Slow Down and Savor - a food blog
Austin FOOD & WINE Festival Announces Grand Tasting Exhibitors!
More than 100 Wine, Spirits & Food Purveyors from Texas and U.S. Represented During Third Annual Festival, April 25-27, 2014
Austin FOOD & WINE Festival is pleased to announce the return of the H-E-B Grand Tasting Pavilion, which will feature a diverse selection of the country’s top wine, spirits and culinary exhibitors. The Grand Tasting Pavilion, presented by H-E-B, will span more than 20,000 square feet at Butler Park, offering a prime location where guests can sip, savor, mix and mingle throughout the two-day Festival.
Click HERE for my coverage of Day 1 and HERE for coverage from Day 2 from last year’s FOOD & WINE Festival!
The H-E-B Grand Tasting Pavilion will be open on Saturday, April 26, from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., and on Sunday, April 27, from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., with early access at 11:00 a.m. on both days for Savor pass holders. Attendees will have the opportunity to sample from more than 100 food, lifestyle, wine, and spirits exhibitors.
The 2014 Festival will feature new exhibitors and samples from American Lamb Board; Anderra; Atalon Winery; Baked by Amy’s; Blackbird and Henry; Bona Dea Gluten Free; Byron Wines; Cambria Estate Winery; Campari; Celtic Seafare; Champ de Rêves; Château D’Esclans; Confituras; The Dojo Sake Bar & Izakaya; Dripping Springs Vodka; Duckhorn Vineyards; Empson & Co. Wines; Finn & Porter; Foley Family Wines; Fork & Vine; Frank; Ghirardelli Chocolate; Gompers Gin; Hall Wines; High Brew Coffee; Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams; Joseph Phelps Vineyards; Lick Honest Ice Creams; Lifeway; Mighty Bird; Mountain Valley Spring Water; Mouton Cadet; Nothing Bundt Cakes; Otto’s; Primizie Crispbreads; Pure Leaf; Renwood Winery; Schmidt Family Barbecue; Chef Eric Shelton; Siduri Wines; Sterling Lamb; Stonefire Authentic Flatbreads; Stregare Cheesecake Company; Tapas Bravas; Texas Olive Ranch; Tres Agaves Tequila; Trinchero Family Estates; Vibrant Rioja; William Grant & Sons; Wine Sisterhood; Wines of Brasil, and more.
The Grand Tasting will also highlight returning exhibitors, including Alaska Seafood; Amici Cellars; Antinori; Capture Wines; Cayman Islands; Château Ste. Michelle; Cinco Vodka; Coterie Market; Cru – A Food & Wine Bar; Duchman Winery; Freemark Abbey; Fara Coffee; Farmhouse Delivery; Francis Ford Coppola Winery; Glorified Granola; Gnarly Head; H-E-B; Hope Family Wines; Jasper’s; Kerrygold; KitchenAid; Matanzas Creek Winery; Michael Angelo’s; Northstar; Palm Bay Imports; Ranch 616; Rodney Strong Vineyards; Simi Winery; Stella Artois; Stonestreet Wines; Taken Wine Co.; TEO; Terlato Wines International; Texas Hill Country Olive Co.; Thorny Rose Wines; Tiny Pies; Tito’s Handmade Vodka; Topo Chico Mineral Water; Winebow; Winery Exchange; Z’Tejas, and more.
On Friday, April 25, kick off the Festival at the Taste of Texas, held in the heart of downtown Austin at Republic Square Park, with a live performance by Escort. With a lineup showcasing the Lone Star State’s brightest chefs, the Taste of Texas will feature: Tatsu Aikawa (Ramen Tatsu-Ya); Alexis Chong (Sway); Jason Dady (Jason Dady Restaurant Group); Todd Duplechan & Jessica Maher (Lenoir); Omar Flores (Driftwood); Terrence Gallivan & Seth Siegel-Gardner (The Pass & Provisions); Diego Galicia & Rico Torres (Mixtli); James Holmes (Lucy’s Fried Chicken & Olivia); Matt McCallister (FT33); Wayne Mueller (Louie Mueller Barbecue); Andre Natera (Marquee Grill & Toko V); Hugo Ortega (Hugo’s Restaurant & Backstreet Café); Jesse Perez (Arcade Kitchen); Blaine Staniford (Grace); Philip Speer (Uchi & Uchiko); and Justin Yu (Oxheart).
Saturday evening’s Rock Your Taco, presented by Citi, brings out the competitive side of all participants. With live music from JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, chefs will square off against one another to create the ultimate taco, with winners chosen by an esteemed panel of judges, including Christina Grdovic (FOOD & WINE), Graham Elliot (Graham Elliot Bistro) and Andrew Zimmern (television personality). Two-time Rock Your Taco champion Tyson Cole will defend his crown against the likes of Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, XOCO, Tortas Frontera, Frontera Fresco); David Bull (Congress, Second Bar + Kitchen & Bar Congress); Richard Blais (author; Juniper & Ivy, FLIP Burger & The Spence); John Currence (author; City Grocery Restaurant Group); Bryce Gilmore (Barley Swine & Odd Duck); Mike Lata (FIG & The Ordinary); Tim Love; Georgia Pellegrini (chef/author); Monica Pope (Sparrow & Beaver’s); Kent Rathbun; Chris Shepherd; Ming Tsai (Blue Ginger & Blue Dragon); and Tandy Wilson (City House).
The festival grounds at Butler Park will once again be activated with interactive live fire stations, where Texas chefs will be cooking over Fire Pits and offering tastes to attendees throughout the weekend. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response from last year, the 2014 program will feature two Fire Pit stations, showcasing four chefs each day, each offering a front-row experience cooking with live fire. Chefs include Jason Dady; Ned Elliott; Aaron Franklin (Franklin Barbecue); Bryce Gilmore; John Russ (Lüke San Antonio); Paul Qui (Qui & East Side King); and Andrew Wiseheart (Contigo).
The Chefs’ Showcase, featuring a dynamic roster of chefs serving tastes of their signature dishes to attendees. On Saturday and Sunday, mix and mingle in the tents while enjoying bites from Chefs’ Showcase participants: John Bates & Brandon Martinez (Noble Pig); Stefan Bowers (Feast Restaurant); Shawn Cirkiel (Parkside Projects); Mat Clouser (Swift’s Attic); Kassie Harris (Whip In); Chris Hurley & Jennifer Costello (Bonneville); Allison Jenkins & Janina O’Leary (La V); Josh Jones (Salt & Time); Lawrence Kocurek (Trace); Rick Lopez (La Condesa); Jeff Martinez (El Chile); Sarah McIntosh (Epicerie Café & Grocery); Scott Mechura (Goodall’s Kitchen); Sandi Reinlie (Vespaio); Josh Watkins (The Carillon); Kent Rathbun (Jasper’s); and Kevin Williamson (Ranch 616).
See the full list of demonstrations, seminars and Festival programming at: http://www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/schedule/
Tickets for the 2014 Austin FOOD & WINE Festival are available in two options: Taste ($250) and Savor ($850), and are available at www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets. The Taste pass includes access to over 40 demos, hands-on experiences, seminars and tastings, and daily Grand Tasting events. Attendees who purchase a Taste pass also have the option to add on tickets for Friday night’s Taste of Texas event ($150) and/or Saturday night’s Rock Your Taco competition ($150). The Savor experience includes priority access to all demos, tastings and hands-on experiences, private Grand Tastings on Saturday & Sunday, access to a VIP lounge with a bar and additional tastings, and access to both the Taste of Texas and Rock Your Taco evening events.
All attendees must be 21 years of age or older. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com, or follow us on Twitter @austinfoodwine, Instagram @austinfoodwine and Facebook.com/austinfoodwine
The Austin FOOD & WINE Festival is generously sponsored by FOOD & WINE, Citi, H-E-B, Republic National Distributing Company, Stella Artois, KitchenAid, Ghirardelli, Gnarly Head Wines, American Airlines, Patron Tequila and Austin Wine Merchant.
About Austin FOOD & WINE Festival:
The Austin FOOD & WINE Festival marks a compelling collaboration between C3 Presents and some of Texas’ most exciting chefs and restaurateurs, including Tyson Cole, the James Beard Foundation Award-winning Owner/Chef of Uchi & Uchiko in Austin; Tim Love, Iron Chef Champion and Owner/Chef of Love Shack, The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, TLC Catering, White Elephant Saloon, Queenie’s Steakhouse & Woodshed Smokehouse; and Jesse Herman, owner of the James Beard Foundation Award-nominated La Condesa, Austin, Texas, and La Condesa Napa Valley & Sway. C3 Presents is the Austin-based event company that produces Lollapalooza in Chicago’s Grant Park, and Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin’s Zilker Park. The Austin FOOD & WINE Festival will take place April 25-27, 2014, bringing an array of taste, talent and culinary entertainment to the Capital City.
