A New York bagel fest rolls into L.A. to show the best of West Coast innovation - BERITAJA

Bold flavors and section reinventions were astatine the forefront of Sunday’s inaugural BagelFest West, wherever bagel makers from California, arsenic good arsenic Seattle and Colorado Springs, offered their champion bagels positive unconventional takes connected the bagel sandwich — from a Passover-style gefilte food Hillel sandwich pinch beet horseradish and charoset served by San Diego’s Mission Bagel to a coffee explosive bagel by Tom and Tiffany Levy’s Uncle Stevey’s successful El Segundo.

“The bites that we’ve seen present coming are immoderate of the about innovative and groundbreaking bagel bites that I’ve ever had,” said Sam Silverman, who founded the original New York BagelFest in 2019 and goes by the societal media grip Bagel Ambassador.

Silverman has watched the bagel segment westbound of the Rockies explode, prompting him to bring BagelFest to Los Angeles. It was a sold-out event, pinch much than 1,000 bagel aficionados from each of California gathered astatine Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s Audrey Irmas Pavilion.

“It was about clip that personification really was capable to understand how important bagels are to Los Angeles,” said David Castillo, wide head of Alex and Sun Sohn’s Calic Bagel, known for its viral ail pick food bagels and for bringing Asian flavors and techniques to its stuffed bagels. “It’s ever been about East Coast, Montreal, and I’m gladsome that we’re yet getting recognized.”

“L.A. really has its ain segment and its ain point going,” said J.D. Rocchio, co-owner of Belle’s Bagel successful Highland Park. “What makes an L.A. bagel an L.A. bagel is we’re each very self-determined … group are pulling from different taste references, location references and I’d opportunity if you were to make an L.A. bagel it intends you’re doing your ain thing.”

The bagel shops competed for awards successful flavor, texture and creativity, including categories for champion bagel, champion sandwich, schmear of the twelvemonth and a people’s prime award. Only 16% of the shops that applied to participate, according to Silverman, were selected to showcase astatine the festival, which was presented by King Arthur Baking Company successful collaboration pinch the Jewish Food Lab astatine the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, which regularly organizes culinary events to beforehand Jewish culture.

“I grew up eating bagels from Dunkin Donuts and the market store,” said Silverman, a Massachusetts autochthonal who started the show aft noticing the deficiency of a bagel-centered arena successful New York. “I didn’t cognize really bully bagels could beryllium until I moved to New York 12 years ago, and that’s what sparked the passion and led maine down this rabbit hole.”

Last year’s New York BagelFest drew much than 2,000 attendees. And pinch the occurrence of Sunday’s BagelFest West, Silverman has already decided to bring the arena backmost to Los Angeles adjacent year.

San Diego-based Mission Bagel was 1 of the award-winning vendors astatine BagelFest, winning 2nd spot for champion sandwich.

(Angela Osorio / Los Angeles Times)

“When I was a kid, bagels were astatine Canter’s Deli … aliases they were successful the market store,” said Julie Fisher, a BagelFest West attendee and Studio City resident. “Now, there’s a batch of independent bagel establishments for moreover much choices.”

Newer bagel makers besides showcased astatine the event, including Rise Bagels, which opened successful Irvine successful November 2025. Although a Seattle bagelry, Hey Bagel, won the wide Best Bagel prize, Rise won the Best of the West and Most Creative awards for 2 entries: its egg crockery bagel pinch Tokyo negi schmear and a jammy quail ovum and its seasonal consequence bagel with caller strawberries, cooky food schmear, Asian pear and a beet strawberry ganache.

“We wanted a bagel shop that is much typical of what we want to spot successful position of elevating bagels to the adjacent level,” said co-owner John Park, a New Jersey native. “There’s truthful overmuch talent elevating thing that’s been specified a accepted point and the fusion, the different types of concepts that are coming, is making this manufacture … a batch much nosy and breathtaking to beryllium a portion of.”

“I really flew down from San Francisco for the arena erstwhile I saw it was going on,” said attendee Matt Diamond, an L.A. native.

For Diamond, it is the love, craftsmanship and value of ingredients that specify an L.A. bagel.

“The toppings, the emotion that goes into them all, is simply a existent thing,” he said. “[I’ve] grown up pinch bagels. It is simply a portion of family, it’s portion of culture, it’s who I am.”

“Bagels matter not conscionable for what they represent,” Silverman said astatine the awards ceremony. “They are a regular bread. They’re sustenance for some the group that eat them and the craftspeople who dedicate their lives and livelihoods to making them. And they person the powerfulness to bring group together.”