Africa Marketplace Booth at 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival
*This dining experience took place in October 2016.
For Food & Wine Festival Gluten Free marketplace booth options, be sure to click over to the marketplace booth page for more info.
The Africa marketplace booth has been around since 1997 at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival and, believe it or not, has been one that I've actually never visited. They usually have at least one gluten free option (but it almost always contains dairy). This year, there is one dish listed as gluten free.Because this booth is NOT 100% gluten free, there is always an increased risk of cross-contamination. Use your own judgement when consuming items that are not in dedicated gluten free booths (this year only Brazil and the Greenhouse Guru have entirely gluten free food items).
The Berbere-Style Beef Tenderloin Tips served with onions, jalapenos, tomato, and pap is a marked as gluten friendly. I decided to try this dish with the recommended wine pairing, the Simonsig Pinotage, a hearty red wine. Alexis from Alexis's Gluten Free Adventures recommended this when she tried the dish back in 2014 (you can read her full review on her blog).Overall, I thought this dish was good, but wasn't as amazing as the dishes from the Greenhouse Guru, my favorite booth of the festival (that is entirely made of gluten friendly items). The beef was a bit spicy, so if you're not a fan of spice, I would skip this dish. I would also warn against tough meat. My beef was really fatty and tough, not exactly tender like I expected it to be.I don't think Africa will be a repeat booth for me, but I'm glad I tried the dish. It was good, but definitely not as delicious as some of the other festival offerings.What do you think of the Africa Marketplace Booth? Would you try the Berbere-style Beef?
Patagonia Marketplace Booth at 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival
*This dining experience took place in September 2016.
For Food & Wine Festival Gluten Free marketplace booth options, be sure to click over to the marketplace booth page for more info.
Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDWThe Patagonia marketplace booth at the 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival has been one of my favorite repeat booths at the festival for several years. I've been a fan of the Verlasso Salmon dish at the Patagonia booth and have to stop several times every year to get it. This year, there are two dishes listed as gluten free.Because this booth is NOT 100% gluten free, there is always an increased risk of cross-contamination. Use your own judgement when consuming items that are not in dedicated gluten free booths (this year only Brazil and the Greenhouse Guru have entirely gluten free food items).
The Roasted Verlasso salmon with quinoa salad and arugula chimichurri is both gluten free and dairy free. Though, I do sometimes find that the salmon is a bit overcooked, the combination of flavors is a winner to me every time. The quinoa salad is always nice, but the real star of this dish is the chimichurri! They were pretty heavy-handed with the chimichurri when I visited, and I'm OK with that!The salmon also paired really well with the Malbec on the menu. If you like red wines, this was definitely a great one.
Brandon also got the Grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato purée. This dish is gluten free but does contain dairy. I tried this last year and really loved it, and Brandon said this is so far his favorite dish of the festival.Overall, we'll be back again to the Patagonia booth. Every I know enjoys at least one of the options here, and it's definitely a repeat booth every Epcot Food & Wine Festival season.What do you think of the Patagonia Marketplace Booth? What dish do you want to try?
Ireland Marketplace Booth at 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival
*This dining experience took place in September 2016.
For Food & Wine Festival Gluten Free marketplace booth options, be sure to click over to the marketplace booth page for more info.
The Ireland marketplace booth at the 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival has been at the festival for several years now. For the last few years, they've had one gluten free dish -- Warm Chocolate Pudding with Irish Cream Liqueur Custard.Because this booth is NOT 100% gluten free, there is always an increased risk of cross-contamination. Use your own judgement when consuming items that are not in dedicated gluten free booths (this year only Brazil and the Greenhouse Guru have entirely gluten free food items).
My family and I split the Warm Chocolate Pudding with Irish Cream Liqueur Custard. This dish is gluten free and does contain dairy. Because I've been re-introducing a bit of dairy back into my diet, I decided to try a few bites.This dessert is very rich. If you like Irish cream, you will absolutely love it. I personally preferred the Red Wine Chocolate Truffle from the Chocolate Studio, but this was a nice dessert option. I probably won't get this dessert at Ireland again -- but that's because of personal preference, not because it wasn't tasty. It's a nice option, just not my personal favorite.What do you think of the Ireland Marketplace Booth? Would you order the Warm Chocolate Pudding?
Australia Marketplace Booth at 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival
*This dining experience took place in September 2016.
For Food & Wine Festival Gluten Free marketplace booth options, be sure to click over to the marketplace booth page for more info.
The Australia marketplace booth at the 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival is a favorite having been at the festival for many years. With several gluten free options, it's a spot that I usually stop at least once during the Food & Wine Festival. This year, there are two dishes listed as gluten free.Because this booth is NOT 100% gluten free, there is always an increased risk of cross-contamination. Use your own judgement when consuming items that are not in dedicated gluten free booths (this year only Brazil and the Greenhouse Guru have entirely gluten free food items).
I ended up ordering the Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion, and Snap Peas. I got this last year, and really enjoyed it. It's a gluten free and dairy free dish with lots of flavor and a bit of spice.I love the sweet and spiciness of it. If you're not a big spice fan, you may want to avoid this or make sure you have lots of water on hand. While it wasn't super spicy, I did need to get a drink of water afterwards.Overall, I love this dish and really like the Australia booth. It's an easy go-to and one I'll definitely be visiting again this year.What do you think of the Australia Marketplace Booth? What dish do you want to try?
Greenhouse Guru Marketplace Booth at 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival
*This dining experience took place in September 2016.
For Food & Wine Festival Gluten Free marketplace booth options, be sure to click over to the marketplace booth page for more info.
The Greenhouse Guru at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival is one of the new marketplace booth offerings this year. Sponsored by Village Farms, all of the dishes highlight tomatoes. I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, but I couldn't help but visit this booth because it is 100% gluten free (even the alcohol is gluten free).Greenhouse Guru and Brazil are the only two booths where the food offerings are all gluten free, which makes them both better options for those gluten free guests concerned with potential cross-contamination.The risks at these booths are greatly reduced because there is no gluten present in any of the dishes, though it is important to note that all food is prepared in catering kitchens where gluten may be found.
Of the three dishes at this booth, I was most interested the Chilled Tomato Gazpacho with Lump Crab Meat. It sounded delicious and refreshing while touring the parks on a hot Florida afternoon.
My stepdad ordered the Heirloom Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese, Aged Balsamic Vinegar and Micro-Basil, and he let me sample it.I liked it well enough. If you're lactose free and can tolerate goat's milk cheese, this might be a dish to try. It's light and refreshing, but you really have to be a tomato lover to enjoy it. I liked the balsamic vinegar, but it's not enough to make me order it myself personally.
I ordered the Chilled Tomato Gazpacho with Lump Crab Meat which is both gluten free and dairy free. I absolutely loved this dish. It was super refreshing and very light. It was perfect for a hot day. The gazpacho was nicely seasoned and not too spicy, and the crab meat was the perfect topping for it. I would definitely get this again.
On another visit, Brandon and I stopped by and tried the Duck Confit with Creamy Polenta and Fire-Roasted Salsa. Although, I'm partial to the Gazpacho, this may be hands down the best gluten free dish I've had this year at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.So rich and delicious, the polenta added even more richness to the already rich duck. I'm really not a big duck fan, but this was insanely good. It was so tender that the duck literally fell apart almost like pulled pork. The fire-roasted salsa was a nice addition to the dish too.This dish does contain dairy and can't be modified to remove it, but if you can have dairy, it's definitely worth getting!
Also on display at the Greenhouse Guru are tomato plants from Living with the Land. When Brandon and I went on the Behind the Seeds Tour there recently, our tour guide told us this would be on display during Food & Wine, so it was nice to see it! It's also pretty impressive to see this massive tomato plant display.Overall, I'd definitely go to Greenhouse Guru again. I loved the gazpacho and the duck confit and hope to get them at least one more time before the festival is over.What do you think of the Greenhouse Guru Marketplace Booth? What dish do you want to try?
The Chocolate Studio Marketplace Booth at 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival
*This dining experience took place in September 2016.
For Food & Wine Festival Gluten Free marketplace booth options, be sure to click over to the marketplace booth page for more info.
New to the 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival is the Chocolate Studio, a marketplace booth dedicated to one of my favorite things in the world...CHOCOLATE!Thankfully, if you're gluten free you can get your chocolate fix at the Chocolate Studio thanks to two gluten free dishes on the menu.Because this booth is NOT 100% gluten free, there is always an increased risk of cross-contamination. But, one thing I like about this booth is that all of the desserts are almost entirely pre-prepared in a commercial catering kitchen, so there's less chance of a risk at the booth itself. Still, use your own judgement when consuming items that are not in dedicated gluten free booths (this year only Brazil and the Greenhouse Guru have entirely gluten free food items).
I love the decor of the Chocolate Studio. It fits in nicely with the Wine & Dine Studio next door (which sadly is not as gluten free friendly).
They have some really cool displays on hand too. and you learn a bit about flavors from chocolate.
Brandon and I decided to get the Red Wine Chocolate Truffle and Justin Cabernet Sauvignon.The Red Wine Chocolate Truffle is gluten free, but does contain dairy. Because I've been re-introducing a bit of dairy back into my diet, I thought the smaller truffle portion might be better than getting the Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle. On the next visit, I may try that as it looked really delicious.Both of us really loved the truffle. You could taste the red wine in the truffle, but neither of us found it to be really overpowering. It paired really well with our Justin Cabernet Sauvignon which was a nice earthy red wine. We got another the Michael David Winery Seven Deadly Zins Zinfadel (another red wine) when we visited the Wine & Dine Studio and preferred the Justin Cabernet Sauvignon at the Chocolate Studio.Overall, if you have a chocolate craving, the Chocolate Studio will do nicely. If you love a rich chocolate experience, the Red Wine Chocolate Truffle is an excellent option. It's a must get again this festival for both of us.What do you think of the Chocolate Studio Marketplace Booth? What chocolate dish do you want to try?