Disney's CA F&W Fest - Final wrap up for 2010 see you next year!

[lulubelle]

Thank you Alison for the wonderful reviews and pictures.

I really hope my party meets up with yours at Taste this year. And we are in a 2 bedroom villa to boot! We plan on bringing a brekkie casserole to heat up and enjoy with some fresh fruit and mimosas the next morning!

I am really hoping they finally follow Florida's queue and have sampling sized tapas in the new location. It just didn't work the year they had them in the old Lucky Fortune Cookie location.

Anyway, looking forward to more from you!

 

[franandaj]

I really hope my party meets up with yours at Taste this year. And we are in a 2 bedroom villa to boot! We plan on bringing a brekkie casserole to heat up and enjoy with some fresh fruit and mimosas the next morning!

Did I already tell you that we will be the ones in scooters with our tray tables attached to the tiller bars, we'll be really easy to recognize!

We plan on bringing a brekkie casserole to heat up and enjoy with some fresh fruit and mimosas the next morning!

OK, please share...brekkie casserole?

I am really hoping they finally follow Florida's queue and have sampling sized tapas in the new location. It just didn't work the year they had them in the old Lucky Fortune Cookie location.

Anyway, looking forward to more from you!

Oh I remember that year when they had the tasting portions at Lucky Fortune! We tried a few of them and they were good, but it took a loooooong time to get our order. I hope that this new place has separate stations where you can get each tasting portion instead of having to order everything all together and wait.

Last year at Taste we ended up chatting up the Festival Director and he mentioned that CA food laws won't allow the kiosks like Florida has, and that the Food Police show up at EVERY event in the DCA Festival just to make sure that they are following code. Sheesh!

Glad you're enjoying it, I'm going to run out of past stuff pretty soon, and the Festival is still over a month away! I'm getting so excited. I've decided that I'm going to spend my birthday evening at the Napa Rose, hopefully the Chef's counter. In fact I have some pictures from last year still to post from another evening we spent there during F&W.

I hope we can meet up too! We'll be in a 1 br, since we requested a Handicapped Accessible, I've heard they're on the 1st floor. I'm thinking after all the weekends of such great food, I'll bring a pack of Velveeta Shells & Cheese and some Keilbasa for our dinner the night after Taste. We'll need some peasant food after all the haute cuisine that we'll enjoy! I'm planning on spending a lot of the time Sunday relaxing in the Villa and enjoying that jacuzzi tub!

 

[kaoden39]

Oh it all looks so wonderful and fun. I am hoping to get a chance to go next year. I would love to take the cooking class.

 

[franandaj]

Oh it all looks so wonderful and fun. I am hoping to get a chance to go next year. I would love to take the cooking class.

It is sooooooo amazing! Chef Sutton and his staff are so nice and the things you get to make and eat are so good. They make it really easy, and it's all healthy! That's what is so amazing, the first year I was counting calories and I analyzed all the recipies (well not dessert, haven't tried any of those), but all the others were tasty and healthy. I can't wait to see what they have in store for this year!

 

[franandaj]

Last year at the festival they offered an Advanced Wine Tasting Course with Michael Jordan. The class took place over three different days, Tues, Wed, and Thurs afternoons from 2-4 PM. Each day we covered a different wine region, starting in Italy, going through France and ending up in Germany. The amount of knowledge that he gave us was amazing. We were provided with notepads, and I took diligent notes. I had not taken notes since I’ve was in college, and by the last day my hand was sore! He gave us much of the information on the wine regions and designations that one would have to memorize for their Sommelier’s exam.

When we entered the room there were places set up, each with four or five glasses of wine and a bottle of water. These were the glasses that we were to taste/drink throughout the class that day.

This image shows the wines (glasses some finished, sorry!) from our first day in Italy, the empty one contained Magicale. This is such a tasty wine! It is actually a sparkling wine from Brachetto, called Brachetto d’Acqui. Michael Jordan has it bottled under the name Magicale for all the Disney resorts, and the brand name Magicale is exclusive to Disney. The white wine is a Soave, the remaining reds are a Tommy Lasorda Chianti and a Negro Amaro, Verve from Solento.

The next day we went to France. The wines in this picture from left to right are White Burgundy, La Fite Bordeaux, Chateau Neuf de Pape Grenache and a Chateau St. Marten, Coteaux du Languedoc. (Sorry if my spelling is off.)

The final day I didn’t get a picture because I was almost late for the class. We used some DVC points that we needed to burn through to stay at the Hotel. I was checking in and getting the tour of the Concierge level, but had to cut it short in order to make the class, so I forgot to take pictures of the wines that day. They were all German wines, mostly Reislings which were all of a different age. Michael Jordan wanted to point out to us the different flavors of these wines as they aged.

We tasted a Pfeffingen, Dry Riesling from Pfalz, a Graff Reisling, a Spatlese, then from Wolf a Wachenheimer Belz Reisling also a Spatlese. Then from Wirsching a Slivaner Auslese, and lastly a Kammerberger Spatlese Burgundian QMP.

All the wines we drank we just wonderful, and it was such an informative class, the amount of knowledge this man has in his head is incredible. I’m sorry that he is not running any wine classes this year. At the end of the class we were all presented with a certificate of our participation.

As I mentioned earlier, we used up some DVC points to stay overnight (it was the day before DP’s birthday) and since it was a Thursday we had enough points to stay on the Concierge level, so here are a few shots from the Concierge Lounge afternoon service. In the morning, they had Continental Breakfast, from 11 to 4 they served snacks, chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, finger sandwiches, cheddar goldfish, uncrustables. From 5-7 they served veggies & dip, a few hot items and beer and wine. In the evening they served cookies and other desserts, and some cordials.

That evening we dined at Napa Rose Restaurant at the Chef’s Counter. We ordered the Vintner’s Menu and split it between the two of us, but we added an extra cup of the signature mushroom cappuccino (soup) to our order. I don’t have pictures of all the courses we ate, but here are a few….

No idea what this was except that it was some sort of fish served over beans and a tasty sauce. I can say that because everything I have eaten at this restaurant has always been GREAT! They split everything for us in the kitchen at no additional charge.

The next course was soups, since we ordered two they didn’t split them and we just switched halfway through. One is the signature Mushroom Cappuccino and the other is a Tomato Soup

We had the strawberry duck, and one of the accoutrements was sweetbreads, which we never would have eaten had we known what it was. However, we found out that something we thought we’d never eat was actually good! The split portion here was just perfect so that we could eat dessert later.

So I thought that I didn’t have pictures of all the courses, but I was wrong, I just didn’t get a very good picture of the dessert. Since it was DP’s birthday and mine was the week before, I think we let that slip sometime during dinner, so they brought us both birthday desserts! Perhaps I had enough wine that I wasn’t thinking when I took these dessert pics!

 

[thmar]

Thank-you! Everything looks wonderful!

 

[Kewz1]

Thanks! I'll try to clue you in on what's there, so you can try!

I'm counting on it, Alison!

Kristen

 

[kaoden39]

Alison,
Looking at these pictures just cement my decision to go for some of the F&W next year.

 

[franandaj]

Thank-you! Everything looks wonderful!

Just wait until I post the pictures from Taste!

Alison,
Looking at these pictures just cement my decision to go for some of the F&W next year.

Oh you definitely should! You're close enough, take your BWG (is that his nickname?) and leave the kids! The events are pricey, but I save all year for this. We bought points at the GCV so we can stay there for "free" every year during F&W at least 2 weekends a year.

 

[aspen37]

I have been making sure that I have eaten before I read your updates. Everything looks sooo goood that I get hungry looking at the pictures!

 

[kaoden39]

Just wait until I post the pictures from Taste!



Oh you definitely should! You're close enough, take your BWG (is that his nickname?) and leave the kids! The events are pricey, but I save all year for this. We bought points at the GCV so we can stay there for "free" every year during F&W at least 2 weekends a year.

Honestly, I am bad WBG is staying home too. I am going with my best friend. He is happier that way.

 

[franandaj]

We didn’t do very many of the complimentary demonstrations this year. Probably because we did so many of the dinners and other events! Here is a view of the set up for the culinary demo tent.

One morning we watched the winners of the Navy cooking competition present their version of some famous French chicken dish whose name escapes me. Basically what they did was remove the skin from a chicken, debone it, fill it with some stuffing, roll it back up and roast it, then they added a very tasty gravy. We got to try a sample of it and it was very good, I can see why they won!

Later that day we also went to a demonstration with Cat Cora but my camera battery was so low I wanted to save every little bit of it for the autograph session so I could get a picture with her, so no food pics. She did make some shrimp that was spicy and very tasty, and a yogurt parfait.

On another day we visited the Lounge at the Golden Vine Winery. Here you could purchase flights of wine and special appetizers and desserts. We got a flight of Pinot Noir, but I also think we got a flight of Riesling, just no pictures of it. We got the bread and cheese plate which was plenty for two to share. We had wanted to order one of the desserts, but we were too full.

On yet another day we went back because I wanted to try the Filet Mignon sliders. They were pretty good, but the filet was so small that it was overcooked. I would have been happier if they put the meat on the grill, turned it over and took it off, in as much time as it took to read that! Mmmmm rare meat, but alas, they were medium to well, however I still ate them, and had a glass of MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir to go along with them.

One of the afternoons in the park we did a beer tasting.

They didn’t give us much in the way of samples, but we learned some pretty interesting things about the palate and the presenter was quite entertaining.

All festival long I had been curious about the Tequila tastings that I had seen on the schedule and several times we had tried to make it to one, but something always came up. On the last weekend of the Festival, the afternoon before we were attending Taste, I was dead set on getting to this tasting, and we did!

The tasting was sponsored by Don Julio Tequila, they gave us four samples, the first (left to right) was a Blanco, the next a Reposado, the third an Añejo and the last was their new Tequila 1942 which retails for $70-100 per bottle . If you’re not familiar with Tequila, each one of the Tequilas as we moved from left to right (other than the Blanco) was aged in an oak barrel. Two years aging is required for Reposado and I think it’s five years for Añejo. My favorite is the Blanco or the Reposado, the taste of the Añejo is a little too strong when it picks up all that oak. But I’ll tell you that 1942 was pretty darned smooth!

So that’s it for my tootling around the festival shots, as you can see most of what I did was Signature Events and I have two more coming up for you!

 

[kaoden39]

Isn't Cat Cora just a doll? She used to live here, we used to shop in the same grocery store, and we worked out at the same gym. She always had a smile and a kind word.

 

[Mouse13]

Great report! We were in the parks last year during the Food & Wine Fest and are heading back for it again this year!

 

[franandaj]

Great report! We were in the parks last year during the Food & Wine Fest and are heading back for it again this year!

Thanks! I love your signature picture BTW.

It looks like you're coming one week before my last weekend there. By the time you get there I should have posted a pretty good selection of what there is to offer at the festival. I am just counting down the days!

 

[aspen37]

I'm starting to get really excited about checking DCA's out Food & Wine. Thank you for all of the pictures and reviews.

When do they announce what demos will be going on?

 

[franandaj]

I'm starting to get really excited about checking DCA's out Food & Wine. Thank you for all of the pictures and reviews.

When do they announce what demos will be going on?

I don't know, but I'm getting really ancy about it, I could have sworn that by this time last year they had the complimentary demos on the website. I could be wrong but I'm really curious which weekends all the celebrity chefs will be there. We only waited in line on the weekends that we'd already planned to be there so I'm curious about that plus what ever other demos will be going on. I would really like it if they annouced the tapas plates in advance. Last year at WDW I made a whole spreadsheet of what I wanted to try, what world to find it in...I suppose it won't be that complicated here since they are all in one place, but inquiring minds want to know!!!!!!

 

[franandaj]

Taste was an amazing event. At first I wasn’t interested in it because I had heard that there wasn’t much seating and a lot of standing. I have a foot injury which makes it difficult to walk around the parks. DP has severe Rheumatoid Arthritis and can’t really walk at all, only very short distances. The both of us use scooters when we travel to Disney. So back to my apprehension to attend Taste. I didn’t relish the idea of standing around all night trying to carry plates around for the both of us and possibly spilling things, it just didn’t sound fun.

However DP was really thinking, her solution, attach tray tables to the front of our scooters! That way we have seats wherever we go and a table. I was doubtful, and she kept dragging her heels on this to the point that we were at Home Depot the night before looking for the supplies and figuring out what we could do to attach them. Finally after some sawing, nailing and zip ties, we had our solution!

We were staying at the Grand Californian that night so after hanging out in the park, we checked into our room which was finally ready, took a short nap and got ready for the evening. When the bellman brought out bags up, he said, “We have been looking at these things in storage all day, what ARE they?” I showed him how they would fit on the front of our scooters and he laughed, guess this was the first time they saw that!

We left the room about ½ an hour before the event started and found a HUGE line on the esplanade! Good thing we had our chairs and tables already picked out. They led us through the park to Stage 17, everyone was identified as a paying guest by a little tag that hung around your neck on a lanyard which also had descriptions of all the foods we would be tasting. Each guest was handed a wine glass upon entry. As soon as we got into Stage 17 there were huge lines and bottlenecks for the food immediately in front of the entrance. We decided that a better strategy was to start on the other side of the room in the back.

Our first stop was with Chef Andrew Sutton from the Napa Rose. He had prepared a Laura Chenel goat Cheese Tart. When you approached his station each one of these tasty little morsels was prepared for you. The mushrooms and onion gravy on the plate first, then the tart was placed on top and then the salad garnish. The tart shell was filled with the lovely goat cheese which was not too tangy, just creamy and light.

We found that we could fit three plates on our little tray tables so we would ride down the aisle, pick up three plates, fill our wine glasses and park at the end of the aisle out of the way of the traffic to enjoy the tasty treats.

Our next stop was the Cantonese chicken on sticky rice cake from Chef Martha Sigala of Café Orleans. Of course it was good, but the chicken was a little sweet and the sticky rice cake was really sticky. I ate it all though.

This next morsel was not listed on the card they gave us to help identify what foods came from which restaurants. As I look through my pictures and compare them to the card, I’m going to have to say that this one came from Catal because the only other item that I can’t seem to find was from Brennan’s and somehow, sashimi doesn’t seem to fit their Profile!

After scarfing down those tasty bits, we went down the row again to pick up what we missed on the first trip. Our first stop was the Beef Carpaccio from Chef Greg Stilman from Naples Ristorante. I was a little reluctant to eat this and I don’t know why because I have been eating raw fish for over 20 years! Why should raw beef scare me? The little bit of salt & pepper seasoning was so tasty and I can’t remember what the stuff on top was, but the whole thing was scrumptious!

The next item was a Foccacia crostini topped with brie & duck confit from Chef April Ventura of the Golden Vine Winery. This one did not stand out amongst all the others, it was good, but if I had room for seconds, this wouldn’t have been where I went.

Our final item on this side of Taste was from Chef Marcel St. Pierre of Club 33, it was called Perigord truffle vol-au-vent, raclette fondue. As with everything that I have eaten from Club 33 this was absolutely exquisite. I had to Google this to figure out how all these descriptive factors fit into the sampling, but it was a perfect description. The vol-au-vent refers to the puff pastry which houses the yummy filing, and I suppose that it was made with Perigord truffles. The raclette fondue is the cheese filling that fills this exquisite pastry.

That’s it for the first side of the room on taste, but there is much more to come.

 

[aspen37]

I don't know, but I'm getting really ancy about it, I could have sworn that by this time last year they had the complimentary demos on the website. I could be wrong but I'm really curious which weekends all the celebrity chefs will be there. We only waited in line on the weekends that we'd already planned to be there so I'm curious about that plus what ever other demos will be going on. I would really like it if they annouced the tapas plates in advance. Last year at WDW I made a whole spreadsheet of what I wanted to try, what world to find it in...I suppose it won't be that complicated here since they are all in one place, but inquiring minds want to know!!!!!!

I hope they announce the demos soon. We have very limited time durning F&W, so it would be nice too have some sort of plan. I guess I will just try and check the website everyday.

 

[franandaj]

I hope they announce the demos soon. We have very limited time durning F&W, so it would be nice too have some sort of plan. I guess I will just try and check the website everyday.

I know what you mean, I just want to plan what I'm going to do! I hope they announce something more soon!