All This Food & Wine & Only 3lbs gained? - Jiko - Updated 10/18

[Dis_Yoda]

Contempo Cafe

Waffle w/ Banana Caramel Topping

This was my choice! The topping was really good but the waffle was entirely too large for this girl. The bacon was nasty.

Bounty Platter

My husband enjoyed his eggs and potatoes. He skipped eating his bacon as well.​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

F&W Booths Part 3

Our goal for lunch that day was to eat around the world until we were full. We may have gone passed the full mark towards the end.

The booths prior to China did open early so we got to start eating at 10:45. We remembered to be bring back our passport so we could get everything marked off that we enjoyed.

First stop was Argentina for my husband.

Grilled Beef Skewer w/ Chimichurri Sauce & Boniata Puree

It was ok. The meat was on the tough side.

While he was enjoying this, I went to Australia

Garlic Shrimp w/ Roasted Tomatoes, Lemon Myrtle & Rapani

The shrimp was cooked really well so I enjoyed it.

I noticed Mexico had forgotten to stamp our passport during our visit on Saturday so that meant I needed another

Shrimp Taco

This is one of my favorite items. I love the spices used and the crispy shrimp together.

It was a minute after 11AM but they hadn't opened the rope yet into the rest of World Showcase. We waited a few more minutes until the cast members released the ropes & we were able to see all the little girls run to Mulan as we headed to a booth.

South Korea

We were their first guests for the day & they were happy to be serving. I love friendly cast members & they seemed to be really be enjoying themselves at opening.

Kimchi Dog w/ Spicy Mustard Sauce

This was my husband's choice. He enjoyed it enough. The spice didn't really hit him until after he finished which is why we ended up getting wine at the next booth.

Lettuce Wrap w/ Roast Pork & Kimchi Slaw

I enjoyed this. The pork was moist and the slaw was fresh. A bit too much mayo but that was easily wiped off.

At The Cheese booth we just got wine.

Once Upon A Vine's Chaming Pinot & Fairest Chardonnay

These wines are being pushed all around the festival. They aren't supported by Disney but I can see why people may think it is. They are ok. I think there are wines I enjoy better at this lower price point instead.

We stopped in Poland for my husband.

Kielbasa and Potato Pierogie with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream

Isn't the Mickey cute?

He was happy!

We also stopped in Italy to try two things.

Ravioli de formaggio all’emiliana

This portion is huge. I only had 2 of the raviolis and there was at least 3 more in there. The sauce was good and the cheese on top was bubbly & hot & crispy. I didn't want to eat all of it as we still had half the world to walk through.

Cannoli al Cioccolato

We split this cannoli. It fell flat with us. The pastry shell tasted stale. The filling was ok.

We were thirsty & it was getting hotter at this point but we were next to American Adventure Coffee Cart

Shakin' Jamaican Coffee - Frozen

If you were wanting to fill your passport, you don't have much of a choice of what to get at this booth

It was cold & exactly what we needed for our next couple of booths.

My husband wanted to stop at Hops & Barley

New England Clam Chowder

He enjoyed the chowder. Lots of meat considering the sample size.

We wondered to Japan

Teriyaki Chicken Hand Roll

I loved this dish!

Next was Belgium

Potato and Leek Waffle with Braised Beef

Horrible picture I know. The beef was tender and the waffle was exactly how I would expect it to be with nice spices throughout.

Belgian Waffle with Warm Chocolate Ganache and Whipped Cream

While I was enjoying the beef, my husband wanted dessert. He scarfed it so that must mean he liked it

Our next booth was the first booth we actually encountered a line more than 1 person at. There were about 10 people in front of me here. The line did move quickly at least!

France

Eiffel Sour Cosmo Slush

Not as good as my Grey Goose Slush I usually enjoy in France but it was a nice switch up. Very refreshing!

We both were stuffed at this point but there was still 1 more food item I wanted to try before we called it a day.

Scotland

Scottish Banoffee Tart with Bananas, Scottish Whisky Toffee, Walkers Shortbread Crumbles and Sweet Cream

It was everything I hoped it would be. A hint of whisky within the toffee and bananas. The shortbread crust to contain it all as well!

We reviewed our passport & realized there wasn't a single food item we really wanted to try at one of the booths & figured we needed something a little more healthy to balance out the rest of the items.

Terra

Fresh Watermelon Juice

It was fresh from the juice maker and tasted exactly like a watermelon. (I know you are as shocked as me )

As we were walking back towards the front of the park, my husband had an idea for the 2nd half of the drink. He knows how much I love the watermelon soda from Club Cool. We walked in, got a little sample cup of that soda & in turn, poured it into the rest of our juice.

I know this totally cancels out the healthy idea of drinking the juice. It totally worked together well though.
​

 

[tweetylori]

Loving this report and pics...thanks!

 

[RGirl]

Wow! Great report!!! Everything looks delicious, and your pictures are so beautiful.

 

[Poohs100AcreWood]

Beautiful pictures and great reviews! Thanks!

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

awesome reviews, that cup of chocolate made my mouth water,lol
4 more days and we'll be there, can't wait!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Loving this report and pics...thanks!

Glad you are enjoying them!

Wow! Great report!!! Everything looks delicious, and your pictures are so beautiful.

Thanks for joining in. We had decent luck with food this trip which made us happy.

Beautiful pictures and great reviews! Thanks!

Happy you are enjoying my reviews.

awesome reviews, that cup of chocolate made my mouth water,lol
4 more days and we'll be there, can't wait!

Its a steal of a price considering what most of the booths cost - I think it was like 2.67 with tax. Its just really rich.

Enjoy your trip! It will be a blast.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Flying Fish Signature Adventure In Dining

We were sat in the inlet towards the back of the restaurant. It provided some privacy but with the top as it was, it did cause some of the sounds to stay within the area. It was not completely closed off from the restaurant though so the nearby tables probably wished they were at this dinner or far away. Who knows? The table we were sat at was an eight-top with 3 other couples. Over the course of the evening, we were all able to have nice conversations about DVC, Engineering, Work, Food & Wine trips, etc.

Menu

We were greeted by the manager & the host speaker who talked about her champagnes. The White Star they used to have is now the Imperial so it is inline with what is available in the rest of the world.

Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut

Crispy Lemongrass-scented Blue Point Oysters

I'll be honest here, before this night, I've never enjoyed oysters. My only experience with oysters had been the raw on a half shell at seafood restaurants by the ocean. I found those slimy & nasty. The ones served by Flying Fish blew all my normal opinions of oysters out of the ocean. My husband really enjoyed these as well. I may be tempted to actually try a fried oyster now at some of the nicer places here in Naples. The seaweed salad and vegetables also provided a refreshing balance to the oysters.

We were served fresh bread with the butter. This turned out to be needed to help make sure we didn't get too drunk

Pretty Butter!

Opps, Forgot a Picture
Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut Rose

Soupe de Homard alla Maximin

This was a fennel soup with lobster. It tasted homely which is exactly what Chef Tim stated he attended. To me, this was the weakest dish of the dinner. I also don't really enjoy hearty soups though so YMMV.

Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial

Sarasota's Mote Marine Sturgeon Fillet

Chef Tim was super excited for this dish as this sturgeon was locally sourced along with the caviar from the same location. The fish was fork tender with the right amount of spice to really work with the sweetness in champagne.

Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage Brut, 2004

Lavender Honey-lacquered Sonoma Valley Duck Breast & Leg Confit

This was a drier champagne than the ones we had previously. This played well with the sauce used for the duck. Duck was cooked exactly to the temperature I enjoy it to be.

Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage Brut Rose, 2002

Tournedos of Western Pennsylvania Veal Tenderloin & Sweetbreads

For having all the courses prior to this, the portion seemed large but upon eating it, it really was the right amount to be able to enjoy the entire glass of champagne. Like the dishes before, the flavors truly worked together.

Before dessert, Chef Tim came out to thank everyone for coming out. Some of his former chefs that have moved onto their own restaurants had come back for the dinner to help him with it & he was proud of the legacy they had along with showing off some of his new guard.

We were also presented with a going away gift from Moet & Chandon:

Half Bottle of Imperial

Moet & Chandon Nectar Rose Imperial

Citris Panna Cotta & Strawberry-Rhubarb Delice Fantasie

Our final course was a panna cotta. I couldn't help but compare this one to the one we had 2 nights prior at Citricos. Citricos' was better but this was still a good panna cotta.

Overall the dinner was amazing. It was our favorite event of the trip. Even at the $185 per person price tag, we got more than our money's worth with the quality of the food and the wines given.​

 

[RGirl]

Wow! The FF dinner looks amazing! I would so love the opportunity to try some of these F&W special event dining experiences. Amazing!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Wow! The FF dinner looks amazing! I would so love the opportunity to try some of these F&W special event dining experiences. Amazing!

We had such great luck with the special dining experiences this trip. Everyone was a great value for what we received. Hopefully one day you'll get to try some out

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Kitchen Memories w/ Art Smith

I headed into the festival center & checked in for my final F&W event for this particular trip.

They were assigning seats as we checked in & I was given a seat at New Zealand.

I distracted myself until it was time to be seated with people watching in the festival center, seeing some people I had seen at events earlier in the week,

Art came out a little early to visit some people that really wanted to see him.

After he left that small meet & greet, we were let in. I noticed this event wasn't sold out. There only seemed to be about 40 people in attendance at this event - much smaller than a lot of events I've had in the past at the Festival Center.

Menu

The menu packet also had a collection of recipes from the meal served today.

Pam Smith greeted us all & spoke about Art's history with the festival and with Oprah.

The winery host came out as well, but no one was at this event to really speak to him & it was finally time for Art to come out and speak to us all. He gave a story about his devil eggs along with preparing some on stage.

We were served the dish along side with toast w/ a sweet onion jam.

I may have grown up in the South but this southern girl has never liked deviled eggs despite these being a higher end deviled egg with the blue cheese. The crispy ham was great though and I did pick it out of the eggs.

The onion jam was divine. A nice amount of spice to it.

He brought out his assistant chef to help in the preparation of the next dish. This was actually his assistant's creation but they have had a long history together.

The quail was on top of a bed of grits. These grits weren't as good as the ones I had earlier in the week at Le Cellier. The quail was cooked to a perfect temperature & the portion was huge!

For the final course, he made a simple but tasty dessert.

The salted pumpkin seed dark chocolate bark was a great way to end this meal. It was rich enough to balance out the wines along with the courses served before. The pumpkin cupcake was a nice touch to go along with the bark. Art left the stage after this was served handing out the larger samples of that was prepared on stage visiting each table until he got to his family table.

It was great event with being able to hear many of Art's stories. I remember watching both of the Top Chefs he was on & found him to be very amusing. He was even more amusing and personable in person. I'm sad I missed going to PotS the next evening as he was going to be serving his fried chicken.
​

 

[RGirl]

We had such great luck with the special dining experiences this trip. Everyone was a great value for what we received. Hopefully one day you'll get to try some out

I sure hope so! We used to go during the F&W Festival, but now my DD is in school. Of course, I didn't get to do those events then because I was accompanied by a small child! Someday, someday....

Really enjoyed hearing about the most recent event. What an interesting menu (although I'm with you on the deviled eggs ).

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Loving your reviews. Makes me wish I was there right now.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I sure hope so! We used to go during the F&W Festival, but now my DD is in school. Of course, I didn't get to do those events then because I was accompanied by a small child! Someday, someday....

Really enjoyed hearing about the most recent event. What an interesting menu (although I'm with you on the deviled eggs ).

I understand not wanting to pull your child out of school for Disney. My mother was excited when I was finally old enough to go with events with her & enjoy it. Although we haven't gone to F&W together for about 6 years but we will be going together one of my weekends next year since one of the weekends will be too late in the season for my husband to join me.

It was a creative menu for that event - totally Southern with some twists.

Loving your reviews. Makes me wish I was there right now.

I wish I was there right now too. Glad you are joining along.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Jiko

We arrived shortly after they had officially opened for the evening & were quickly seated by the windows.

I begun with a Victoria Falls cocktail as we reviewed the menu to make our selections for the evening.

To start:

South African Vetkoek - Three house-made Naan Pastries filled with herb-braised rabbit, coconut-egg curry, & durban vegetable curry

Each of the pastries housed a different filling. It also came with a selection of three dipping sauces - a tomato based one, a mango-banana one & pesto. I think I ended up eating the mango-banana one with the fork to finish it as it as tasty enough on its own!

The pastries were great. My favorite was the rabbit followed by a close vegetable curry.

For our entrees:

My husband's:

Oak-grilled Filet Mignon

This was actually disappointing for my husband. He had ordered it medium but it came out closer to rare. As our server was slow coming to the table after entree delivery, he ended up just eating it, leaving the rarest bits behind as the steak wasn't a high enough quality for him to eat it rare.

Mine:

Seared Barbie Duck Breast

I normally love duck. All the duck I had earlier in the week was great at the special event. This duck was not that. The fat in this duck breast hadn't been rendered enough to make the breast tender. It was really tough to cut and to chew. Totally a disappointment for my final entree of the trip.

We shared a side order of:

Mac & Cheese

This was the saving grace of our main meals. We love their mac and cheese. I've made it at home before when we're missing Disney as I love the combination of the four cheeses they use.

We hoped to redeem our meal with the desserts.

I went with a

Zebratini
I love Adult Chocolate Milk which is pretty much what this is.

Chocolate & Tea Safari - Vanilla Rooibos-Tanzanian Chocolate Cake, Free Form Kit Kat & Green Tea Ice Cream

This was nice selection for myself. It wasn't a heavy dessert which was good as we did have 2 courses previously.

Cheesecake

My husband's selection. He liked this selection as it was a traditional cheesecake with a white chocolate topping.

Our server also brought out the cookies that you sometimes get here.

I love these cookies.

This wasn't the best meal we've had at Jiko. We do have dinner booked here as part of the Wanyama Safari for our February trip but we probably will skip it the couple visits we have planned afterwards. We just had better meals other places this trip.
​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Final Thoughts

Overall this was a great trip food wise. Very few disappointments & a lot of amazing dishes. I'm glad we continued with the good luck we had during our July trip.

I'm happy that I'm less than 2 weeks away from my solo F&W Trip for a long weekend where I have some great things lined up:

Omakase Experience @ California Grill
Spirits Confidential F&W Event
Ice Wine Seminar
Culinary Demo
Great Whiskey Debate Seminar
Party of the Senses F&W Event
White Truffle Lunch F&W Event

I also hope to visit the final booths I had missed during this trip but if not, there is always next year. We aren't doing a big long trip in 2014 for Food and Wine but rather 2 long weekends as our big trip will be our Fantasy cruise.
​

 

[RGirl]

Thanks so much for all the great reviews! I enjoyed reading along! Sorry you didn't have the best Jiko experience though.

I understand not wanting to pull your child out of school for Disney. My mother was excited when I was finally old enough to go with events with her & enjoy it. Although we haven't gone to F&W together for about 6 years but we will be going together one of my weekends next year since one of the weekends will be too late in the season for my husband to join me.

You know, I wouldn't have any problem pulling her out for a few days (in fact, I'm tentatively planning to do so for a little birthday trip to Disneyland), but we live in the Pacific Northwest, so when we go all the way to WDW, we like to stay for more than a week. I don't think I can quite justify pulling her out for ten days or two weeks.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Thanks so much for all the great reviews! I enjoyed reading along! Sorry you didn't have the best Jiko experience though.


You know, I wouldn't have any problem pulling her out for a few days (in fact, I'm tentatively planning to do so for a little birthday trip to Disneyland), but we live in the Pacific Northwest, so when we go all the way to WDW, we like to stay for more than a week. I don't think I can quite justify pulling her out for ten days or two weeks.

Thanks for reading along. I'm happy to share this with everyone here.

If I was traveling that far I would want to extend it too for as long as possible. My husband is going to California tomorrow for work for 4 days & its a lot of travel for such a short trip, especially for someone that hates plane flights.

My mother used to pull me out for about a week in elementary for a yearly trip to Grand Floridian but once I started actually getting homework, those ceased.

 

[FirstMagic]

Thank you for the reviews and all the great photos!