The fifth annual Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic

There is more going on at Disney World during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival than just events at Epcot. Guests can enjoy events taking place at other resorts on the Disney property. One of our favorite events to attend is the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic. This year, the Classic took place Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1.

The Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic highlights the resort’s restaurants – Todd English’s bluezoo, Cabana Bar and Beach Club, The Fountain, Garden Grove, Il Mulino New York Trattoria, Kimonos and Shula’s Steakhouse. Guests are also treated to fine wines, beers and sake from the United States, Argentina, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Spain, Chile, France, Italy and New Zealand.

In addition to the delicious food and thirst-quenching drinks along the Causeway, guests can enjoy music from Complicity, Jersey Boys Tribute and The Current.

Attendees can also pick up Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic themed merchandise and their favorite wines from the event.

The Causeway tickets are $95 and include a wristband that gives you access to unlimited food and drink along the causeway from 5:30 pm to 9 pm. Guests can also upgrade their tickets to include the Terrace Beer Garden for $115. When checking in, guests will receive their wristband, a plate and souvenir Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic wine glass.

Kimonos

• Friday: Dragon Roll: Crispy shrimp, tuna and avocado
• Saturday: Spicy yellowfin tuna roll

Cib’s Smoke Shop

• Friday: Handcrafted bacon, sweet potato puree and caramelized onion barbeque sauce
• Saturday: Smoked pork collar, corn bread puree, and smoked tomato and bacon ragout

Cib’s Smoke Shop is one of our favorites. If you like barbecue, this is a must-not-miss! It’s some of the best barbecue we’ve had. Guests love this station so lines are often very long. You’ll definitely want to be prepared to wait.

Fresh

• Friday: Thai chicken salad, petite lettuce, green papaya and ginger dressing
• Saturday: Southwest shrimp salad, organic greens and chipotle dressing

Garden Grove

• Friday: Blackened salmon, spinach puree and Meyer lemon beurre blanc
• Saturday: Fish ‘n’ chips and tartar sauce “foam”

The blackened salmon was fantastic! It was perfectly cooked and the Meyer lemon beurre blanc cut through the fattiness of the fish.

Picabu

• Barbacoa of beef and organic vegetables with cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, assorted hot sauces and corn tortilla
• Braised Heritage pork and organic vegetables with cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, assorted hot sauces and corn tortilla

Laurent Branlard

• Friday: Chocolate Crunch Napoleon with hazelnut dacquioise, chocolate whipped cream and chocolate layer; Lemon Peel Mousse with blueberry dome and lemon angel food cake; Tres Leches Sponge Cake with exotic cremeux, vanilla bavorois, exotic gelee and coconut marshmallow and ice cream sandwiches.
• Saturday: Ice cream sandwiches

We’re always impressed by this station. The desserts are always unique… and absolutely delicious! The ice cream sandwiches are the best we’ve ever had anywhere.

Fountain

• Friday: Falafel with tahini and traditional garnish
• Saturday: Gyro – Braised lamb, toasted pita and tzatziki

The falafel was pretty good. Some of us liked it more than others. It was a perfect dish for a vegetarian attending the event.

Cabot Cheese Grille Truck

• Friday and Saturday: Legacy tomato basil, mac & cheese and assorted cheeses

The Cabot Cheese Grille Truck was a hit. The lines were long the entire night. Cheese lovers were in heaven here and especially with the mac & cheese.

Il Mulino

• Friday: Arancini – Osso buco, carmaroli rice and spicy tomato sauce
• Saturday: Black pepper campanelle, parsnip, pancetta, truffle and Parmesan brodo

bluezoo

• Friday: Charred octopus, romesco sauce and espelette-nicoise olive vinaigrette
• Saturday: Shrimp cocktail steamroller

 

We love the bluezoo and Todd English stations. The food is exquisite! If you’re looking for delicious food that is prepared in unique ways, you must not miss this station. It’s been a favorite of ours since we first attended last year. Our favorite item at the station was the Lobster “Salpicon” Shot. We could have had ten of those!

One of the coolest things is getting to watch them prepare the dishes in unusual ways. How often do you get to see liquid nitrogen being used in cooking?

Lines for bluezoo and Chef Todd English’s stations can get very long, so make sure to get in line early for them.

Todd English

• Friday: “Assortment of Crudos” – Fluke, lemon basil nitro; tuna tataki and caponada; Pine Island shrimp and lardo crostini; and lobster “salpicon” shot
• Saturday: “Flight of the Halibut” – Seared halibut and Hobb’s bacon; halibut and artichoke “beignet”; and poached halibut, clam and black batard

Fans of Chef Todd English were thrilled to see him at the event! He was available for photos and autographs. We recommend picking up one of his cookbooks and having him sign it.

Cabana Bar and Beach Club

• Friday: Belle and Evans chicken yakitori, mushroom tsunomono and miso crackling
• Saturday: Grilled scallop, puffed rice, edamame and ponzu jelly

We were torn on the chicken yakitori. Some of us liked it while others thought it was okay. Overall, the chicken was moist and the mushrooms added a fantastic earthy flavor.

Shula’s Steakhouse

• Friday and Saturday: Roasted beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes and sauce bordelaise

You can never go wrong with Shula’s roasted beef tenderloin! As you can see, it is perfectly prepared. This station is another one that gets very long lines early on.

Terrace Beer Garden

• Handcrafted German-style sausages, braised cabbage, laugen bread, German-style potato salad, Weiner Schnitzel, soft pretzels and assorted mustards
• Beers brand includes Shipyard, Breckenridge Brewery, Delirium, Highland Brewing Company, Peak Organic, Bell’s, Terrapin, Orange Blossom Pilsner, Abita Beer, Anchor Steam Beer, Boulevard Brewing and Ommegang

The Terrace Beer Garden was a wonderful addition to the festival this year. We really hope that it returns next year! The featured beers were craft beers and all the German food paired perfectly with them. Then again, Germany is the country of Biergartens so you’d expect nothing less than great food and thirst-quenching beers.

We highly recommend attending the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic! If you are like us and you love fantastic food and good drinks, then this is most definitely the event for you. Every year their restaurants and visiting wineries are at the event. The menus are different every year and as you can see, different on Friday and Saturday night. We love that the menus are different so you can attend both nights and not have the same food.

With the wristbands, you can get as much as you want without worrying about cost. Everything in included with the causeway ticket (except for the seminars, of course). If you choose the individual tickets, it really adds up fast. Everything costs at least 3 tickets and some as much as 6 tickets. Food allow would cost you $114 if you tried each booth, not including the drinks. You could spend close to $150 so we recommend going with the wristband. Another great aspect of the wristband is that you can try everything without fear of disliking it. If you don’t, simply toss it and try the next one. If you love it, go back again for more.

For more information on the event, visit our Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic page!

Disclaimer: One of our tickets was received complimentary of Swan and Dolphin.