Epcot Food and Wine Festival 2018

We decided to spend Labor Day Weekend at Walt Disney World.  Thanks to Our Disney Vacation Club (Disney timeshare program) ownership we were able to stay at The Grand Floridian Hotel.  The relatively new rooms were very nice and having two showers in a studio room helped us to get ready quickly in the mornings.

Our focus of this trip was Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival.  Our pre-planning indicated we would eat/drink 60 different menu items (spoiler:  we didn’t make it).  During the Festival we would attend one paid food/wine seminar with a chef, join in candy sushi making (a reserved event), and attend one performance from Tiffany.

This year Disney had a few Festival gifts for Annual Passholders.  The first was a magnet featuring Mickey in a chef hat.   The other was a cutting board attained by going to Epcot 4 times during the festival.   We had four park days planned but Epcot was not part of our last day’s plan.   We decided to run (almost literally) into Epcot before checking in to our room and making our dinner ressie at Narcoossee’s (in the Grand Floridian).   Our plane pulled up to the gate at 7pm.   By 7:50 we were in our rental car, buying supplies at Speedway, and made it to Epcot’s gate - at a dead stop.   Combine the holiday weekend with the 2nd night of Food and Wine and you have a lot of people heading to Epcot.   We sat there for 15 minutes as cars paid their parking fees every so slowly.   Then 8:00 hit and parking was free!   Lanes opened up and we parked in the first spot we found.   We race-walked to the entrance in the 100% humidity and high temps.   Dave looked great.   Once in the Festival Center we found a long line for the magnets.  Might as well grab a beer while we wait.   After getting the magnets we hustled out of there.   Dave was crabby since his nice clothes for dinner were drenched with sweat.   Fortunately we made it to the hotel in time to check in and quickly freshen up.  Dinner at Narcoossee’s was nice.  We watched the Hallowishes Fireworks from the porch - which was possibly the best place on property to view the 180 degree effects.

Overall the Food & Wine Festival was same stuff-different year, but that didn’t mean it still wasn’t fun.   The booth lines were relatively low all weekend.  We believe the heat and humidity kept the locals away.  At times Epcot was very crowded but folks were not on food lines.  There were plenty of Drinkin’ Around the World crews, tribes, and squads.

While at the Festival we used the Food & Wine Passport book to track our progress.   We used a check-mark for good items, a dash so so-so, and an X for items we did not like.

Any food item pictures we have will follow the order of the marks in the Passport.  Some beverages don’t have photos since they may have just been a beer or red wine.








No photos of the beers from the Festival Center.  We each had a flight and had too much to manage while sharing our flights on line for the magnets.  We did enjoy the Disney Family Wine flight.

Tip:  if it is too hot too eat outside there are a few tables in Club Cool you can use.  Added bonus is free soda.

Skipped this one

Both these items were among our favorites.

The black stuff with the scallops was nasty.

We enjoyed the next 5. At first we rated the jerk chicken high, but realized it didn’t have the flavor of Dave’s recipe.













We did have the shrimp quesadilla in Mexico. It was good but not worth the high price.   China’s pancake was a top item.

The beef from Africa has been better in previous years.  Holly thought it was spicy hot.  This is the first year we skipped the Brewer’s Collection - the beers were too light for us and we’ve tried those same beers during another fest.   Also disappointing - German pavilion replaced the Oktoberfest beer with everyday Beck’s.

No photo....this is a Fest staple item and it is always very good.



Stuck with beer here.  Sometimes this booth is a hit-or-miss and we were never really hungry when near the pavilion.



Took a chance here with tuna and salmon (we don’t do raw fish). Everything was good.  Brazil scallop stew was very good.

They never give you enough bread for any cheese dip.













Other fun:

We watched a performance by Tiffany at the American Gardens theater.  She can sing and even mentioned how she had to prove it back in the 80’s with “Could Have Been”.  Her vocals were a mix of Melissa Etheridge, Stevie Nicks, and Miley Cyrus.   Tiffany knew her audience and played all her hits plus an 80’s medley.

We attended a seminar in the Festival Center.  For $25 each we were served a glass of wine and a small portion of food similar to what the chef was preparing on stage.  Our menu featured a wine from a Chappellet in Napa Valley and short rib bourguignon.   The wine was a restaurant-size pour and the beef a decent few-bite portion. The time commitment was about 60 minutes. 

On Friday and Saturday the park hosts a dance party near the Fountain of Nations.  While there we saw a performance by IRL (In Real Life).  We had no idea who they were, but the girls in the crowd were singing along.   We found out later that they have some hits on Radio Disney and were part of a reality tv show.  We took a selfie with them in the background to up our street creds.

This year a new free event started in Sunshine Seasons where you make candy sushi.   It was sponsored by M&M Mars and Adventures by Disney to promote their Japan itinerary.  We were given paper hats and materials to make several varieties of sushi.  There were a few other kidless adults at the event and we did not feel out of place.  









Even after attending this festival so many times it’s still a great event.  Epcot is the perfect place to walk around and sample food and drink while taking in some fun entertainment.   We even got a cutting board out of it.

Getting into BBQ and Smoking

We both grew up with families that used propane grills for outdoor cooking.  So naturally when we got married and had our own home we bought propane grills and loved them.   Some conversations with friends piqued Dave’s curiousity about smoking.   The great experiment started this summer.

Holly received a work service award catalog that contained a variety of useless gifts to choose from.  We narrowed her options down to a power washer and a bullet smoker.   The smoker was our final choice because 1) we could try one for “free” 2) we are scared of taking the paint off our house with a power washer.  When the smoker finally arrived we were in the middle of our major deck remodel project - fixing sunken joists, refacing everything, new railings, and animal abatement (to prevent other things from dying underneath the deck).   The project was completed by July 4th weekend giving us a chance to take the smoker out of the box.  

Our “free” smoker required an investment in charcoal, a cover, wood chips, and some firestarter things.   For our first attempt we went with baby back ribs.  We thought we followed the instructions right for telling when the coals were ready.... but maybe not.   We could not maintain a temperature over 225 degrees and for the most part it stayed near 200 - we were supposed to be at 250.  We toyed with the coals about every three minutes.   The ribs were to cook for 3+ hours but two hours in we checked and they were charcoal and burnt.   Apparently something went wrong.  Getting beyond the burnt taste, we could taste the wood-smoked flavor of the hickory chips and the meatier end pieces were pretty good.   This was enough to convince us to look at other options.  

We have a few friends that were into smoking/BBQ and asked them about their equipment. This is when we learned about pellet grills.  These grills are fueled by wood pellets (they look like Kashi cereal) that go into a hopper and are fed into a fire pit by an auger.   There is a fan to move the air around and create convection.   Temperature is maintained electronically.   Set the temperature and it theoretically stays there.   The pellets come in different varieties of wood.   We were trying to pick between brands such as Traeger, Pitt Boss, and Green Mountain.   We picked Green Mountain’s Daniel Boone model based on price, WiFi control via iPhone app, and the add-on pizza oven attachment which allows us to create Naples style pizzas.

We decided to take it slow and cook easy things first.  Our first dinner was jerk pork tenderloin using Dave’s favorite jerk sauce and marinade recipe.  Since it’s like a roast we knew we just had to cook to the right temperature.  After about two hours the pork was done.   We did not have to mess with the grill at all.   Wonderful!  

Our pizza experience has been ok.   We love the way it comes out with all the bubbles and wood-charred crust, but the doughs (store bought) are rising too much in the cooking process.  We may try making our own dough soon.


Other items from the grill:

We’ve been occupied the last few weekends and have not used the grill in a while.  Looking forward to experimenting with more recipes and new meats like tri tips and a brisket.

Victoria and Albert’s Chef’s Table Dinner: Walt Disney World May 2018

During our most recent Walt Disney World vacation we were able to enjoy dinner at Victoria & Albert’s Chef’s Table in the Grand Floridian Resort.  The last time we enjoyed this experience was in 2011 with just the two of us dining.   This year we invited long-time friends to join us.    There’s only one seating per night in the kitchen and to get that reservation you need to call six months in advance. For us, that meant remembering to make the phone call during our Bahamas vacation.

We were staying at Bay Lake Towers for this portion of the trip which made it convenient to navigate transportation in dress-up clothes.   Meeting our friends in the Grand Concourse we took the Monorail over to the Grand Floridian, leaving time for a pre-cocktail at Mizner’s Lounge.  We were greeted outside of the restaurant and were told it would be just a minute as they prepared for us.  It wasn’t too long before we were escorted through the dining area into the kitchen.  The dining table is off to one end of the kitchen to give diners a length-wise view to the action.  

One thing we observed in the beginnings their timing seemed off. The chef didn’t greet us right away, which was odd. Turns out a staff meeting was running late and Chef Amy was still at the meeting.  Our backup chef decided to start our toast.  Chef Amy joined us a few minutes later.  There were several times the ladies were not served first.  

Dinner at the Chef’s Table is a set ten-course meal that changes seasonally.  Offerings at the Chef’s Table are the same as in the main dining room.  Surprisingly it’s only a slight up-charge to eat in the kitchen, just requires luck to score the ressie.   We all chose to add the wine pairing which included three whites, three reds, and a dessert wine. We skipped the caviar, turbot, and Miyazaki upgrades.  At various points during dinner a different fresh bread is served along with your choice of salt and butter.

We were not fans of the duck pastrami.  We heard it is no longer on the menu - maybe a result of our dining companions sharing their opinion of the dish with the chef.

After dinner we were presented with a box of small candies to choose from.  Being full we asked for them to be boxed.   We were disappointed to find they did not box one of each for us.  Don’t know why - they had plenty.  

One of the more fun experiences we had in the kitchen was watching the chefs make stock.   Two large (20 gallon maybe) cook pots were close to our rooms doorway.  We watched the chefs stir the contents displaying whole garlic cloves, bones, other vegetables, etc.   this stock would be cooked down over 5 days.   

It was probably a little after 10 o’clock when we finished up our coffees and paying our bills.   We had a chance to get a photo with the staff, which was nice.  The quality of the food and knowledge of the staff still remains impressive.  On this night the attention to details slipped a little but it still did not detract from the experience.

Charity of the Month: Ronald McDonald House Charities

Charity of the Month is a way Team Tizzel is helping to support some very worthy organizations. As part of this program, we will dedicate a post to a charity that we will sponsor through the month by donating Holly's training run money.

In July we supported Sarcoma Foundation of America via Pittsburgh Cure Sarcoma 5K in honor of a friend’s relative with a $125 donation.

August Charity of the Month:

Ronald McDonald House Charities

Yes we know we are late with this post.   When we rolled into August we did not have a charity in mind to support.  We thought we’d end up turning September into a double-down month until this came in the mail:

We were curious to see what Justin drew so we opened the envelope.  

Also included was a photo of Justin and his family.  The drawing was pretty accurate.  Good job Justin!  Thanks to your letter we are donating to Ronald McDonald House Charities this month.

From their website:

Many families travel far from home and spend several weeks or months to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children – a long time to be away or to divide a family. And, for children facing a serious medical crisis, nothing seems scarier than not having mom and dad close by for love and support. A Ronald McDonald House provides a place for families to call home so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little to no cost. 

Our Houses are built on the simple idea that nothing else should matter when a family is focused on the health of their child – not where they can afford to stay, where they will get their next meal or where they will lay their head at night to rest. We believe that when a child is hospitalized the love and support of family is as powerful as the strongest medicine prescribed.

Allow Families to Face the Weight of Illness Together 

Families are stronger when they are together, which helps in the healing process. By staying at a Ronald McDonald House, parents also can better communicate with their child’s medical team and keep up with complicated treatment plans when needed. They can also focus on the health of their child, rather than grocery shopping, cleaning or cooking meals.

Allow Children to Get the Best Care 

When your child is sick, you want the best care possible – even if it is hundreds or thousands of miles away. The Ronald McDonald House allows families to access specialized medical treatment by providing a place to stay at little or sometimes no cost.

Services for Families 

At every House, families can enjoy:

Home-cooked meals

Private bedrooms

Playrooms for children

Depending on the House, these services may also be available: 

Special suites for children with suppressed immune systems

Accredited education programs

Recreational activities

Non-clinical support services

Sibling support services

The generosity of volunteers and donors make it all possible. In return, families either stay at no cost or are asked to make a donation up to $25 per day, depending on the House. The RMHC Global Policy is that families are never turned away; if it’s not possible to pay, the fee is waived.