On Oct. 22, the third annual TenderFest will descend upon the Wallis Annenberg Center for an entire glorious day dedicated to chicken tenders.
Presented by Heinz, the food festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will put on display the city’s best tenders. In addition, L.A. culinary icons will go head-to-head for tender supremacy.
Burt Bakman of Slab and Sant’olina, Joan McNamara of Joan’s on Third, Trill Tenders and Maynard Llera of Kua Lord will battle it out for the Best Tender Award, which includes a cash prize that will be donated to the winner’s charity of choice. All these chefs have to do is impress the celebrity judging panel: producer Benny Blanco; model, actress and Beis and Onda founder Shay Mitchell; journalist Andy Wang and rapper Trippe Redd.
In addition to the anticipated competition, attendees can expect a variety of tender experiences from the likes of Le Coupe, Raising Cane’s, Harold & Belle’s, Delilah, Pioneer Chicken, Community Goods, Love Baked Wings, Trippie’s Strips & Dips and, for the VIPs, Caviar Kaspia. It all comes from the minds of Lawrence Longo ( (Owner of Irv’s Burgers, Prince Street Pizza, Bar Next Door, Sparky’s and Founder of Off The Menu) and The H.Wood Group co-owner and known tender enthusiast John Terzian.
Between bites of chicken tenders, attendees can enjoy a slate of beverage options. There will be ice-cold Stella Artois bottles on standby or, if you’re in the mood for a cocktail, libations from Beam Suntory spirits. Nonalcoholic options include Trousdale Ventures’ SkinTe, Lemon Perfect and Barcode.
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Also notable, Heinz will debut its jalapeño ketchup, which can be found at the on-site Heinz Sauce Station. The new condiment will be alongside ranch, honey, mustard, sweet and sour, barbecue and ketchup. It’ll also be handed out by Tender Fest’s Sauce Squad, which will also have samples of Heinz’s Innovative Sauce Drops, such as yuzu wasabi, black garlic ranch, creamy chimichurri, brewery mustard, hatch cili ranch and harissa aioli.
Tickets are available now via Bucketlisters. You can opt for the general admission early session from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $99, which includes complimentary tenders from all vendors and access to dessert stations, activations and the cash bar. Alternatively, you can choose the 4 to 8 p.m. ticket, which also includes access to viewing the competition awards ceremony. But if you’re all in on a full-on tenders experience, there is the $200 VIP ticket. It also provides access from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and has VIP parking and a 25 percent off merch discount code.
Photography by: Courtesy TenderFest
