Insanity Vol 3: F&W TIW Sneak Preview Report - 7/24 TIW Event Plated Dinner

[Dis_Yoda]

Karamell-Kuche

After our lovely lunch at Le Cellier, we were entirely too full and needed to walk off what we ate. We wandered around the World Showcase and I stopped by Karamell-Kuche to pick up some treats for later.



Milk Chocolate Covered Caramel w/ Sea Salt and the Caramel Cookie Bar.

I enjoyed the Sea Salt Caramel during my drive home today. I really liked the sea salt with the caramel - a trend that has slowly grown on me over the past few years. At least its not taking over all of Disney Restaurants anymore!

The cookie bar - well, its currently in my fridge to be enjoyed later. Either tonight during True Blood or as part of my lunch for work tomorrow.

Candy Treats!

After parting with my friends and relaxing in the hotel to refresh for the TIW event, I eventually made my way back to EPCOT. I stopped by Mousegears to pick some stuff up for my husband and coworkers.



I love the new boxes for candy. My husband loves Gummy Bears so it was an easy choice on what to get him. I thought the Candy Buttons would be silly to get for the guys at work along with some taffy.

[Sandy321]

debating on Flying Fish, Cal Grill, or Yachtsman for our January trip -

my mouth drooled - I'm sold on the shrimp!! Reservations made for Flying Fish!

[Dis_Yoda]

TIW Food & Wine Sneak Preview Event Reception

I arrived outside the Wonder's Pavilion around 5 minutes before 6 and saw a handful of others weighting around. Right at 6, we were quickly checked in and allowed to wait outside the glass doors until they were ready. This proved to be a slight issue as there was no air circulation until the door guard decided to crack open the doors to let some cool air escape the building and meet us.

As it neared 6:30, we were lead back to the elevator to go upstairs to the Wonder's Lounge of the Pavilion. This was a slow process as the elevator only had a capacity of a handful of guests at a time so there was a bit of a wait trying to get upstairs. I would have liked if they had stairs for those that were willing to use them and not force everyone to take the slow crowded elevator.

Luckily as I went upstairs, my only two complaints of the evening were over.

On the side as your walked in was the place card settings as the guests were broken up between various 'events' of the festival. I was 'lucky' enough to get the event I know everyone is the MOST excited about - "Magic of Healthy Living" Dinner. Despite having that event, it turned out to be a great thing as I was sat with Pam (the F&W Host), Gregg (head chef for F&W), and David (Designer for Graphics for the festival) along with a handful of other single guests at the dinner.

Table Setting


Menu


As I claimed my seat and left my purse, I headed up to the buffet for appetizers for the event.

Kalua Pork Slider w/ Sweet & Sout Dole Pineapple Chutney & Spicy Mayo


Shrimp on the Barbie w/ Pepper Berry - Citrus Glaze


Swedish Meatball with Lingon Berries


I ended up not trying the meatballs as I just didn't think they looked appealing. I believe those that had them enjoyed them though.

I did have the other two! The pork slider was so good with the pineapples and spicy mayo with the pork on a sweet roll. It definitely was a heavy stomach hitter and I could only enjoy one of them.

The shrimp...mmm...


They were cooked to perfection and thus so great to eat. My (slight) complaint is that they were hard to eat well gracefully. I tried to enjoy with the fork and knife and it just couldn't happen with the tails and the stick. I would have enjoyed more but I knew there was more food to be coming out shortly for the plated dinner.

The alcoholic beverages during the reception portion of the evening included:

• Xante Sunshine Cocktail
• Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc
• La Capra Pinotage
• Radeberger Pilsner
• Sam Adams - Boston Ale
• Stella Artois
• Abita Purple Haze
• Sierra Nevada

Of those, I only tried the Xante Sunshine Cocktail. In fact, I had two of them! Its a combination of the Xante Spirit, Lime Juice, Elderberry Syrup, and Lemonade.

Coming Up Next Presentation + Plated Dinner

[Linda67]

Just caught up with your wonderful reviews

Your dinner at Flying Fish really looks great, I am really hoping that the dessert trio is still available in October

[Krissalee]

The F&W TIW event looks very interesting! Thanks for sharing it, Dis Yoda. I am looking forward to readign more about the presentation and seeing the plated dinner.

This has me counting down the days until I am at the F&W Fest!

[worm761]

That pork slider sounds very yummy! I have only recently started to expand my pallet so I am very excited about doing F&W this year. Thanks for sharing!

[I_heart_Tinkerbell]

Thanks so much for the review on F&W preview dinner.

I just found out that I get vacation last week of Sept and was debating a trip down for F&W ... seeing all the good food is swaying towards the GO side of things

Looking forward to the rest

[lsmommy]

Thanks for making me even more excited for F&W, not that I needed any!

I hadn't heard of the Boardwalk sampler before, it looks awesome!

And great photos.

[cdtommie]

Thanks for starting the F&W sneak preview review - as the beer man I have to say that's a pretty decent selection for a Disney event (they needed to ditch the Stella though).

[butiflfeet]

Wow! So far the F&W preview is looking pretty good. I can't wait to try some of those dishes when we're there in October!

[mama03]

What happened, waiting patiently for update

[Dis_Yoda]

Originally Posted by Linda67

Just caught up with your wonderful reviews

Your dinner at Flying Fish really looks great, I am really hoping that the dessert trio is still available in October

Thanks for catching up! I'm hoping that trio is still there in October too as I think that it is something my husband would love too.

Originally Posted by Krissalee

The F&W TIW event looks very interesting! Thanks for sharing it, Dis Yoda. I am looking forward to readign more about the presentation and seeing the plated dinner.

This has me counting down the days until I am at the F&W Fest!

It was very interesting and I was so glad I got to go. I can't wait until October when I get to go either :D

Originally Posted by worm761

That pork slider sounds very yummy! I have only recently started to expand my pallet so I am very excited about doing F&W this year. Thanks for sharing!

F&W is a great place to expand your pallet as at least if you find you don't like something it isn't like you spent $30+ on an entree wasted. My husband has done the same thing over the years too.

Originally Posted by lsmommy

Thanks for making me even more excited for F&W, not that I needed any!

I hadn't heard of the Boardwalk sampler before, it looks awesome!

And great photos.

I"m glad to get you more excited! I think the Boardwalk Sampler is new in the past couple months as I've seen it in a couple other reviews. Its awesome :D

Originally Posted by cdtommie

Thanks for starting the F&W sneak preview review - as the beer man I have to say that's a pretty decent selection for a Disney event (they needed to ditch the Stella though).

Thanks for joining in! Yeah I dont drink beer but I'm glad they had so many options for those that dont like wine. My husband has been pleased that each year the keep offering more and more 'not wine' drinks as he hates the wine.

Originally Posted by butiflfeet

Wow! So far the F&W preview is looking pretty good. I can't wait to try some of those dishes when we're there in October!

It was pretty good! They are going to be great come October.

Originally Posted by mama03

What happened, waiting patiently for update

I'm sorry I haven't been updating. Since Tuesday, I've developed a nasty nasty Upper Respiratory Infection that well has killed all my energy to move from my couch. I hope to have it up this weekend as I finally (stubborn self) went to the doctor this morning, got a shot and some antibiotics.

[mama03]

ugh, hope you feel better in no time!!!!

[Dis_Yoda]

TIW Dinner & Presentation

As we finished our appetizers, everyone was called to take a seat and the presentation was going to be begin.

It started with everyone's favorite host, Pam Smith, welcoming us to the dinner and introducing the key figures in planning the festival for each year. She mentions how they start planning the next year's festival before the current festival is over.



This year's theme was revealed to be "Passport to a World of Flavors" with art reflecting on the 'golden age' of travel with steamer trunks and location stamps of the pre-World War era.

The layouts for the planters throughout the park were shown but I didn't take pictures of these. The Disney Food Blog has decent screen shots of the presentation of those located here: http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2011/0...ls/#more-33640

As this was being discussed, our servers were filling up our wine glasses with an Argentina Terrazas Reserva Chardonnay & an Australian Greg Norman Estates Shiraz, Limestone Coast.

As this portion of the presentation wrapped up, the chef for the festival was introduced and he discussed his first dish of the plated portion of the dinner:

New Zealand's Seared Sea Scallop w/ Kumara-Red Curry Puree & Apple Radish Salad


As I mentioned during my Flying Fish review, I'm not the biggest fan of scallops; however, this wasn't that bad. The curry puree worked really well with the sweetness of the scallops. I also loved the apples and radishes together. Its also a good example of having an open mind going to dinner events where you might not like the food and trying it anyway

As we were enjoying our appetizers, the bread was served - Ocean Spray Craisin Bread w/ Butter (Mickey Face!)


I honestly didn't try more of a bit of it. It seemed a bit dry to me but I also am privileged in my cranberries as my husband comes from the land of the cranberry bogs. He's also slightly disturbed by one of the planters turning into a cranberry bog as Florida Weather isn't really conducive to cranberry harvesting.

Our entree was then served:
Caribbean's Ropa Vieja (Braised Beef) w/ White Rice & Jerk Spiced Chicken Drumstick w/ Mango Salsa


Both of these had great flavors that reminded me of the Caribbean. It also was a ton of food even considering Disney's portion sizes.

As this portion of the meal finished up, they refilled our wine glasses and filled the third glass w/ Canada's Neige, Cidre de Glace (Apple Ice Wine)


Sadly they wouldn't refill the Ice Wine after you had your taste

The dessert was then served:
Dessert Trio
Dessert & Champagne - White Chocolate Macadamia Mousse w/ Dark Chocolate Pearls & Tres Leches Verrine
Portugal - Pastel de Nata


All of these desserts were great in my opinion. The mousse and the tres leches were on the lighter side which was welcomed after having such a heavy main course. The Pastel de Nata was the pastry on the end with a vanilla custard that had been caramelized. It was almost impossible to eat with a fork so I gave up being civilized and ate it with my hands.

Each of the desserts I can see having again come festival time.

The presentation continued and the new booths for the festival were discussed as we had gotten to try some of those new dishes. A few liquors were mentioned that would be debuting at the festival for the first time in the US.

As going over the booths, the special events were discussed. If you want to see more about them please go here: http://disyoda.imgur.com/197EO#GOvke

As the discussion ended, we were given our booklets with the information of the events and allowed to leave the Wonders of Life Pavilion. The park had already closed at that point so you had to quickly get to where you wanted to go (and with no short cuts either as I got stopped from my usual route between the Mission Space area and World Showcase)

Overall I really enjoyed this meal and would attend again next year if it fell during a time I could easily go.

[cbg1027]

I missed the beginning of the review but I'm here now! You need to pimp out your reviews on facebook!

I love FF - going on Sept 4! That was a good idea to sub shrimp for the scallops...I might have to steal that. I like scallops, but I love shrimp more.

That said, I can't wait to try the new Scallop dish at F & W!