Brentwood Toscana Restaurateurs To Be Honored At L.A. Food & Wine Gala

BRENTWOOD, CA — Kathie and Mike Gordon, co-founders of Toscana Restaurant Group, with eateries Toscana in Brentwood, Nerano and BG in Beverly Hills, plus spots in Los Olivos and Santa Ynez, will be lauded at the upcoming Culinary Evening with the California Winemasters for their 30-plus years of dedication to area restaurants.

The 33rd Annual Culinary Evening with the California Winemaster wine and food gala, a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation fundraiser, will be held May 14 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.

"Being named the honorary chairpersons for the 33rd Annual California Winemasters event was a humbling surprise, an unexpected, much-appreciated recognition for more than 30 years of dedication to the restaurant industry," according to the restaurant group's management.

Each year, California Winemasters take over the Warner Bros. lot, lining the back streets with chefs, wineries, one-of-a-kind auction items, plus live music and wine tasting.

The Gordans' restaurant family includes Toscana and Bar Toscana in Brentwood, Nerano and BG in Beverly Hills, Nella Kitchen & Bar in Fess Parker Wine Country Inn in Los Olivos, and S.Y. Kitchen in Santa Ynez, where the couple now resides with their Australian labradoodle, “Bruno” (as in Brunello Cucinelli).

At this year's Winemasters' event, Toscana Restaurant Group chefs will be on hand, sharing their most popular, beloved specialties. Included will be: Michele Lisi, executive chef Nerano & BG Lounge; Luca Crestanelli, executive chef S.Y. Kitchen and Nella Kitchen & Bar; Justino Quirino, executive chef Bar Toscana; Miquel Martinez, ececutive chef Toscana Brentwood; and Roberto Facciolla, managing partner, Toscana Brentwood.

The Gordons' restaurant dynasty began in the 1980s, when Mike received a birthday gift that changed his life — a day exploring the farmers market and recipes with legendary chef Wolfgang Puck, according to the Toscana group.

After that, Mike and wife Kathie entertained the idea of opening their own Italian restaurant. The couple, armed with a notepad and camera, then headed to Italy, rented a villa in Greve in Chianti and immersed themselves in the foods, wines and traditions of the Tuscan region.

Upon returning home to Los Angeles, Mike tapped his skills as an entertainment industry manager, while Kathie immersed herself in restaurant development at UCLA. The duo then partnered in 1989 with friend Doc Severinsen, who led the band on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," to open Toscana, at a former pharmacy location in Brentwood, the restaurateurs said.

Since Toscana's debut, next came Bar Toscana, S.Y. Kitchen in Santa Ynez, Nerano and its upstairs lounge, BG, in Beverly Hills, and the "baby of the family," the newly-opened Nella Kitchen & Bar in Los Olivos, management said.

The Gordons feel a kinship with the Winemasters' cystic fibrosis fundraising efforts as Mike Gordon’s childhood friend has a granddaughter diagnosed with CF.

"Because of the research, and thanks to the level of care she received, she is now living an independent, productive life as a student at UCLA," said the restaurateurs, who have five children and 13-grandchildren.

Over the years, the Winemasters' San Fernando Valley event has raised more than $34 million for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to curing cystic fibrosis and funding research and drug development, according to organizers.

Tickets for this year's May 14 event are sold out. However, donations for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Southern California Los Angeles Chapter are welcomed. See link here.

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