Dazzling dining demos at Disney

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Lyn Dowling

That annual feast for the eyes, the nose, the palate, the senses, in which so many Brevardians partake every year, is soon to get underway again.

The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival will take place Oct. 1 through Nov. 14 at World Disney World, where 25 international marketplaces will line the park’s 1.3-mile promenade to offer tapas-sized specialties from all over the planet. As always, famed chefs (Todd English, Cat Cora, Robert Irvine, Andrew Zimmern and others) will participate; culinary and wine demonstrations will be offered; patrons may “Eat to the Beat” of retro rock and roll; fine wines will be sold; and the Party for the Senses will dazzle, complete with performances by Cirque de Soleil.

In this 15th anniversary of what now is one of the best-regarded festivals of its kind anywhere, the extraordinarily personable (not to mention exacting) Chef Jens Dahlmann will be in charge of cuisine again, and he will be assisted by the equally congenial Al Youngman.

Not all countries can be represented every year because the park simply wouldn’t have room for them. Thus, some national cuisines will be replaced this year.

“We’re going to have some new kiosks and new food, with that street-vendor flavor,” says Youngman, a New Jersey native who has worked for Disney for six years.

“Last year’s Thailand will become Singapore, where we’ll have a terrific dish, coconut-braised beef. Austria will become Belgium, where we will serve fresh-steamed mussels with roasted garlic cream, and waffles with berry compote. India will become South Korea, where we will have bulgogi in a kind of barbeque hut, and we’ll feature roasted pork lettuce wraps and braised short ribs, both of which will be served with kimchi.”

Never fear: “guest favorites” such as are served at the Greek, Canadian, Polish and Irish stands will be available once again too, with a few additions.

“We’ll still have the cheese soup at Canada. How could we go without it?” Youngman says with a laugh. “And last year, there was a huge demand for pierogis, which will be back.”

As this is, after all, a food and wine festival, the fruit of the vine will again be prominent with yet more (fancy) food offerings, like the strawberry verrine, “Chocolate Sensation” and pear strudel that will be available with mini-flutes of bubbly at “Champagne and Desserts.”

“It will almost feel like you’re going to walk into a bakery,” Youngman says.

As for beer lovers, well, don’t feel left out. Youngman and Dahlmann say the festival will include more international and specialty brews than ever this year, or, in Youngman’s half-joking words, “You can drink 15 beers for 15 years.”

The fun actually will start with a “First Bites” opening reception from 6:30 to 9 p.m.  Sept. 30 at the festival’s welcome center, the former “Wonders of Life” pavilion at Epcot, where guest chefs and experts are expected to be in profusion and culinary demonstrations will take place, as will tastings. Cost is $195.

Otherwise, highlights will include:

-- The Festival Welcome Center, with a Wine Bar, Authentic Taste Seminars, Authors Without Borders weekend conversations and more.
 
-- 3-D Disney’s Dessert Discovery

-- “Celebrating Family and Friends in the Kitchen,” Epcot wine schools, Mexico tequila Tastings and food and wine pairings.
 
Portions of regional specialties will cost $3 to $8 each and to make grazing simpler and more fun, guests can purchase festival-themed, wristband-borne mini-gift cards that can be loaded and reloaded at several park locations.

For more information, go to http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/special-events/epcot-international-food-and-wine-festival.

 

Mouseka-food fun facts

By the time it is complete, the 15th annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival will have offered:

-- More than 300 national and international wines
-- More than 75 kinds of international foods
-- More than 160 chefs
-- 405 wine and beer seminars
-- 135 Eat to the Beat! concerts
-- 33,000 bottles of wine and champagne
-- 690,000 samplings
-- 338,000 wine glasses
-- 100,000 desserts, including freshly baked waffles with berry compote and whipped cream (Belgium), pear streusel pudding cake (desserts and Champagne) and chocolate cannoli (Italy).

-- 3,000 gallons of soup, including best-selling cheddar cheese soup (Canada), chicken soup with rice (Puerto Rico) and bison chili with wild mushrooms (United States)

 

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