{"id":431640,"date":"2026-08-13T09:48:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T09:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/431640\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T09:48:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T09:48:28","slug":"8-chefs-to-compete-bracket-style-in-long-beach-grand-prix-fixe-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/431640\/","title":{"rendered":"8 chefs to compete bracket-style in Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe 2026<\/a> is upon us, food lovers. The bracket-style competition whose winner will be determined not by a judges\u2019 panel but by the diners themselves returns. And it all kicks off on Aug. 24 at Partake Collective\u2019s incredible R&D kitchen in DTLB.<\/p>\n

As with last year\u2019s sold-out affair, this is part of a partnership between Partake Collective, my husband, Samuel Cornejo, and me. We wanted to take chefs out of their own kitchens. Drop them into the amazing R&D kitchen of Partake. And have them cook side by side in an intimate setting. Even more, rather than a panel of professionals to determine the winners \u00e0 la Master Chef or Top Chef, we want the patrons to decide who made the best three-course meal of the evening. Once those winners are determined, they move on to battle again until we achieve a Top Two to duke it out at the finale.<\/p>\n

While Chef Maxwell Pfeiffer of Sky Room and Chef Luis Navarro of Lola\u2019s\/Dolores fought it out in the finale last year, with Chef Luis taking home the prize<\/a>, none of those chefs will be returning this year. (We have something saved for them that will just have to wait.)<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s lineup is entirely new. And yes, we did try to find female chefs to represent\u2014even took some out on a boat ride to talk about the potential of them joining\u2014but the timing wasn\u2019t right this year, as they have commitments they can\u2019t step away from. We do, however, have a beautiful array of local talent that we cannot wait to highlight in ways you\u2019ve likely never seen them.<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s different about Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe 2026 versus last year?<\/p>\n

For those who attended any of last year\u2019s dinners, they will notice a marked difference. <\/p>\n

Firstly, instead of one dinner per week, we will have two dinners per week, every Monday and Tuesday of the week. That means the first dinners of Bracket 1 will be on Monday, Aug. 24; Tuesday, Aug. 25; Monday, Aug. 31; and Tuesday, Sept. 1. Tickets for this bracket are currently on sale<\/a>. The semifinals will take place on Monday, Sept. 7 and Tuesday, Sept. 8. And the finale will take place on Monday, Sept. 14.<\/p>\n

There are three ticket options. VIP ($180) gets you a seat at the chef\u2019s counter, which accommodates 6 people, to watch the action up close and interact with the chefs. Table-for-two date tables ($340). And GA ($160), which accommodates 10 people at a communal table. <\/p>\n

There will also be only one seating at 6PM for each dinner, with a cocktail hang-out at 5:30PM thanks to our friends at The Wicked Wolf.<\/p>\n

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\"longLast year\u2019s Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe was an affair to remember. Photos by Brian Addison<\/p>\n

So who is competing in the Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe and how will seating work?<\/p>\n

Chef Eric Samaniego of Bungalow: Bringing decades of experience in French and Italian cooking, Chef Eric formally returns to the scene to show us exactly why we were devastated when Michael\u2019s on Naples shuttered.<\/p>\n

Chef Yoya Takahashi of Homareya: The Kyoto native has brought Long Beach its first proper izakaya space\u2014and will now showcase Japanese cuisine in a way that LBGPF has never seen.<\/p>\n

Chef Eduardo Chang of Sushi Nikkei: This Lima native knows both traditional Peruvian food and Nikkei-style sushi that has made his hometown one of the world\u2019s most recognizable culinary destinations.<\/p>\n

Chef Danny Le of Chez Bacchus: Heading one of the few white-cloth dining spaces, Chef Danny is known for his high-end take on Californian cuisine.<\/p>\n

\"longThe trophy for the Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe 2026, courtesy of Mr. Sharpe in Signal Hill. Photo by Brian Addison.<\/p>\n

Chef Ces\u00e1r S\u00e1nchez of Ruta 15: A native of Tijuana, Chef Ces\u00e1r creates Long Beach\u2019s most unique, most well-made mariscos\u2014and we cannot wait to see him flex on this level.<\/p>\n

Chef Rob White of Liv\u2019s\/Hartland\u2019s: This professional oyster shucker is far more than that, bringing the Shore a proper American seafood house with Liv\u2019s and brunch on a different level with Hartland\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Chef Jessie Franco of Zuzu\u2019s Petals: He has made Zuzu\u2019s Petals what it is\u2014Long Beach\u2019s only seasonally-focused, chef-driven breakfast spot\u2014but has long desired to showcase what he can do for a dinner. <\/p>\n

Chef Jordan Domingo of Slao: He is no stranger to LBGPF: he was Chef Maxwell Pfeiffer\u2019s sous throughout the competition last year.<\/p>\n

\"longThe Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe VIP chef\u2019s counter. Photo by Brian Addison.<\/p>\n

What can we expect from the dinners?<\/p>\n

There will be three brackets, culminating in the finale on Sept. 14. The first bracket, dubbed \u201cSelf,\u201d asks the chefs to focus on what shapes their identity as culinary talents. Each competing chef will serve three courses\u2014an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert\u2014and will be judged based solely on the food. Wine will be poured, but guests will not be judging the wine pairing.<\/p>\n

Following that will be \u201cSustainability.\u201d Chefs will receive a box with often unwanted ingredients they must incorporate while also showcasing their own sustainability in the kitchen. And for the finale, we have \u201cSeminal.\u201d Pretty straightforward: We want the chefs to create a dinner that serves as their magnum opus.<\/p>\n

Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe will kick off on Monday, Aug. 24, at Partake Collective, located at 456 Elm Ave. For tickets, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe 2026 is upon us, food lovers. The bracket-style competition whose winner will be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[171506,147668,131,171507,133,132],"class_list":["post-431640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-dtlb","tag-food-events","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-grand-prix-fixe","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}