Lexus cooks up culinary experiences with event sponsorship

Toyota Corp.’s Lexus is connecting to consumers over food by becoming the title sponsor of the All-Star Chef Classic in Los Angeles.

Hosted at the downtown venue L.A. Live, the event will give attendees the chance to interact with chefs through experiences ranging from seated dinners to tastings. Lexus has frequently associated its brand with the culinary world through marketing, making a link between car design and cooking.

"Lexus has a long history of aligning itself with amazing epicurean experiences and the Lexus All-Star Chef Classic is an ideal space to further our culinary footprint,” said Lisa Materazzo, vice president of marketing at Lexus, in a statement. "We look forward to kicking off our partnership with the L.A. Live team and bringing these curated experiences to the savvy and impassioned diners of Los Angeles.”

Culinary concept

The Lexus All-Star Chef Classic is entering its sixth year, but this is the first time the automaker is acting as title sponsor.

Being held from Oct. 2 to 5, the event will take place throughout L.A. Live.

The venue’s Xbox Plaza will be the site for strolling events, such as the seafood-centric Stella Artois Grill & Chill, while dinners will be held in a custom Restaurant Stadium on L.A. Live’s Event Deck. The stadium seats 300, offering attendees a meal and a performance by top chefs.

Returning experiences will include dinners by French masters and Spanish masters. New this year are dinners featuring Korean and Italian masters.

There will also be a new meat-focused strolling event titled Carneval.

Among the chefs featured will be Lexus Culinary Masters, including Daniel Boulud, Stephanie Izard and Ludo Lefebvre, who was recently added to the brand’s ambassador lineup (see story).

Ludo Lefebvre. Image courtesy of Lexus

"All-Star Chef Classic has continued to grow by increasing demand and we are thrilled to partner with Lexus to further elevate the overall culinary experience,” said Lee Zeidman, president of L.A. Live and Staples Center, in a statement. "With a new home for our strolling events and exceptional chef lineup, including new talent from Lexus’ prominent Culinary Masters program, year six is shaping up to be our best yet."

The culinary arts have previously featured in Lexus' automotive marketing.

For instance, Lexus is exploring the stories of the paths tastemaking chefs and food purveyors take to mirror its own creative and artisan process.

Produced for Lexus by Condé Nast Creative Studio, “Journeys of Taste” is unfolding in four parts across titles including Vogue, Condé Nast Traveller and GQ. Through this first creative partnership between Lexus and Condé Nast International, the automaker will be able to reach a global audience of readers in almost a dozen markets (see story).