Earlier this June, the South’s culinary elite invaded Midtown Atlanta to take part in the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. Chefs from all over the South were on hand for the Festival, such as Alabama's Chris Hastings, Florida Chef Greg Baker, and Texas's Hugo Ortega. Atlanta was also very well represented; with talented chefs such as Ford Fry, Anne Quatrano, Kevin Rathbun, and Todd Richards all contributing on the Festival’s Advisory Council.
Now a four-day event, the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is the ultimate celebration of Southern food, spirits, and culture. This year’s Festival went off without a hitch and ACityDiscount was proud not only to attend, but to sponsor the event as well.
Food & Wine Festival Learning Salons
Members of the ACityDiscount team attended the 2014 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival all weekend. Though the food and drink was the main draw, there was much to be learned as well. Team members attended some of the delectable learning salons hosted at the festival. These learning sessions covered a wide spectrum of topics, ranging from spirit-pairing classes, to sessions on Mexican street food, and even some technical demos where attendees were able to learn from professional chefs.
Top of the Classes
Though all the learning slaons had their own charm, we liked some better than the others. Some of the favorite classes of team members include:
- a symposium on Southern cookbooks
- a class on the history of Mint Juleps
- a sampling of Chilean wines
- a workshop on “hillbilly cuisine” hosted by Atlanta’s own Chef Kevin Gillespie
Festival Tasting Tent Standouts
Though there were food and beverage samplings during the classes, these humble tastings were only a warm up to the treats available in the Festival’s Tasting Tents. The Tasting Tents were the event’s main draw and upon entering it became obvious why. Festival-goers were provided a wealth of restaurants, distributors, breweries, distilleries, and other vendors to satiate whatever their taste buds desired. The tents were broken up and organized by what the vendors were passing out, so there were tents dedicated specifically to things like barbecue, wine, and seafood.
Our team enjoyed most everything they ate and drank, but there were definitely some standouts at this year’s Festival. Among this year’s top items for our team were:
- quick pickled red snapper with daikon and peaches from Alabama Gulf Seafood
- bourbon glazed pork belly from Table & Main
- parmesan scallops with lobster risotto from Ray’s in the City
- peach donut sliders from Revolution Donuts
- a Belgian tripel ale aged in red wine barrels from Three Taverns Brewery
A Winning Event
All in all, the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival was a tremendous success. The food was delicious, the weather held up, the libations were plentiful, and those in attendance couldn’t have asked for a nicer event.
ACityDiscount was proud to sponsor this year’s Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, and can’t wait until next year’s event.
