2008 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Reviews

[shovan]

We also were at the Puglia City Taste. Below is the "Program". I had to wait for my wife to traslate her handwriting . Each color was a different area of Italy. (and as usual, if there any spelling mistakes, you can blame my wife

City Taste Italy Friday October 31,2008

Ed

WOW! Ed Thanks! And a special thanks to your wife too! I'm amazed that y'all were able to get all this info!!! Now I know what I ate & drank!!!

I think the stuffed zucchini blossom was my favorite dish of the evening!

 

[shovan]

Here's some pics of the French Regional Lunch on 10/26. Sorry, I lost our menus, so I'm just going on memory on the dishes. They also continued to refill all of the wine during dinner, so I know my memory may be a bit fuzzy on the details!

The table setting.

I don't know why I didn't get a pic of the wines. As soon as we were seated they poured the Cremant d'Alsace Rose. I love this sparkling fruity but very dry wine! I hope I can find it around here.

The cute menu I lost.

Evan Goldstein, the speaker from Pierre Sparr Wines. He was very informative, but also really funny & entertaining.

Amuse Bouche- Duck Liver Pate & Herbed Goat Cheese

DH & I enjoying ourselves.

Smoked Salmon tart & Salmon tartare with mache (I think), I do remember it was good! It was served with a dry Reisling Reserve.

Scallops topped with grouper, Root vegetable medley, Alsatian style cabbage en pappillote in a Gewurtztraminer butter Sauce. All yummy. The wine that accompanied this was a Reserve Gewurtztraminer. More dry than sweet.

Pear Tart with Creme Fraiche

This was paired with a late Harvest Gewurtz that was very sweet, a really good dessert wine.

We really enjoyed this event. The servers were excellent, it was a well paced & leisurely french lunch. Nora Carey was seated right across from us, wish I had realized who she was at the time.

 

[TDC Nala]

According to their website, Bocuse d'Or 2009 is going to be in Lyon, France in January.

Do they have more than one per year?

I did enjoy the PFTS on the 8th but I walked in late and didn't want a table.

Walked out in 90 minutes because I was full.

The Indiana Jones truffle display was awesome.

Yes I will go to one next year (but probably just one, not two like this year).

I may be able to clear up one of the questions about why all the kids - there was a group installed at a table that had a sign on it that said "Reserved for Dream Winners." They had five little kids with them. So they were giving PFTS tickets away as Year of a Million Dreams prizes.

Well next year maybe it'll have to be your birthday.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

According to their website, Bocuse d'Or 2009 is going to be in Lyon, France in January.

Do they have more than one per year?

The Bocuse event held at Disney this past F&W was to determine which US chefs would represent the states at the Bocuse d'Or World Cuisine Grand Final in January 2009.

I would assume that they will repeat this same process to determine the participants that will attend the finals in 2010...so perhaps Disney is having this again for F&W 2009.

 

[timandlesley]

Here's some pics of the French Regional Lunch on 10/26. Sorry, I lost our menus, so I'm just going on memory on the dishes. They also continued to refill all of the wine during dinner, so I know my memory may be a bit fuzzy on the details!

The table setting.

I don't know why I didn't get a pic of the wines. As soon as we were seated they poured the Cremant d'Alsace Rose. I love this sparkling fruity but very dry wine! I hope I can find it around here.

The cute menu I lost.

Evan Goldstein, the speaker from Pierre Sparr Wines. He was very informative, but also really funny & entertaining.

Amuse Bouche- Duck Liver Pate & Herbed Goat Cheese

DH & I enjoying ourselves.

Smoked Salmon tart & Salmon tartare with mache (I think), I do remember it was good! It was served with a dry Reisling Reserve.

Scallops topped with grouper, Root vegetable medley, Alsatian style cabbage en pappillote in a Gewurtztraminer butter Sauce. All yummy. The wine that accompanied this was a Reserve Gewurtztraminer. More dry than sweet.

Pear Tart with Creme Fraiche

This was paired with a late Harvest Gewurtz that was very sweet, a really good dessert wine.

We really enjoyed this event. The servers were excellent, it was a well paced & leisurely french lunch. Nora Carey was seated right across from us, wish I had realized who she was at the time.

This looks AWESOME! How do you get to do these??? We're going for the first time in 2009, I thought it was just vendors in the World Showcase and wasn't aware of these types of things.
Lesley

 

[shovan]

This looks AWESOME! How do you get to do these??? We're going for the first time in 2009, I thought it was just vendors in the World Showcase and wasn't aware of these types of things.
Lesley

There is a whole bunch of fine dining events that go on during the F&W Fest. The events list came out in August this year. The earliest info was posted here on the DIS. Just start checking the restaurant thread next year in July & August. You will find all the info you need to know!!

 

[ElizabethB]

A whole bunch of fine dining events?

Hmmmmm.

I would say there used to be a whole bunch of fine dining events.

Based on this year's Festival, there are

- a "whole bunch" of cocktail party walk-about events (which are cheaper to produce than dinners and accommodate many more bodies)

-a few food and wine pairings (many fewer than previously)

-two (count 'em, two!!) fine dining dinners and

-a few scattered lunches that are too heavy, IMO, to be enjoyed at noon.

 

[shovan]

A whole bunch of fine dining events?

Hmmmmm.

I would say there used to be a whole bunch of fine dining events.

Based on this year's Festival, there are

- a "whole bunch" of cocktail party walk-about events (which are cheaper to produce than dinners and accommodate many more bodies)

-a few food and wine pairings (many fewer than previously)

-two (count 'em, two!!) fine dining dinners and

-a few scattered lunches that are too heavy, IMO, to be enjoyed at noon.

The previous poster was totally unaware of the F&W events. Thought the whole thing was all about the booths! I wasn't making a judgement call on all of the events, just trying to help out someone with a question!

 

[shovan]

This looks AWESOME! How do you get to do these??? We're going for the first time in 2009, I thought it was just vendors in the World Showcase and wasn't aware of these types of things.
Lesley

Here you go, you can check out this past year's events for your self!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/events/

 

[Tamar]

I was quite nervous about crowd control at PFTS after reading about problems that others had, but we really had no problems on 11/8. Here's what we did:

Took advantage of the Los Lobos reserved seating.
Sauntered over to the PFTS location, and arrived about 6:10. We were pretty far back in the crowd, but honestly, there's 20 minutes to get glasses and plates, so we didn't rush in.
When we got into the holding room, the only space was along the far left wall, so we walked along the back of the crowd and along the side
When the curtain opened, they also opened a side exit door, and we filed in with others who'd been standing along that side of the crowd.
We walked towards the back, and about half way (by the cheese), found a stand-up table with one chair. Our party of 4 set up shop at this table. At least one person stayed at the table at all times so we'd have a place to come back to and would be able to find each other and share some of the food, but while some of our party was our grazing, others were welcome to use the table too (and several couples did come and go throughout the evening from the table).

This worked great, and we had a wonderful time. The only thing I know of that ran out was the Mumm's...and we didn't go to that table until about 8:45, so it may have lasted until 8:30 or so.

By about 1/2 way through the evening, most of the conventioneers had left (guess that's what happens when something's free), and the lines pretty much evaporated expept for the lobster and scallops.

So--it is still possible to have a great time at PFTS--I can understand why those who were in the pack during the 30 minutes+ before the party, or looking for a place to sit wouldn't wnat to attend again, but for our party of 4 it was a big success.

 

[TDC Nala]

I enjoyed it too but that is probably because I didn't try to get a table. We went in after the crowd did. Walked and ate. but I like the info about the side door.

My strategy is to start with dessert and cheese. Nobody's messing with the dessert and cheese tables at the start.

Got finished in about 90 minutes and left.

My friend has a photo of the Indiana Jones chocolate truffle display - I wish I had one myself, if I did I'd post it. I don't know about the Mumms because I don't really like champagne, so I avoided those tables. Had a big glass of Israeli ice wine though.

 

[kabuki]

DH & I enjoying ourselves.

OK shovan this is really a strange funny for me. I was reading your great review a couple days ago and loved it. Looked at the pictures and in my usual way just went "oh those are great"!

A little back ground now.. Jason and I take wine classes on Tuesday for the last few months and have met some great people and of course told them all about the Food and Wine Fest. Turns out one of our fellow wine class people was heading to Orlando after we left but while the fest was still going on so we brought her a booklet and sent her information thinking the one day she was going she could enjoy a few free classes and the food booths... low and behold she was at your lunch and I just looked at this picture again is the lovely lady in the green shirt behind you..

Just thought I would share my "small world" story of the day!

 

[disneynutz]

I have been contacted by WDW about the PFTS.

I had mentioned to management that the que before the opening and the rush to get plates and tables was not Disney, especially for a $135 event.

They have asked for all input on what we liked and what we didn't like.

I am asking my fellow DISers for your input along with any problem pictures that you my have taken.

Here is our opportunity to make this wonderful event better.

Thanks,

 

[redzinner]

I have been contacted by WDW about the PFTS.

May I ask how you contacted them, email or snail mail? Did you address it to Disney Customer Relations or a specific person? Thanks!

 

[BriarRosie]

I have been contacted by WDW about the PFTS.

I had mentioned to management that the que before the opening and the rush to get plates and tables was not Disney, especially for a $135 event.

They have asked for all input on what we liked and what we didn't like.

I am asking my fellow DISers for your input along with any problem pictures that you my have taken.

Here is our opportunity to make this wonderful event better.

Thanks,

There's a guy that's been taking photos of PFTS, and I saw him taking photos during my Kitchen Conversations event. I found him to be a little distracting during that. I wish I knew his name so I could tell them to review his photos. I know he was snapping photos of the pre-event zoo.

 

[TDC Nala]

I think it's time to unstick this before Thanksgiving. The festival's been over awhile

Another go next year maybe.