Monday, September 22, 2014

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2014

Update - the dishes highlighted in yellow have returned to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival in 2015.

The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival started last Friday, and runs through November 10th.  


I couldn't resist heading to Epcot to sample some of their new gluten free menu items on opening day.  


I knew that gluten free options would be marked in the Marketplace Discovery Passport, but they were also labeled in the Food & Wine pamphlet that I picked up when I entered the park.  


My first stop was the Mexico booth, where I purchased the Rib Eye Taco, which is described as marinated rib-eye, roasted chipotle salsa, and grilled scallion on a corn tortilla.  I enjoyed this taco, especially the bites that had a lot of the roasted chipotle salsa, which was very tasty.  


If you are worried about cross contamination, the Farm Fresh booth is a great place to eat, because both of their menu items are gluten free.  The Nueske's pepper bacon hash with sweet corn, potatoes, hollandaise, and pickled jalapenos is not to be missed.  It was definitely my favorite dish of the day.  I wasn't sure I would like the hollandaise, so I asked for a small amount on the side, but all the elements of this hash were incredible together.  


I also ordered the griddled "yard bird" with braised greens and house-made habanero sauce from Farm Fresh.  The chicken thigh was moist and juicy, and was so delightfully crisp on top, as you can see in the picture.  A bit of advice - don't order this dish if you don't like spicy food, or ask for them to leave the habanero sauce off.  I would have enjoyed this dish as much as the hash if it had not been slightly over salted.


Africa, like Farm Fresh, has two gluten free menu items, so no worries about cross contamination at the booth.  


Because I was getting pretty full at this point, I only ordered the South African bobotie with turkey and mushroom.  Later this week, I hope to try the beef tenderloin tips Berbere-style with okra, jalapenos, tomato and pap.  I love the bobotie at Tusker House, so I was very excited to see that this new menu item was gluten free.  I really enjoyed this dish, but oddly enough, after thinking my yard bird was too salty, I wanted my bobotie to have a little more salt.  


If you have a Chase Disney debit or credit card, be sure to stop at the Chase Lounge at the America Pavilion, which you can gain entrance to between the attraction and the gift shop.  


After walking up to the third floor, I was able to enjoy a complimentary drink, sit on a nice comfortable couch, and post some Food & Wine photos on Instagram.  


As I continued to make my way around the World Showcase, I spotted the Brazil booth, which has the following gluten free dishes to choose from:
  • Mocequa de Pescado - Regal Springs premium tilapia with coconut lime sauce and steam rice
  • Crispy pork belly with black beans, tomato and cilantro
  • Pao de Queijo - Brazilian cheese bread
I am very much looking forward to trying the Brazilian cheese bread when I head back to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival on Friday.  


The only gluten free dessert option marked in the Discovery Passport is the warm chocolate pudding with Kerrygold Irish Cream Liqueur custard at the Ireland booth.  


I tried this warm molten chocolate cake last year and loved it, and it was just as good this year.  My daughters love it too, but we order it without the custard for them.  


Canada has two great gluten free options that have returned from last year, the "Le Cellier" wild mushroom beef filet mignon with truffle butter sauce, and the seared rainbow trout with bacon, frisee and L8 Harvest, Minus 8 Vinaigrette.  You can read my review of these dishes, and other returning favorites in my Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2013 blog post.  


Rinse bath & body products are being sold at a booth near Canada.  


All of their products, except their soaps made with beer or oats, are gluten free, and they are careful about the sourcing of their ingredients, and take precautions to prevent cross contamination.  You can view their full list of gluten free products here.  


I did buy three of their pucker sticks, and might purchase some moisturizing skin sticks and chocolate soap the next time I stop by.  


Before heading home, I stopped at the Terra booth to order a fresh watermelon juice, my family's favorite beverage at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.  It is super refreshing, and I love that it is pure watermelon juice, with nothing else added.  


September 27, 2014 Update 


Yesterday, I spent the afternoon at Epcot with my friend Sarah from Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free at WDW.  The first booth we stopped at was Brazil, where I confirmed that the Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread) was gluten free.  I enjoyed it, but I think I like Brazi Bites better, because they are smaller, which allows them to cook a little better in the middle.  


Sarah recommended the Roasted Verlasso Salmon with Quinoa Salad and Arugula Chimichurri from Patagonia, which was my favorite dish of the day.  My salmon was cooked perfectly, and the arugula chimichurri was so delicious!  I liked the quinoa salad as well, but would have preferred it without the raw onions.  


At the Puerto Rico booth, I ordered the Carne Guisada con Arroz Blanco, which is slow braised beef with Puerto Rican grown rice.  The beef was flavorful, but a little dry.  I liked this dish, but not enough to order it again with so many other wonderful things to eat at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.  Next time I go, I will be ordering some of my favorites from last year - the griddled Greek cheese with pistachios & honey from Greece, the seared rainbow trout & "Le Cellier" Beef Filet Mignon from Canada, the garlic shrimp from Australia, and the grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce & boniato puree from Patagonia.    


Sarah and I attended two of the new Back to Basics Lecture Series yesterday, which are free of charge.  Chef Tony from Port Orleans French Quarter talked about Kitchen Shortcuts, Tips, Tricks and Hacks in his first session.  His second session was entitled Taking the Dinner Party to the Next Level: Professional Tips for Impressing your Guests.  Both of these session are available again Sunday, September 28th at 12:15 and 2:00.  You will definitely walk away with some valuable kitchen tips if you have a chance to attend these sessions.

October 30, 2014 Update


Last night, we had dinner with my parents at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.  My daughters and I were very excited to try some of our returning favorites, like the "Le Cellier" wild mushroom beef filet mignon with truffle butter sauce, and the seared rainbow trout with bacon, frisee and L8 Harvest, Minus 8 Vinaigrette.  Both dishes from the Canada booth were just as good as I remembered them being last year, and I was impressed that my daughter Emma, who didn't eat fish until recently, loved the trout.  


The griddled Greek cheese with pistachios and honey continues to be one of my favorite dishes at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.  It wasn't much to look at yesterday, but I love the combination of flavors.  I need to go to Whole Foods and pick up some kasseri cheese to make this recipe again at home.  


My daughter Emma's favorite dish at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival is the grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato puree from Patagonia.  I don't remember the chimichurri sauce being so oily last year, but it was just as delicious as it has been in the past, so no one was complaining.


Last night, I tried one new dish, the beef tenderloin tips Berbere-style with okra, jalapenos, tomato and pap from Africa.  This dish was recommended by two of my blog readers, and it didn't disappoint.  This is the one dish I didn't share with anyone in my family, and I was very happy to have it all to myself.  The pap reminded me of grits, but better, and the beef was tender and flavorful.


The only returning favorite we missed last night was the garlic shrimp with roasted tomatoes, lemon myrtle and rapani from Australia.  I guess that means we better squeeze in one more visit before November 10th. 


After updating this blog post this morning, I ended up driving to Disney and meeting my parents for lunch.  I headed right to the Australia booth to order the garlic shrimp.  The shrimp were incredible, but the greens had a slight bitterness I didn't remember from last year.  Would I order it again?  Yes, because the shrimp are too good to pass up.  

Here is a full list of all the gluten free options at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival for 2014:

Africa - South African bobotie with turkey & mushroom; beef tenderloin tips Berbere-style with okra, jalapenos, tomato and pap

Australia - Garlic shrimp with roasted tomatoes, lemon myrtle and rapini; grilled lamb chop with mint pesto and potato crunchies

Brazil - Regal Springs premium tilapia with coconut lime sauce and steamed rice; crispy pork belly with black beans, tomato and cilantro; Brazilian cheese bread

Canada - Seared rainbow trout with bacon, frisee and L8 Harvest, Minus 8 Vinaigrette; "Le Cellier" wild mushroom beef filet mignon with truffle butter sauce

Farm Fresh - Nueske's Pepper Bacon hash with sweet corn, potatoes, hollandaise and pickled jalapenos; griddled "yard bird" with braised greens and house-made habanero sauce

Greece - Griddled Greek cheese with pistachios and honey

Intermissions Cafe - Angry Orchard Hard Cider - Crisp Apple

Ireland - Warm chocolate pudding with Kerrygold Irish Cream Liqueur Custard

Mexico  - Rib eye taco with marinated rib eye, roasted chipotle salsa, and grilled scallions on a corn tortilla

New Zealand - Venison sausage with pickled mushrooms, baby arugula and black currant reduction

Patagonia - Grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato puree; roasted verlasso salmon with quinoa salad and arugula chimichurri

Puerto Rico - Slow-braised beef with Puerto Rican grown rice; Caribbean conch salad with onion, tomato and cilantro

Scotland - Fresh potato pancake with smoked Scottish salmon and herb sour cream; seared sea scallop with spinach-cheddar gratin and crispy bacon

Singapore - Lemongrass chicken curry with coconut and jasmine rice

What are your favorite gluten free dishes this year?



1 comments:

  1. The cheese bread in Brazil is gluten free? That is awesome! Almost makes up for only one GF dessert :)

    ReplyDelete