By Lauren Gold, Pasadena Star-News
LOS ANGELES – The hip L.A. event space may have been just a few miles from the homes of the Hollywood stars, but the biggest celebrity in the room Sunday was Huy Fong Foods founder David Tran.
More than 800 people attended the first L.A. Sriracha Festival Sunday. Huy Fong Foods founder David Tran sponsored the event and attended to see what a dozen L.A. chefs created with his and others’ versions of the famous chili sauce. LAUREN GOLD — STAFF
The Arcadia resident and Sriracha god was bombarded with photo and autograph requests Sunday afternoon at Los Angeles’ first ever Sriracha Festival. More than 800 people packed Lot 613 in the Arts District to celebrate the hot chili sauce Tran helped put on the map in the U.S. since he founded his company 33 years ago after emigrating as a refugee from Vietnam.
“When I came to the U.S. I wanted the American dream, but my dream never included this,” said Tran, sporting a red “I put Sriracha on my Sriracha” T-shirt.
The sold-out festival, which organizers said they plan to turn into an annual event, offered people anything and everything one could possibly make with Sriracha sauce. From Sriracha cocktails, to chili sauce ice cream and caramel apples, to a burger made with Sriracha leather, the 11 Los Angeles chefs and other dessert and drink vendors really brought the heat.
Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Eagle Rock Brewery and Firestone Walker Brewing Co. also poured guests craft beer, and filmmaker Griffin Hammond was on hand to talk about and film footage for his Sriracha documentary. A portion of the event proceeds were donated to North Hollywood-based nonprofit Food Forward.
Joshua Lurie of FoodGPS.com — who co-organized the event with “ The Sriracha Cookbook” author Randy Clemens — said the event was “spicier” than others he has hosted in the past, including this year’s Fried Chicken Festival. He said he was excited to plan a festival around such a “magical” ingredient.
Read the full story by Lauren Gold from Pasadena Star-News.
