The second annual Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe officially kicked off this week at Partake Collective in DTLB with two wildly different culinary battles—and with them, brought its first two winners.
Chef César Sánchez of Ruta 15 defeated Chef Eric Samaniego of the soon-to-reopen Bungalow Kitchen on Monday, Aug. 24. The following evening, Chef Danny Le of Chez Bacchus bested Chef Eduardo Chang of Sushi Nikkei. Both chefs will now advance to the semifinals, taking place Monday, Sept. 7, and Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Wait—so what is the Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe?
That is the Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe at its most basic: Eight chefs. Head-to-head, bracket-style dinners. Three courses from each competitor served side by side. And, ultimately, one chef left standing after diners decide who was best overall after breaking down their plates on everything from presentation and taste to storytelling and cohesion. Following that, the chef moving on will have to create an entirely new menu the following week.
Even more, we’ve tried to make it even more local: We have partnered with the Long Beach Farmers Market to provide produce for the chefs each week while connecting with wine bars and wineries for the pour. This week, thanks to a connection via Chef César, we connected with Valle de Guadalupe winery Shedeh on Aug. 24. And on Tuesday, Aug. 25, the great folks at The Vintage LBC in Bixby Knolls provided the wine.
Thank you to the gracious support of Shedeh and The Vintage LBC for providing this week’s wine service.
That last part is vital. The Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe is not simply a string of tasting dinners; it is a competition built around evolution. Each bracket carries its own theme and set of expectations, forcing chefs to move beyond a single polished menu as they inch toward the finale.
Bracket 1, dubbed “Self,” asks a simple question: What shapes each chef’s culinary identity?
Chef César Sánchez takes Ruta 15 far beyond mariscos
Chef César Sánchez has rightfully earned a reputation for creating some of Long Beach’s most thoughtful mariscos at Ruta 15. But his first Grand Prix Fixe menu made it clear that his culinary reach stretches far beyond the seafood he has become known for, extending into regional Mexican cuisine.
He opened with “Grandma’s tamal,” built around a vegetable-and-mushroom corunda accompanied by charred pork rib, green salsa, crispy rice with corn, charred tortilla powder and cilantro oil. It was followed by “Earth & Fire,” a deeply layered plate of red wine-braised beef short rib with black chichilo, dates, almond mole, guajillo emulsion, habanero hummus, roasted onions, masa chochoyotes and black beans.
For dessert, Chef César served “Last Sunset,” bringing together grapefruit-and-lime gel, mango, apple and chipotle compote, real del Castillo cheese ice cream, toasted almond crumble, caramelized dates and torched Swiss meringue.
It was ambitious, deeply personal food—Mexican cooking viewed through the lens of a chef intent on showing diners that Ruta 15 represents only one part of what he can do.
Chef Eric Samaniego reminded us of his culinary roots.
Across the kitchen, Chef Eric Samaniego offered a distinctly Italian-Spanish-leaning menu that served as a welcome reintroduction to a chef many Long Beach diners deeply missed following the closure of Michael’s on Naples.
Chef Eric opened with grilled Spanish octopus accompanied by cauliflower, romesco and white beans. His second course was cavatelli tossed in a playfully named “corny carbonara” with guanciale and pecorino Romano, a showcase of his seasonal carbonara that he plans to host at Bungalow. He finished with a chocolate tart paired with hazelnut crust and vanilla whip.
It was the type of tightly composed, comforting-yet-refined cooking that made Chef Eric such a respected presence at Michael’s—and offered a preview of the culinary talent returning to Bungalow Kitchen as it prepares to reopen at 2ND & PCH.
Still, when the diners’ votes were counted, it was Chef César who earned the first spot in the semifinals.
Chef Eduardo Chang eschews sushi in favor of traditional Peruvian flavors…
Tuesday’s competition offered an entirely different collision of culinary identities.
Chef Eduardo Chang of Sushi Nikkei leaned directly into the Peruvian and Japanese influences that have made him one of the region’s most recognizable Nikkei chefs.
He opened with cebiche ultramarino: red seabream, shrimp and scallops set in rocoto leche de tigre with avocado, cancha and fried plantain. His second course turned to one of Peru’s most beloved chifa dishes, lomo saltado, pairing prime New York steak with chifa sauce, onion, tomato, crispy potatoes and cilantro.
For dessert, “Five Textures” brought together chocolate cake, ice cream, red berries, meringues and chocolate sauce—a fittingly playful finale to a menu that moved from Peru’s coastline to its Chinese-influenced culinary traditions.
…But Chef Danny Le edged him out with a locally-focused menu.
Chef Danny Le, meanwhile, offered the type of California-driven cooking that has come to define Chez Bacchus, one of Downtown Long Beach’s few remaining white-tablecloth dining spaces.
His opening course paired local squid—poached for hours on end in fat, lending to one of the most tender pieces of squid I’ve had yet—and white shrimp with chorizo and onion. It was followed by Wagyu beef cheek with summer corn, leeks and red Fresno chimichurri. For dessert, he served up what was nothing short of a nostalgic treat: an elevated strawberry shortcake with rhubarb and almonds, topped with a fortune cookie.
Where Chef Eduardo’s menu was broad and exuberant, moving through multiple facets of Peruvian cuisine, Chef Danny’s was restrained and seasonal—a tight progression from the sea to a richly braised centerpiece before closing with summer fruit.
The diners ultimately handed Chef Danny the evening’s victory and the second secured position in the semifinals.
The Grand Prix Fixe grows in its second year
Beyond the competing chefs, this year’s Grand Prix Fixe represents a significant behind-the-scenes expansion that I must highlight and be grateful for.
Chef Matthew Roberts—currently of Colossus and formerly of Alder & Sage and Olive & Rose—has joined the team as expediter, overseeing the precarious dance between two chefs, six courses and a room of diners who must receive competing plates as simultaneously as possible. It is no small role. Unlike a traditional tasting dinner, where an entire kitchen is pushing toward a single menu, Grand Prix Fixe requires two separate culinary teams to operate beside one another while maintaining their own timing, plating and intent.
Front-of-house has also expanded with two deeply experienced people: Lauren Harvey, formerly of Heritage and Olive & Rose, and Debra Zelenka, formerly of Marlena and Michael’s on Naples. Together, they have helped create a level of service that matches the ambition coming from the R&D kitchen at Partake Collective.
The growth is especially meaningful given how many guests have returned after attending the inaugural competition last year. Some have come back for multiple battles, once again committing themselves to the strange responsibility—and undeniable joy—of determining which chefs continue forward.
That returning patronage signals that the Grand Prix Fixe is becoming more than a novelty. Guests are not simply buying dinner. They are investing in the competition’s arc, watching chefs move from one theme to another and seeing how their food changes under pressure.
The final two battles of Bracket 1—also sold out—are next…
Two battles remain before the semifinal field is complete.
On Monday, Aug. 31, Chef Jordan Domingo of Slao will face Chef Yoya Takahashi of Homareya. Chef Jordan is no stranger to the competition: He served as Chef Maxwell Pfeiffer’s sous throughout last year’s Grand Prix Fixe, helping carry the Sky Room chef all the way to the finale. This time, however, the menu—and the pressure—will be entirely his own.
He will face one of the city’s most singular culinary talents in Chef Yoya, the Kyoto native responsible for giving Long Beach its first proper izakaya with Homareya.
Then, on Tuesday, Sept. 1, Chef Erwin Angeles of Kihon and Tanuki Curry House will battle Chef Jessie Franco of Zuzu’s Petals. The dinner will offer Chef Erwin an opportunity to move beyond the traditional sushi for which he is best known, while Chef Jessie will finally step outside the breakfast-and-brunch framework that has defined Zuzu’s Petals and show diners what he can do at dinner.
But semifinal tickets are now on sale—and are also going fast.
The winners will join Chef César Sánchez and Chef Danny Le in the semifinals on Sept. 7 and Sept. 8, with the eventual Top Two facing off in the finale on Monday, Sept. 14.
Semifinal tickets are currently on sale—but they are moving quickly. And if the opening dinners proved anything, it is that the second Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe will be every bit as competitive, personal and wildly ambitious as the first.
