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Dressed in his kitchen whites, David LeFevre was busy browsing the tables at his Redondo Beach spot on Friday night, chatting with diners, sometimes sitting next to them to talk about their four-course meal.
The famous South Bay chef was not in one of his restaurants, but rather in the DAOU SideStage Experience pop-up at the BeachLife Festival as New Orleans band The Revivalists performed on the main stage adjacent to a few meters away.
He told a few diners about the music and the excitement of being back at a live concert before taking some time for himself to take on the stage and watch the band.
“It was awesome, the music was amazing, the guests danced and had a great time. It is the epitome of South Bay, the weather is perfect, the sun is setting right now. I mean, it’s just perfect, ”said LeFevre.
Much like the inaugural festival in 2019, the SideStage pop-up restaurant this year features a trio of Michelin-starred chefs displaying their cooking skills alongside the main stage musicians, with each chef serving a different prix fixe menu of $ 274 per person. evenings of September 10. -12 event at Seaside Lagoon in Redondo Beach.
LeFevre, who is behind the MB Post, Arthur J and Fishing With Dynamite, returned to cook for his second time at the pop-up Friday while the SideStage on Saturday belonged to formerly Michelin-starred Brendan Collins Lemon balm restaurant in Santa Monica that served diners as acts such as Counting Crows and Men at Work were set up for the main stage.
South Bay native Tyler Gugliotta, current chef / owner of Baran’s 2239 in Hermosa Beach and Tigre’s Fuego in Redondo Beach, will close the SideStage on Sunday night as Ziggy and Stephen Marley perform.
While Friday night was perfect for LeFevre, the return to BeachLife was far from a perfect road due to the pandemic and its particularly devastating effects on Restaurants.
Like other restaurateurs during the pandemic, LeFevre had to pivot his business model to survive by serving take-out meals during the lockdown and opening patio spaces where it was possible before meals returned inside.
“Manhattan Beach has been very supportive; all of our restaurants are still open and they are thriving right now, but yeah, it’s been a tough year, ”he said in a pre-festival interview.
And with the tough year in mind, LeFevre wanted to serve up something fun and lively that would spark conversations around the table during the pop-up, so he turned to the Friday Night headliner. Jane’s addiction for inspiration.
“We wanted it to be eclectic and rather funky. We make fun hamachi with coconut and southeast flavors and pomegranate frozen ribs that are a really fun light starter. We were really thinking about Jane’s Addiction and what we could do to match their vibe.
Music is also the inspiration for Gugliotta’s meal, who cooks when the Marley brothers perform on Sundays.
“I’m going with a lot of Caribbean flavor, some jerk flavors on the entree and a fun ceviche with watermelon and hibiscus,” said Gugliotta, who saw Ziggy Marley perform at the inaugural festival in 2019. .
While Sunday will be devoted to celebrating his favorite artists and cuisine, like LeFevre and other restaurateurs, Gugliotta has had to get creative to survive over the past year and a half, serving everything from dinners to take out to breakfast burritos to generate income.
With everything that has happened since the pandemic, Gugliotta said cooking at the festival would be even more special.
“It will just be nice to hang out with people from South Bay and other places and see them having fun listening to great music and eating great food,” he said.
On Friday night, the mood was festive for SideStage diners such as Bobby Hartry, 54, and his wife Jenn Hartry, 49, from Rancho Palos Verdes, who sat at one of the tables closest to the scene to end their rib dinner.
“It’s just amazing here. We are big fans of David LeFevre, ”he said. “Normally for that sort of thing you’re a bit far from the stage, but it’s super cool because you’re right there,” he said, pointing to the stage a few feet away.
“The energy here is so great, the sound is amazing and I knew the food was going to be great,” she said.
For LeFevre, seeing happy diners like the Hartrys is, well, like music to his ears.
“I think it’s more special than last year. I think the crowd is ready to celebrate, to be together. I think people realize what they missed, ”LeFevre said on Friday before returning to the SideStage restaurant to begin serving the last meal of the night alongside the set Jane’s Addiction.
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