Welcome, World Travelers! Taste The Flavor at This Year’s EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival
by James Coulter
How do you say, “delicious”? In Spanish, the word is “delicioso.” In French, it’s “délicieux.” And in German, it’s “lecker.” But no matter where you’re from or what language you speak, you’re sure to say some form of the word “delicious” during this year’s International Food & Wine Festival at Epcot.
For nearly three decades, EPCOT’s International Food & Wine Festival, true to its name, has allowed guests to sample food and wine from around the world. This year features more than 25 vendors located around the park, serving cuisine from various countries including those at World Showcase as well as others like Greece, Spain, and India.
From now until Nov. 18, 2023, attendees can, as the official Disney World website states, “delight in delicious dishes created with innovative cooking techniques from globally inspired chefs. Try the Peri-Peri Shrimp from the Kenya Marketplace, Tikka Masala from the India Marketplace and so much more!”
Unlike ticketed events like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary-Halloween at the Magic Kingdom, the Food and Wine Festival is accessible to all Epcot guests with general admission including annual passholders. However, food and drinks served at the various vendors still cost money. Fortunately, most menu items are affordably around $7. So, even visitors working on a budget can sample about five items per visit at around $35.
Event maps are provided at the front of the park, allowing guest to more easily locate the various vendors, as well as passports so they can mark off said locations. Scavenger hunts for all ages are also being hosted throughout the park.
Unfortunately, I cannot do a proper review of every food and drink item, as I’m not made of money. However, I can offer a mini-review of three unique food items I had the chance to try during a recent visit.
Currently, the Odyssey Pavilion (located between Test Track and the Mexico Pavilions) has been converted into the Brew-Wing Lab. The story behind the theme is that Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker from Muppet Labs are serving special “science experiments” for guests to “taste test.” I had a chance to “test” three of these items, and here are my thoughts:
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Sticky Wings. They’re exactly as the name implies: sticky wings coated in a peanut sauce with globs of grape jelly. Interestingly enough, they taste much better than they sound. The peanut sauce reminds me of Thai peanut chicken, the jelly adds hints of sweetness to the spicy peanut sauce, and the little bits of nut add a nice crunch.
• Pickle Milkshake. Imagine a vanilla milkshake spiked with dill seasoning. That’s what this drink tastes like. It’s essentially a sour-ish, bitter-ish egg nog. The flavor is…unique to say the least, yet certainly worth trying.
• Frozen Fusion. A pomegranate and raspberry mini-frozen slushy with orange ice cream molecules. My experience with this drink was less than satisfactory, as the slushy was frozen solid. Not even waiting a few minutes was enough for it to melt. I had to add some water from a nearby fountain to melt it down into a liquid, and even then, I felt that only watered down the flavor. It was sweet and tangy, to say the least, but my first impression was not the best.
The Food and Wine Festival is happening from now until Nov. 18, 2023. For more information about menu items, visit: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/food-wine-marketplaces/
