact that you’re close there,” helium said, pointing to the signifier conscionable a fewer feet away.

“The vigor present is conscionable truthful great, the dependable is astonishing and I conscionable knew the nutrient was going to beryllium great,” she said.

For LeFevre, seeing blessed diners similar the Hartrys is, well, similar euphony to his ears.

“I deliberation this is much peculiar than past year. I deliberation the assemblage is acceptable to celebrate, to beryllium together. I deliberation radical are realizing what they missed,” LeFevre said Friday earlier heading backmost to the SideStage edifice to statesman serving the last repast of the nighttime alongside the Jane’s Addiction set.