Who doesn't love a great festival? So much opportunity to taste new bites and beverages!
Austin Food + Wine Festival co-founders Charlie Jones, partner of C3 Presents, chef Tim Love, and restaurateur Jesse Herman, in partnership with FOOD & WINE, are pleased to announce the culinary and musical line-up for the sixth annual festival, April 28-30, 2017. Tickets go on sale today, January 19, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. CT, at https://www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/.
The sixth annual Austin Food + Wine Festival will feature more than 40 events over three days at Auditorium Shores and Fair Market, including Friday night’s Lone Star Nights; Rock Your Tacocompetition on Saturday night; Sunday Gospel Brunch with The Warrior Gospel Band; hands-on grilling demonstrations; engaging cooking demonstrations; interactive fire pits helmed by an all-star lineup of chefs; food, wine and cocktail tastings in the Grand Taste Pavilion; live musicalperformances; chef tastings; book signings; and more.
“Austin is undoubtedly one of America’s most dynamic and diverse culinary capitals,” says Nilou Motamed, Editor in Chief of Food & Wine. "That’s why we are enormously proud to partner with the Austin Food + Wine Festival to showcase a mix of the best and brightest chefs, restaurateurs, and wine and spirits experts, from the great state of Texas and beyond. Paired with incredible live music, this unforgettable event has become a highlight on Austin’s calendar—and one of my favorite weekends of the year.”
On Thursday, April 27, the pre-Festival Feast Under the Stars, an intimate outdoor celebration, will be held on Festival grounds at Austin’s Auditorium Shores, offering a five-course, family-style menu with wine pairings from Jackson Family Wines. Chefs David Bull (Second Bar + Kitchen, La Corsha Hospitality Group); Tyson Cole (Uchi); Omar Flores (Casa Rubia); Ford Fry (State of the Grace); and pastry chef Janina O’Leary will prepare a collaborative, al fresco meal. Feast Under the Stars tickets are $250/per person (inclusive of wine pairings and parking) and must be purchased separately from any Festival tickets at https://www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets/. The 2017 Festival officially kicks off on Friday, April 28, with Lone Star Nights, held at Fair Market(1100 E 5th Street), with music by DJ DM. With a lineup showcasing Texas’ brightest chefs serving their riffs on global night market cuisine, Lone Star Nights will feature dishes from: Matt Balke (Bolsa); Julian Barsotti (Nonna); Junior Borges & Coner Sergeant (CBD Provisions); Thai Changthong (Thai-Kun);Luis Colon (Folc); Andrew Curren (ELM Restaurant Group); Kevin Fink (Emmer & Rye); Ford Fry;Diego Galicia & Rico Torres (Restaurant Mixtli); Steve McHugh (Cured); Wayne Mueller (Louie Mueller Barbecue); Paul Qui (Kuneho); Ryan Shields (Bullfight); and Danny Trace (Brennan’s of Houston).
On Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30, the Festival grounds at Auditorium Shores will come alive with cooking demonstrations, book signings and interactive stations where chefs will cook over live Fire Pits and offer tastes to attendees throughout the day. Offering three stations daily, the Fire Pits will provide an interactive experience cooking with live fire from chefs Sonya Coté (Eden East, Hillside Farmacy);Michael Fojtasek (Olamaie); Bryce Gilmore (Barley Swine, Odd Duck); Kent Rathbun (Shinsei); Blaine Staniford (Grace, Little Red Wasp); and Andrew Wiseheart (Contigo, Contigo Catering, Chicon).
Chef/partner Tim Love will once again host the world’s largest hands-on grilling demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday. During Love’s interactive demos, he will teach attendees how to master the grill and share his personal tricks and tips for perfectly cooked meals. Attendees must have an All-In ticket to take part in the interactive demo, and are guaranteed one spot when they pre-register and select one day at time of purchase.
“With the greatest lineup we have ever had, Austin Food + Wine is proud to be ranked with top Food & Wine festivals in the U.S.,” says chef/partner, Tim Love. “The uniqueness of the programming and the high level of talent makes this the best weekend of the year!”
The Chef Showcase will feature a dynamic roster of chefs serving samples to festivalgoers in the Grand Taste Pavilion on Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy signature dishes from participating chefs, including: Joe Anguiano (VOX Table); Jeff Balfour (Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery); John Bates & Brandon Martinez (Noble Sandwich Co.); Stephen Bonin (Geraldine’s); John Brand (Supper at Hotel Emma);Taylor Chambers (Justine’s Brasserie); Tyson Cole (Uchiko); Austin Ewald (Grizzelda's); Kazu Fukumoto (Fukumoto: Sushi and Yakitori Izakaya); Albert Gonzalez (Jacoby’s Restaurant & Mercantile);Daniela Herrera (Counter 3. FIVE. VII); James Holmes (Lucy’s Fried Chicken); Zach Hunter (The Brewer’s Table); Clinton Kendall (East Side King); Lance Kirkpatrick (Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew);Nathan Lemley (Parkside); Mia Li (Kuneho); Geronimo Lopez (Botika); Rick Lopez (La Condesa); Harold Marmulstein (Salty Sow); Brian Moses (Olive & June); Josh Neises (Lonesome Dove); David Norman (Easy Tiger Bake Shop & Beer Garden); Michael Paley (Central Standard); Ji Peng Chen (Wu Chow); James Robert (Fixe); Amanda Rockman (South Congress Hotel); Eric Silverstein (The Peached Tortilla); Marco Silverstrini (Dolce Neve); Anthony Sobotik (Lick Honest Ice Cream); Eddie Solis(Cooper’s Old Time Pit BBQ); Philip Speer (Bonhomie); George Thomas (Unit-D Pizzeria); Jim Tripi(Eberly); Carmen Valera (Tamale House East); Abby Yates (NO VA); Jacob Weaver (Juliet Ristorante);Martin Wilda (Sway); and Kevin Williamson (Ranch 616).
Rock Your Taco, Saturday evening’s signature tasting event at Fair Market, will bring out the competitive side of all participants. Chefs will square off against one another to create the ultimate taco, with winners chosen by an esteemed panel of judges, including Graham Elliot (Graham Elliot Bistro) and FOOD & WINE’s Editor, Nilou Motamed. Chefs include Hugh Acheson (Empire State South, Five & Ten, The Florence, The National, Spiller Park); Jimmy Bannos (Heaven on Seven); Jimmy Bannos, Jr. (The Purple Pig); Matt Bolus (The 404 Kitchen); Tyson Cole (Uchi/Uchiko); Jason Dady (Jason Dady Restaurants);Jodi Elliott (Bribery Bakery); Amanda Freitag (Chopped); Ludo Lefebvre (Trois Mec, Petit Trois, Trois Familia, LudoBird); reigning Rock Your Taco champion Tim Love; Aarón Sánchez (Johnny Sánchez Restaurants); Alon Shaya (Shaya, Domenica, Pizza Domenica); Christina Tosi (Momofuku Milk Bar); Ming Tsai (Blue Dragon, Blue Ginger); and Jonathan Waxman (Adele’s, Bajo Sexto Taco, Barbuto, Brezza Cucina, Jams, Waxman’s San Francisco).
A star-studded collection of sommeliers, wine, beer and spirits experts rounds out the Austin Food +
Wine Festival line-up, including Master Sommelier Devon Broglie; Master Sommelier Craig Collins; FOOD & WINE’s executive wine editor Ray Isle; and author Mark Oldman.
Additional programming announcements will be made over the course of the spring; please visitwww.austinfoodandwinefestival.com for more information and updates.
Tickets for the 2017 Austin Food + Wine Festival go on sale Thursday, January 19, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. CTat www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets. The All-In Ticket is $625/per person and includes Saturdayand Sunday Festival access; over 40 culinary demos; beer, wine and cocktail tasting sessions; access to the Fire Pits; all-day access to the Grand Taste Pavilion, including the Chef Showcase; a special Sunday Gospel Brunch by The Warrior Gospel Band; Tim Love’s Hands-On Grilling Demo access for Saturday or Sunday; and entrance to evening events, including Friday night’s Lone Star Nights and 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 Fire Pits; all-day access to the Grand Taste Pavilion, including the Chef Showcase; and a special Sunday Gospel Brunch by The Warrior Gospel Band.
All-In and Weekender tickets can be purchased at www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets. All attendees must be 21 years of age or older. For more information, please visitwww.austinfoodandwinefestival.com, or follow us on Instagram @austinfoodwine, Twitter@austinfoodwine and Facebook.com/austinfoodwine.