Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival 2017

Epicureans rejoice! The Food & Wine Festival returns to Disney’s California Adventure March 10 through April 16. This hugely popular event will be celebrated daily with even more Festival Marketplaces and other new additions. An exciting new feature will be Festival inspired menus at existing restaurants and eateries, highlighting delicious foods and libations representative of the Golden State. As in years past, culinary experiences for the whole family can be enjoyed through a variety of food, beverage and lifestyle seminars, demonstrations and presentations. Guests can learn cooking techniques and get sample tastings during informative Culinary Demonstrations by talented local, visiting and Disneyland Resort chefs. Plus, they can quench their thirst for knowledge with engaging Beverage Seminars, which feature informative, guided tastings of wine, beer or spirits. And, kids ages 3-11 can partake in the return of a complimentary, hands-on experience called Jr. Chef, which will take place daily.

The following special ticketed events are also available to book, including culinary demonstrations, beer, wine and spirit seminars, premium dining events and demonstrations by celebrity chefs:

“In the Kitchen with…” Series: Guests can catch favorite celebrity chefs Guy Fieri, Robert Irvine, Cat Cora, G. Garvin, Graham Elliot and Jet Tila demonstrate their skills in the kitchen, try a tasting menu created by the chef and even get an autograph! Cost is $99 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Sweet Sundays Events: Celebrity pastry chefs Duff Goldman, Emily Ellyn and Keegan Gerhard will demonstrate how to make some of their delectable desserts. Cost is $79 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Winemaker Dinners: Highlighting wines from California vintners Duckhorn Vineyards and Flora Springs Winery, with a four-course meal carefully selected to enhance the flavor of the wine. While guests dine, they will enjoy insights and inspiration behind the pairings by a knowledgeable winemaker. Cost is $150 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Disney Family of Wines Winemaker Dinner: This special event will feature Disney Family of Wines includes Fess Parker Winery, GoGi Wines, Lasseter Family Winery and Silverado Vineyards. The wineries at this event each have a special connection to the Disney legacy. Cost is $200 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Brewmaster Beer Dinners: New to this year’s festival, featuring prix fixe dinners where hand-selected beers from California-based breweries will be paired and served with a four-course specialty menu prepared by Disney chefs. Knowledgeable brewmasters present each beer and describe the chef’s inspiration for the pairing. Cost is $150 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

Events taking place March 10-April 1, 2017 are now available to book, and reservations will continue to become available 60 days prior to each event’s date. To whet your appetite for this year’s Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival here is a summary of what was available at the 2016 Festival Marketplaces. The 2016 Food & Wine Festival featured eight Festival Marketplaces (semi-permanent food booths) stretching along the path from Carthay Circle to the Paradise Pier Lagoon. At each booth guests were able to purchase tastes that represented the regional diversity of California food and wine. They included: - LAstyle (chilled ahi poke; pork belly bao taco; milk chocolate caramel tart) - The Vineyard (three wine flights: Cabernet, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, including three samples of each variety; and wines by the glass from vineyards throughout California) - Wine Country (zinfandel braised wagyu beef; roasted yellow beets & purple haze goat cheese; blackberry tart) - Viva Fresca! (fried shrimp soft taco; Anaheim chile and roasted cauliflower burrito; strawberry mango agua fresca) - Gold Rush (triple cheese mac with smoked chicken; artichoke chips with spicy aioli; apple bacon whoopie pie) - The Brew House (Two beer flights featuring brews from Southern California and Northern California; California craft beers by the glass) - The Farm (grilled beef tenderloin slider; golden thai vegetable curry; meyer lemon macaron) - By the Bay (white cheddar ale & bacon soup; chilled shrimp and snowcrab cocktail; coconut tapioca layered with fresh mango lychee boba, mango coulis)

I happened to be visiting California Adventure during the 2016 Food & Wine Festival and had the delectable pleasure of sampling several Festival tastes including the chilled ahi poke and pork belly bao taco from the LAstyle booth. Both were delicious and a refreshing change from your typical amusement park fare! So if you’re looking for some sun, fun, and fabulous food, bring your family, friends, and appetite to the 2017 California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. Contact your As You Wish Vacations Travel Agent, and let us help you plan your gastronomical “Disney California Adventure”.