The 21st annual Epcot Food and Wine Festival is a two-month long festival that features an international beverage and food menu, along with renowned chefs from around the world. The festival takes place for a record 62 days, between Sept. 14 and Nov. 14.
Admission to Disney World’s Epcot allows you to participate in the annual food and wine event. Tickets start at $97 for one-day admission.
The event will feature special events, celebrity chefs, beverage and culinary demonstrations, and the World Showcase Marketplace tasting booths with 30 unique kiosks. The World Showcase Marketplace will feature food and beverages from Africa, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Hawaii, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, South Korea, Scotland, Poland, Patagonia, and the islands of the Caribbean.
The Hops and Barley booth will also return, where guests can indulge in grown-up ice cream floats with hard soda, and smoked beef brisket with pimento cheese on garlic toast.
It’s very exciting to try the various tastes and flavors from the different countries featured at the festival. For instance, the Greece booth features a new menu item called loaded vegan Greek nachos. The Brazil booth features coconut candy and crispy pork belly with onions, cilantro, avocado, and black beans.
Download and print the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival map to find all your favorite food and beverage locations.
There are also a variety of celebrity chefs at the festival, including Jamie Deen, Buddy Valastro, Elizabeth Falkner, Masaharu Morimoto, Norman Van Aken, and Cat Cora. The Epcot Food and Wine Festival will also feature bands from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s at the American Gardens Theater in the American Adventure Pavilion during the Eat to the Beat Concert Series.
The concerts are also free with your admission to Epcot, and they take place three times each night. Some bands that are featured in the concert series include Sugar Ray, Los Lobos, David Cook, Wilson Phillips, Blues Traveler, 38 Special, Tiffany, Dennis DeYoung playing the music of STYX, Christopher Cross, Billy Ocean, Chaka Khan, Hanson, Boyz II Men, Sister Hazel, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
What New at This Year’s Epcot Food and Wine Festival?
What’s unique at this year’s Epcot International Food and Wine Festival? There are a variety of new features at this year’s festival: for example, food and wine experiences are expanding to the resorts with new events like “Brunch with a Twist” at the Grand Floridian, “Culinary Adventures with a Master Chef” at the Contemporary Resort, “The Secrets of Flavor” at the Yacht Club, and “Behind the Scenes at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto” at the Polynesian Village Resort. Check out what else is new below:
New Chefs: New celebrity chefs at the festival include Maneet Chauhan, Duff Goldman, Elliott Farmer, Graham Elliot, and Geoffrey Zakarian.
New Dishes: Other new dishes at the food and wine festival include new savory dishes with Florida ingredients at the Farm Fresh marketplace. The Greek booth also features the new Oikos Greek yogurt vanilla cake soaked in Ouzo with yogurt whipped cream and pistachios.
New Musicians: You can also check out the new musicians and artists, including Plain White T’s, Jeffrey Osborne, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Living Colour, Soul Asylum, and Delta Rae.
Sources:
“2016 Epcot Food and Wine Festival,” Disney Food Blog web site; http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2016-epcot-food-and-wine-festival/, last accessed Sept. 28, 2016.
