[Park Hopper]

The annual International Food & Wine Festival is one of the favorite events
of the year for DW and myself, two passholders who live in Orlando. We go at least twice a week during the festival, sometimes more often. Here's a breakdown of our first two days:

Tuesday, Oct. 5: Attended the Styles & Regions of Cabernet Sauvignon wine tasting seminar in the Festival Welcome Center. Each participant was given three samples of different Cabs to taste while Bridgett Sherren, a Disney sommelier from the California Grill, explained the differences in cabernets and taught us what to look for. The 2000 cab from Atalon, Kendall-Jackson's high-end label, was our clear favorite.

We stayed in the Welcome Center and next attended the seminar on Rieslings, presented by a representative of Germany's Valckenberg winery. This time we had four wines to sample, and it was amazing how completely different the four wines tasted. Rieslings are associated with being sweet, but not all of these were. We learned about the German grading system and the differences between QbA, Kabinett, Spatlase and Auslase.

After this tasting, we checked out the merchandise for sale from various vendors in the Welcome Center shopping area. DW couldn't resist a couple of Murano glass wine corks from Italy.

We decided to make a circuit of World Showcase to see what the various food booths had to offer and were lured by the selections from Greece. We shared portions of spanakopita, a traditional Greek spinach and feta cheese pie, and a mini gyros with tzatziki, which is a yogurt and cucumber dressing. Both selections were extrememly tasty and good selections.

We finished our circuit of the World Showcase with noshes from the Valencia,
Spain food both. Serrano ham and Manchego cheese on warm olive bread was just OK, mainly because the ham was very stringy and kept pulling out of the bread. Paella Valenciana tasted good but was too cool even coming out of the warmer.

We stopped by Piedmont, Italy, which has an exhibit that explains the history and production of chocolate in the region. Last year there was a live demonstration of making chocolate, but unfortunately that is gone this year. You do get a free sample of the chocolate, though, and it is delicious beyond words.

Now it was time for the Eat to the Beat Concert, with Kool & the Gang. We've been to a majority of the musical acts who've performed at the festivals over the years, but Kool & the Gang rate at the top of the list. The group is 14 members strong, and the 45-minute performance (most of the Eat to the Beat acts normally do 30 minutes) they put on had a packed house cheering for more. The energy they had on stage was the best of anybody we've seen and their audience interaction was great.

Wednesday, Oct. 6: Today we decided to concentrate on cooking demonstrations. Our first stop was Spain, where we watched Mariano Fernandez, a chef at L'Ambigu Neo Restaurant in Valencia, Spain, prepare arroz con crema de melon, which was a rice-pudding-like dessert with a cream topping made from cantaloupe. This was a non-tasting demonstration, so unfortunately we don't know how good it was. It certainly smelled wonderful, though.

The next demonstration was at the old Odyssey Restaurant, where most of the cooking demonstrations are being held this year. Chef Michael Bersell, who heads the Garden Grill in The Land, showed how to prepare Tex-Mex Tortilla Soup. Originally from Albuquerque, Bersell's specialty is Southwestern dishes. Everyone got a small cup of the finished product, and it was delicious.

After this demonstration, we bought food from the Moroccan booth and shared hummus with pita and vegetable couscous. Both were quite good.

Our evening concluded with another Eat to the Beat Concert, this time featuring Starship. Starship didn't have the stage presence of Kool & the Gang the night before, but made up for it with sheer volume. It brought me back to my rock concert years where you could hardly hear when you left.

The current incarnation of Starship (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and now just Starship) is an all-male band and although Mickey Thomas is still the lead singer, some of the old songs were hurt by the lack of Grace Slick's strong female vocals.

All in all, though, our first two days at the F&W Festival were thoroughly enjoyable.

By the way, I've been wearing my Disney Central pin at the park but haven't run into anyone else yet.

[hanwill]

How are the crowds for this compared to other weeks and How are the crowds at other parks. Does this event make Epcot and the other parks crowded???

[Park Hopper]

Originally Posted by hanwill

How are the crowds for this compared to other weeks and How are the crowds at other parks. Does this event make Epcot and the other parks crowded???

October crowds are generally low, and in our experience the Food & Wine Festival doesn't create any larger crowds than normal.

[roxie]

Sounds fun. How did you like the Rieslings? My DH likes them because of their sweetness (I'm more of a dry person, myself.)

I can't believe Mickey Thomas is still with Jefferson Starship....um Starship...in fact I can't believe they're still around!

BTW...any blurry pictures to share?

[jodilt]

I also went to the first day of the Food and Wine festival. I thought it was a great experience, but the food was kind of expensive for the small portions you get. I wanted the shrimp on a barbie from the Australia booth, but for $4 you got three tiny shrimp....I passed not wanting to spend that much for so little.

[Park Hopper]

Originally Posted by jodilt

I also went to the first day of the Food and Wine festival. I thought it was a great experience, but the food was kind of expensive for the small portions you get. I wanted the shrimp on a barbie from the Australia booth, but for $4 you got three tiny shrimp....I passed not wanting to spend that much for so little.

You've definitely got to be selective. Australia has two of the three highest-priced tastings -- Australian Lamb with Caramelized Onions and Shiraz Glaze for $4.50 and Shrimp on the Barbie with Bush damper bread for $4. I believe the only other $4 item is New Zealand's Lamb Chop with mango chutney at $4.25. Some items, like Morocco's Hummus with Pita and Scandinavia's Strawberry Rice Cream are only $1, so the prices kind of balance out.

[Dana]

Thanks for report Park Hopper. No Grace Slick? Yes, I can see where some of their Starship's song may lack. She had one heck of a voice. I would have liked to have seen Kool and the Gang. Can't wait to hear more of your trips to this.

[Park Hopper]

Originally Posted by aecox

Sounds fun. How did you like the Rieslings? My DH likes them because of their sweetness (I'm more of a dry person, myself.)

I can't believe Mickey Thomas is still with Jefferson Starship....um Starship...in fact I can't believe they're still around!

BTW...any blurry pictures to share?

Our households are similar. I'm the big Riesling fan while my DW is like you, preferring something more dry. Tell your husband to look for Schloss Saarsteiner Riesling Kabinett or Graff Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese. If he likes sweet Rieslings, he'll love those two. The representative at our seminar said either bottle should retail for between $20-$25.

And we didn't bring the camera. But the photos probably would have been blurry if we had.

[MerlinMatt]

Originally Posted by Park Hopper

The next demonstration was at the old Odyssey Restaurant, where most of the cooking demonstrations are being held this year.

Has the building been cleaned up sufficiently? Is there any indication that they may begin using this facility for other special events throughout the year?

[painted_lady1]

Glad you reported on this festival, we will be down the on the 16th of October and wanted to try some of the food. Really appreciate the input, its quite helpful, thanks again

[Park Hopper]

Originally Posted by MerlinMatt

Has the building been cleaned up sufficiently? Is there any indication that they may begin using this facility for other special events throughout the year?

The Odyssey has been in use for private functions, both corporate and otherwise, for some time now. The kitchen in the building is functional, and DW and I have been there several times for special Disney Dining Experience events. Additionally, in recent years it has been used for Food & Wine Festival wine tastings, switching this year to F&W Festival cooking demonstrations. I also believe the building is being used for certain Magical Gatherings events.