Taste of Ojai - Rotary Club of Ojai

10/12/2026

Ain’t they sweet?

Meet Linn and Christian of Bluebell Bakehouse, Ojai’s sweetest little secret.

Linn grew up on an island in Norway, where bread is basically a food group: breakfast, lunch, and even after dinner. She trained as a ballerina and admits she quit partly because she loves to eat. (To which we say: Respect!)

Her sourdough starter is the most well-traveled member of the family. It has crossed continents and now lives happily in Ojai, where it gets 36 hours of fermenting before becoming a loaf.

Today Linn and Christian bake together: crusty sourdough, twisty baguettes, and sweets that disappear suspiciously fast.

Fun fact: Our Nordhoff students get Bluebell bread in their school lunches. (Wait, what? The kids are eating better bread than me!)

Find the little blue sign and the farm stand. Or skip the detective work and come to Taste of Ojai, where they’re bringing dessert. Baked with love. Obviously.

Sunday, October 25�2 to 5:30pm, Libbey Park

Tickets at www.tasteofojai.org

10/07/2026

Why, Gustos, why?

Why would two hardworking restaurant owners get up early on a Sunday and donate their best food and their precious time?

We asked Jara and Kate. Their answer:
"We have participated since we took over the business and have always had such a wonderful time connecting with the community and checking out what everyone else has going on!"

We love having them. Also, we just love them.�

And I'll let you in on my personal Gustos secret: the chicken salad. They make it with tarragon, and once you've had it, you’ll go “molto bene!” (insert fake Italian accent).

Come say hi to Jara and Kate at Taste of Ojai!
Sunday, October 25�2 to 5:30pm, Libbey Park
Tickets at www.tasteofojai.org.

10/03/2026

Asking us to pick a favorite Taste of Ojai vendor is like asking a mom to pick a favorite kid - impossible, because each one is special in its own way. So instead, let us tell you about one of them: Ojai Rôtie.

Larry Nicola grew up sitting on the stairs to his grandmother Nabeha's basement kitchen, eating warm Arabic bread straight out of her oven. Three generations later, that kitchen lives on Ojai Avenue: rotisserie chicken, toum you'll want to eat with a spoon, za'atar, pickled turnips, and sourdough from a mother culture that's more than 20 years old.

His dream was "a Lebanese guy in Paris with a small shop." Instead, he found his home in Ojai - and we're so fortunate he did.

So are Ojai's charities. Year after year, Ojai Rôtie shows up for charities in Ojai, offering their delicious food in their support.We don't take it for granted.

Taste it for yourself on Sunday, Oct 25, 2-5:30 pm, in Libbey Park. Tickets at the link in bio. All proceeds benefit Ojai Valley charities.

Ojai Rôtie

10/01/2026

Meet the wild one of Ojai w**e.

Fabien Castel grew up in Paris, learning w**e from his grandmother's cellar. When he showed up for a job interview with Adam Tolmach at The Ojai Vineyard, everyone else was tasting and spitting. Fabien drank everything. He got the job.

Twenty-some years later, he's making w**e where nobody thought you could: inside a brewery. He runs Side Street W**e out of Ojai Valley Brewery, sources from small vineyards across the valley, and ferments by instinct. He shuffles tanks between temperatures, blends, improvises. The Ojai Magazine film about him is called "W**es of Disorder," and it fits.

"If I'm going to copy what others are doing, I'm not interested."

Come meet Fabien at Taste of Ojai. He might even tell you what "w**e yoga" is...

www.tasteofojai.org

Thank you to , Rob Shepyer for permission to use the video material which was shot by Dillon Vaughn, .coffin

09/04/2026

In 1973, two Berkeley hippies in jeans and Birkenstocks, arriving in a beat-up car, called a realtor about a sheep ranch in the Anderson Valley. He joked they could have two acres for a teepee. They said: we'll take all 900.

Ted Bennett and Deborah Cahn had met two years earlier and fallen in love with w**e, land, and the dream of growing something real. Ted had just sold his chain of stereo stores to CBS. Deborah was an English grad student. Neither had ever farmed a day in their lives.

But they did it anyway: They built a tasting room by hand from three redwood trees on the property. They mastered Gewürztraminer, then Pinot Noir, then a dozen more. Their first restaurant account was Chez Panisse, just a few blocks from their Berkeley house, and Alice Waters has been pouring Navarro ever since.

Their children, Aaron and Sarah, grew up on those 900 acres. Now they run the place. Ted and Deborah still walk the vineyards every day, still write the tasting notes, and watch their grandchildren start to find their own small roles in the work.

Fifty years in, Navarro is still a family farm. Still in the Anderson Valley. Still not Napa.

We just love this origin story! So we are very honored to introduce their w**es to the Ojai Valley for the very first time. Come find Navarro Vineyards at Taste of Ojai. 🍷

**eLovers

09/01/2026

Good food, good people, and a golden Ojai afternoon - Taste of Ojai is back for 2026. 🌞 Join us Sunday, October 25th at 2pm in Libbey Park for an incredible lineup of local restaurants and w**eries ready to feed you. Think tacos, w**e, craft b**r, kombucha, and yes - espresso martinis. All under the sun, all for a good cause. Www.tasteofojai.org

09/01/2026

Good food, good people, and a golden Ojai afternoon - Taste of Ojai is back for 2026. 🌞 Join us Sunday, October 25th at 2pm in Libbey Park for an incredible lineup of local restaurants and w**eries ready to feed you. Think tacos, w**e, craft b**r, kombucha, and yes - espresso martinis. Enjoy food and drink in the sun, all for a good cause.

10/23/2025

Mamma mia, have you tried Gustos?! 🇮🇹💋

It’s amore at first bite! ❤️ From egg parm that sings to pasta that hugs your soul, Gustos brings a taste of Italy straight to Ojai - con molto gusto!

Locally owned and passionately run by two Ojai food lovers, this Italian-American sprinkles its food with a little culinary magic (and a lot of parmesan). 🧀

Whether you’re grabbing and going or staying to mangia like you mean it, Gustos is pure joy - cozy, creative, and always delicious.
Find them at Taste of Ojai 2025 - your taste buds will shout, “Bellissimo!” 🍕🍝🥗🇮🇹

www.tasteofojai.org

10/20/2025

You like Ojai?
You like food?
You like giving to those in need? ->

You should join us Sunday, Oct 26 in Ojai at Taste of Ojai - where local restaurants, w**eries, and breweries serve up their best!

Come for the food, stay for the community.

Every ticket supports charities in the Ojai Valley.

Discover 'Taste of Ojai' — the Ojai valley’s premier charitable food festival. Savor the best cuisine the valley has to offer while helping fund vital local charities.

10/16/2025

Taste of Ojai Spotlight: juice Ojai🍓💚

After two decades in the fashion world Misty traded the runway for the Ojai sunshine, chasing balance, motherhood, and a good green juice.

But “tranquil life”? Not quite her style. 😉�Fueled by boundless energy and heart, Misty created CommunityJuice - her way of bottling up everything she cherishes: health and wellness, family and community, curiosity and learning, and of course… FUN!
Her inventive blends are as joyful as she is - from Apple Bottom Greens to Mr. Goodmorningto So Fresh and So Green - healthy AND so delicious!

And yes - you might have seen her dressed up as a strawberry 🍓 and dancing in the street to spread the juice gospel (we have the pic to prove it! ⬇). Because that’s Misty: joy on two legs, with a juicer in hand.

Come sip her creations at Taste of Ojai 2025 and see what all the happy buzz is about.

www.tasteofojai.org