Chef’s Share: What to Look Forward to at KAABOO 2019

By Michelle Stansbury | August 5, 2019

KAABOO doesn’t just attract top talent on the main stage; between culinary demonstrations by celebrity chef Richard Blais (Juniper & Ivy, The Crack Shack) and KAABOO official brand ambassador Michael Mina, the action is heating up. Food activations include everything from dumplings to donuts and seafood to steak, making KAABOO’s culinary lineup a far cry from the traditional funnel cake and pizza you would find at any other music festival. We got the inside scoop from Blais and Mina on what to look forward to at this year’s lineup.

Richard Blais has been at KAABOO Del Mar all five years and loves that the festival doesn’t think of culinary entertainment as an afterthought. He shares, “KAABOO gives chef entertainers a proper stage to showcase their art!” For his demonstrations this year, he is looking to push boundaries, exploring questions such as “Do all recipes need food? Does good food need recipes?” 

Mina was attracted to KAABOO to collaborate with other artists. In 2019, he reveals, we can “expect to see more diversity and more global influence” in the culinary experiences. That global influence is linked to his own journey as a chef, most recently seen in at his newly opened International Smoke restaurant in Del Mar. Led by a variety of woodfired steaks, seafood and ribs, International Smoke’s menu showcases global flavors, diverse spices and traditional live-fire cooking techniques. We expect to see similar concepts at KAABOO this year!

In addition to the culinary experiences, the 2019 KAABOO Del Mar lineup includes musical headliners like Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews Band, Mumford & Sons, Duran Duran, and Maren Morris. The comedy stage will host names such as Bert Kreischer, Pete Holmes & Friends, Wayne Brady, and Bob Saget.

Also new for 2019, the Trestles Stage is growing and relocating to the east end of KAABOO beside Grandview stage. With this move, KAABOO has also completely redesigned the AMPLIFY zone. The newly expanded zone covers the expanse between Grandview and Trestles, to make it easier to move between stages without ever leaving the grass!

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