Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival Review – Part One

EPCOT’s International Food & Wine Festival is one of the events I look forward to every single year. The festival takes over the park with food and drink booths, special menu items, dishes from around the world, and a bunch of things that give us an excuse to eat our way around EPCOT.

This year is also the festival’s 30th anniversary, so there are quite a few returning favorites mixed in with the new dishes.

Our goal is to try every single food item at the event. Maybe a couple of drinks too. Obviously, that is going to take more than one trip. Here’s what we made it through so far.

Mickey-shaped Celebration Macaron

Where to find it: Sunshine Seasons in The Land pavilion

This macaron has the traditional slightly crisp shell and chewy center, filled with thick birthday cake buttercream and cake crumbles.

This was served cold, which I didn’t think I’d like, but it actually gave the filling almost an ice cream-like texture. Make no mistake, this was SWEET. But wow, it was good.

I am a huge texture person, and the chewy macaron with the cool birthday cake buttercream was fantastic. The filling really did taste like birthday cake, and of course the sprinkles were a fantastic touch.

Pistachio-Chocolate Mochi Doughnut

Where to find it: Connections Café

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this one. I’ve had a few mochi doughnuts from Paris Baguette before, and I wasn’t a fan. This one was definitely more up my alley.

It had that chewy mochi doughnut texture with pistachio icing, chopped pistachios, and a drizzle of chocolate. I am a huge pistachio lover, so I might be a little biased, but I would absolutely eat this again.

Zwiebelkuchen

Where to find it: Sommerfest in the Germany pavilion

This is a German onion cake made with caramelized onions, bacon, herbs, and a savory custard.

I wasn’t sure about this one either. My daughter Hayley wanted to try it, and boy am I glad she did. It tasted like something I would happily have for breakfast. There was so much flavor, the texture was fantastic, and everything worked really well together.

Definitely one of our festival favorites so far.

Cinnamon Pretzel Cold Brew

Where to find it: Sommerfest in the Germany pavilion

This one combines Joffrey’s Cold Brew Coffee with sweet cream, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and pretzel pieces.

The drink itself was definitely good, but I have one very important note: eat the pretzels first. If you don’t, you can very easily end up with a pretzel piece caught in your throat while you’re trying to drink it. A spoon would be a very smart move here.

Hawaiian Rice Bowl

Where to find it: Hawai’i Global Marketplace

This bowl has SPAM, eggs, eel sauce, spicy mayonnaise, and furikake.

My favorite thing I’ve had so far. This was incredible.

It reminded me a little bit of a sushi bowl because of the rice, eel sauce, spicy mayo, and furikake. I have never been a big SPAM person, but apparently I am converted. I would absolutely get this again.

Brazilian Cheese Bread

Where to find it: Brazil Global Marketplace

The Pão de Queijo, or Brazilian Cheese Bread, is also one of the festival’s 30th anniversary legacy items.

I’m going to let Hayley review this one because she is a HUGE Brazilian cheese bread fan and I am not. She loved it. She let me have one tiny bite and then devoured the rest herself, which is probably the best review it could get.

Mixed Berry Pavlova

Where to find it: Australia Global Marketplace

This has a crunchy meringue shell topped with macerated berries and whipped cream.

This one was okay for me. Nothing bad about it, but nothing that really stood out either.

Meringue is always a slightly tricky texture to eat, and considering we were standing while trying it, this became a little bit of a mess. I think I would have liked it more if it had been colder.

Bo Ssam Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps

Where to find it: Festival Favorites inside CommuniCore Hall

This one originally appeared at the South Korea booth in 2010 and came back as one of the 30th anniversary legacy items. It has bo ssam pork belly, kimchi slaw, and spicy aïoli.

I can see why this one was popular because my group flipped out over it. I liked it too, although I actually preferred the pierogi we got at the same booth.

The pork belly, slaw, and aïoli were a great combination. It wasn’t too spicy, but it had a ton of flavor.

Potato Pierogi

Where to find it: Festival Favorites inside CommuniCore Hall

This is another 30th anniversary legacy item, with potato pierogi, kielbasa, caramelized onions, and sour cream.

This one is a classic. Everything just works together. There was a good amount of kielbasa, the pierogi were cooked well, and the sour cream pulled everything together.

The only thing I would change is having the onions cooked together with the sausage or pierogi instead of being served more on the side. Still very good.

Dolce Affogato Cold Brew

Where to find it: Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company near Disney Traders

This is Joffrey’s affogato-flavored cold brew with sugar cane syrup and oat milk, topped with whipped cream and rainbow sugar sprinkles.

This was SWEEEET. So sweet. To me, it tasted almost like icing with a little bit of coffee mixed in.

That being said, the serious sweet-tooth people in our group loved it. If you like your coffee drinks closer to dessert, this is definitely that.

Chermoula Chicken Hummus Bowl

Where to find it: Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina in the Morocco pavilion

This has spiced hummus topped with chermoula chicken, apricot chutney, grilled shishito peppers, and warm pita bread.

I liked this one more than I thought I would. Everything I get from Morocco always tastes really fresh to me, and this was no exception. The chicken was well cooked and had a ton of flavor, and the pita bread was warm and soft.

The apricot chutney added such a nice little bit of sweetness too.

Schiacciata Sandwich

Where to find it: Forest & Field

This sandwich has mortadella, prosciutto, sun-dried peppers, arugula, stracciatella cheese, fall squash mostarda, and pistachio pesto on warm focaccia.

This is going down as another favorite of mine.

First off, the focaccia was fantastic. It was hot and crispy, and you could really taste the pistachio pesto melted into the bread.

The squash was such a nice surprise too. Then you have the meats, creamy cheese, peppers, and arugula, and everything just worked together.

It reminded me of a fancy fall upgrade to a grilled cheese, except with a whole lot more going on.

Stay Tuned for Part 2

And this was just the beginning of the taste tests.

We still have A LOT of Food and Wine Festival eating left to do, so I can pretty much guarantee there will be several more trips before the festival ends.