Best of the Fest (Food and Wine Festival)
Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival is my personal favorite of all the Epcot festivals. I could spend days wandering around the World Showcase sampling the savory, sweet, and drink items from the festival booths. There is always so much I want to try that I make a list before I attend. I feel accomplished as I check off items that I have tried! In our agency, my festival lists are legendary! Last month, I was able to spend a couple hours in Epcot and have my best of the fest list! Here are my five favorite festival items that I think you should add to your must try list!
- Pao de Queijo: Brazilian Cheese Bread, Brazil
Year after year, this dish makes my festival favorites list. What isn’t there to love about warm bread filled with yummy cheese? The best part is that you get two! Now whether you share or not is completely up to you. Brazil is a booth I look forward to every festival with dishes that surprise and delight! I highly recommend you give it a try! - Griddled Cheese with Pistachios and Honey, Greece
This dish has been on the menu at the Greece booth for the past two years and it is a must get! The cheese is griddled to crispy, chewy perfection and the pistachios with honey give it the right amount of sweetness. There is just something about the almost burntness of the cheese that puts this dish on my list. My mouth is literally watering as I write this thinking about it! - Cape Codder, Coastal Eats
This list wouldn’t be complete if it didn’t include a tasty cocktail. Since I was pregnant on both of my Walt Disney World trips in 2022, I was more than ready to sample some beverages. This particular drink has been on my list for the past couple years and I was eager to try it for the first time! The Cape Codder includes Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka with Cranberry, Pomegranate, and Lime. It was insanely delicious and worth the wait!! For all my sweet or tart drink lovers out there, this drink is for you. The worst or maybe best part? You could not taste the alcohol at all! I highly recommend this cocktail and I hope it makes an appearance at next year’s festival so I can have it again! Till then, I may have to recreate this cocktail at home! - Freshly Baked Carrot Cake with Walnuts and Cream Cheese Icing, Flavors of America
Now it is time for dessert! Carrot Cake is one of my favorite desserts but unfortunately, I don’t have it very often. When I saw it on the menu at the Flavors of America festival booth, well, I have never run to a booth so fast! The cake itself was warm and moist with amazing flavor. The walnuts added an extra element with their crunchiness. The best part of this dish, the warm melty cream cheese icing! It brings the whole dish together! When I say run to this booth for this dish, I mean it. A warning though, it will fill you up! Maybe make sure it is one of the last items of the day so you will have room for everything else on your list! - Fried Falafel Pita with Tahini Sauce and Hard Cider Flight, Tangerine Café, Flavors of the Medina This booth gets two items from me! Morocco is always a highlight of the festival for me. There are sweet, savory, and amazing drink options! The flavors are always fresh and delicious no matter the dish. First, let’s talk about the food. The Fried Falafel Pita with Tahini Sauce was incredible. The pita was baked fresh in the ovens inside the booth and the falafel was moist with intense flavors. The Tahini sauce and vegetables in the pita brought this dish together beautifully. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! After I finished it, I wanted another! What paired perfectly with it was the Cider Flight. There were three different ciders on the flight and it was great for sharing.
- The ciders included:
- 3 Daughters Brewing Fig Hard Cider
- Keel Farms Raspberry Citrus Hard Cider
- Blake’s Hard Cider Co. Peach Party Peach & Blackberry Hard Cider
- The ciders included:
- The Fig Hard Cider was a returning favorite for me. I had this at this booth in 2021 and was delighted that it had returned this year! It is subtly sweet and smooth with great flavors! The Raspberry Citrus Hard Cider was very pleasant! It was not too sweet and it tasted like fresh raspberries right off the vine! My favorite of the trio was the Peach and Blackberry Hard Cider. It was definitely a party! The fruit was fresh and the blackberry was not overpowered by the peach like I was afraid it would be. I loved it so much, I looked into ordering some at home!
The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is happening now through November 18th! This is the perfect excuse to try new foods and drinks while strolling around the World Showcase. Think about it, with all of that walking you will be making room for more! This festival is great for those that want to try new foods but don’t want a large portion. With smaller portions that are perfect for sharing, everyone can have a bite. If you don’t want to share, don’t worry, I don’t judge! There were so many dishes that
could go on this list and there were so many items I wanted to try but ran out of time! I highly recommend spreading out your list over a couple days of your vacation. Don’t try to eat and drink everything in one day! I can’t wait for next year’s festival! Maybe I will see you there, list in hand!
Cheers!
Kendra Beers
Andreas, PA
