The 2010 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival closed last Sunday. During its 45-day run, there were 135 Culinary Demonstrations—three each day (at 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.) in the Festival Center (the former Wonders of Life pavilion).

Here’s what happened at each Culinary Demo:

• Up to 100 ticketed guests sat at tables with views of a kitchen stage and flat-screen video monitors;
• Host Pam Smith (or John Ekin on Pam’s days off) expertly presented a 45-minute session with a wine speaker and a chef;
• Guests were served a 2½-3 ounce glass of wine, while a winery owner, winemaker, or wine representative talked about it for 10-15 minutes;
• A Disney chef or outside chef (or occasionally a celebrity chef) presented a 30-35 minute demonstration, while guests followed along (and often took notes) on a printed copy of the recipe;
• An audio-visual team with fixed and portable video cameras made sure that guests—even guests sitting in the back—could see what was happening on stage, including views onto the cutting board and the cooktop;
• And—best of all—guests were served samples of what the chef was demonstrating, prepared by a culinary team backstage and served by friendly cast members in blue shirts.

For the first 13 years of the Food & Wine Festival, culinary demos were included in Epcot admission—you just had to get in line early enough, which could mean an hour in line, or sometimes several hours. Last year, Disney imposed an $8 fee for each demo (or $5 for a limited number of advance tickets for Annual Passholders, DVC members, and Tables in Wonderland cardholders). This year, the price increased to $9 (or $7 for AP/DVC/TiW) for most demos, and $13 (or $10 for AP/DVC/TiW) for demos by a limited number of better-known chefs.

The good news was that the higher price in 2010 also meant getting more wine and real dishes. The wine samples in 2009 were usually just 1 ounce; for 2010, they were usually 2½ to 3 ounces. (Back when there was no extra fee for the Culinary Demos, there were seldom any wine samples included.) Also, for 2010, china plates and bowls and metal utensils replaced the black plastic plates, bowls, and utensils.

I paid $7 per person for most Culinary Demos. Considering that this bought a tasting portion of food, a small glass of wine, a “show” (the presentation by the chef) and elimination of the long wait in line, I can’t complain too much about the $7 fee.

However, Disney needs to be careful with price increases in future years. The Wine & Beverage Seminars on the other side of the Festival Center were often poorly attended as guests balked at the questionable value. Priced at $8 (or $6 for AP/DVC/TiW) for most wines and $12 (or $10 for AP/DVC/TiW) for higher-end wines, each seminar normally provided three 1-ounce pours of wine and a 45-minute pitch. It had to be disconcerting for the presenters when only a small fraction of the seats were occupied, as was sometimes the case on weekdays.

My wife and I went to 20 Culinary Demos this year. While my wife was busy taking notes on the recipe sheets, I was snapping photos of the chefs and what we were served.

And the winner for the best Culinary Demo that I attended in 2010 is...

Kent Rathbun of Kent Rathbun Concepts in Dallas. Great presentation. Great food. Great fun. (And two glasses of wine.)

There’s more...

Continue to the 2011 Culinary Demos.

Or travel back to the 2009 Culinary Demos.

Epcot Flower & Garden, 2011 Epcot Food & Wine, 2010 Home

© 2010-2012 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks

Updated August 9, 2012

Photographs of culinary demonstrations at Epcot Food & Wine Festival by Werner Weiss, 2010.
 
Disclosure per FTC guidelines: This article reviews consumer offerings from The Walt Disney Company. Werner Weiss personally paid for park admission and for tickets to the culinary demos shown in this photo essay.