Austin Food + Wine Festival Returns in April
The Austin Food + Wine Festival is pleased to announce the Chef Showcase schedule for the seventh annual festival, and will feature a dynamic roster of 40 local chefs and restaurants serving samples of signature dishes to festival goers on Saturday, April 28 and Sunday, April 29, 2018.
On Thursday, April 26, the pre-Festival Feast Under the Stars will be hosted at Austin’s Auditorium Shores. This five-course, family-style meal will be held on Festival grounds and feature a collaborative menu and wine pairings. The Festival officially kicks off on Friday, April 27, with Grillin’ and Chillin’ — a hands-on grilling dinner party hosted by Tim Love. This event will offer All-In ticket holders the opportunity to sharpen their grilling skills as they join Love for an interactive night of hands-on grilling, drinks and dinner, all underneath the Austin skyline. Grillin’ and Chillin’ attendees will have their own grill to share with a partner as Tim guides them on how to become grilling experts. Grillin' and Chillin' is exclusively included with the All-In ticket.
“Austin has a tight-knit food and wine community, but we all stay busy that I enjoy catching up with friends and colleagues at the Austin Food + Wine Festival and sharing our current projects,” says David Norman, Easy Tiger Head Dough Puncher & Partner. “Visiting chefs from around the country – some old friends and others new – also bring ideas and inspiration to town. This year, Easy Tiger will present a taste of a German beer garden tradition with our popular pretzels and our take on a Wurstsalat (sausage salad).”
On Saturday, April 28, and Sunday, April 29, the Festival grounds at Auditorium Shores will come alive with cooking demonstrations, book signings and an interactive area where chefs will cook over live Fire Pits and offer tastes to attendees throughout the weekend. Offering multiple stations daily, the expanded Fire Pits will provide interactive experiences cooking with live fire from local and national pitmasters and chefs, including David Bull (Second Bar + Kitchen), Sonya Coté (Eden East), Billy Durney (Hometown BBQ), Evan LeRoy (LeRoy and Lewis), and many more.
Stephanie McClenny of Confituras Little Kitchen says “As the owner of a brand-new brick and mortar, Confituras Little Kitchen, and a first-time Chef Showcase participant, we are doubly thrilled to be showing off the locally sourced fruit and heritage grains we utilize at our jam & biscuit shop in South Austin to a wider audience!”
Rock Your Taco, Saturday evening’s signature tasting event at Fair Market, will bring out the competitive side of all participants, with a live musical performance by award-winning Latin Pop artist, Gina Chavez. Chefs will square off against one another to create the ultimate taco, with winners chosen by an esteemed panel of judges, including legendary chef and cookbook author, Lidia Bastianich (Felidia, Becco, Del Posto, Eataly, Lidia’s; Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, NYC). Chefs include Tatsu Aikawa & Takuya Matsumoto (Ramen Tatsu-Ya, Kemuri Tatsu-Ya), Nyesha Arrington (Native; Los Angeles), and many more.
“I think this is a great opportunity for Mattie’s at Green Pastures to be featured among the other great restaurants in Austin and to give festival goers the chance to see the wonderful transformation that has taken place with the newly reopened restaurant and iconic event space,” says chef Joshua Thomas of Mattie’s at Green Pastures.
The All-In ticket is $625/per person and includes Saturday and Sunday Festival access, over 40 culinary demos, beer, wine and cocktail tasting sessions, access to the expanded Fire Pits, all-day access to the Grand Taste Pavilion, including the Chef Showcase, a special Sunday Gospel Brunch, Grillin’ and Chillin’, and entrance to Saturday night’s Rock Your Taco.
The Weekender ticket is $250/per person and includes Saturday and Sunday Festival access, over 40 culinary demos, beer, wine and cocktail tasting sessions, access to the expanded Fire Pits, all-day access to the Grand Taste Pavilion, including the Chef Showcase, and a special Sunday Gospel Brunch.
All-In and Weekender tickets can be purchased at www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets. All attendees must be 21 years of age or older.
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