Trust us on this one: You might think you've had wagyu, but once you've tasted the overwhelmingly fatty, rich and lightly salty olive-fed variety from Japan's Kagawa Prefecture, you begin to wonder whether you'd really experienced wagyu at all. Top Chef's Phillip Frankland Lee is doing wonders with the ingredient—imported by Crowd Cow—and for two nights, so will a handful of L.A.'s premier cooking talent.
Each night of the two-night wagyu series puts eight L.A. chefs behind the counter of Scratch Bar's open kitchen, where they'll be whipping up a course apiece that showcases the hyper-rare meat. On Monday, May 13, taste wagyu dishes by Ari Taymor of Little Prince; Steve Samson of Rossoblu; Dakota Weiss of Sweetfin; Ted Hopson of the Bellwether; Ria Barbosa of Paramount Coffee Project; and of course Margarita Kallas Lee and Phillip Frankland Lee of Scratch Bar & Kitchen.
Then on Tuesday, May 14, Kali's Kevin Meehan, and Melisse, Charcoal and Openaire's Josiah Citrin will join returning talent of Samson, Barbosa, Hopson, Weiss, and your hosts, the Lees, for another evening of wagyu indulgence. The dinners will run roughly two hours per seating, and, given the cost of that precious olive wagyu, run $375 per person; tickets include a welcome cocktail, canapés and eight wagyu courses. Sure, it's a splurge, but if you're already imagining how good olive wagyu tastes, just imagine what these chefs can do with it.