Austin Food + Wine Announces Line-up, Schedule & Program Presented by C3 Presents and FOOD & WINE

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Austin Food + Wine Festival co-founders Charlie Jones, partner of C3 Presents, chef Tim Love, and restaurateur Jesse Herman, in partnership with FOOD & WINE, are pleased to announce the culinary, wine & spirits and musical line-up for the seventh annual festival, April 27-29, 2018.  Tickets go on sale today, January 18, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. CT, at www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets.

The seventh annual Austin Food + Wine Festival will feature more than 40 events over three days at Auditorium Shores and Fair Market, including the debut of Friday night's Grillin' and Chillin' hands-on, interactive dinner party; Rock Your Taco competition on Saturday night; Sunday Gospel Brunch; engaging cooking demonstrations; interactive fire pits helmed by an all-star lineup of chefs and celebrated pitmasters from across the country; food, wine and cocktail tastings in the Grand Taste Pavilion; live musical performances; chef tastings; book signings; and more.

"We're thrilled to partner with the Austin Food + Wine Festival and a stellar roster of incredibly talented chefs, restaurateurs, and wine and spirits experts from the Hill Country region and beyond," says Hunter Lewis, Editor in Chief of Food & Wine.  "With incredible barbecue, vibrant Tex Mex, world-class fine dining, and innovative wine, beer, and spirits culture, Austin is a dynamic culinary crossroads that represents the best of what it means to eat and drink in America today."

On Thursday, April 26, the pre-Festival Feast Under the Stars, an intimate outdoor celebration, will once again be hosted at Austin's Auditorium Shores.  This five-course, family-style meal with wine pairings from Jackson Family Wines will be held on Festival grounds and feature a collaborative menu from Tyson Cole (Hai Hospitality: Uchi); Mary Catherine Curren (ELM Restaurant Group); Todd Duplechan (Lenoir); Kevin Fink (Emmer & Rye); and Michael Fojtasek (Olamaie). Feast Under the Stars tickets are $250/per person (inclusive of wine pairings and parking) and must be purchased separately from any Festival tickets at www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets.   

"I take great pride in my home state of Texas and always look forward to welcoming some of the greatest chefs in America to experience it firsthand," says festival partner Tim Love.  "Austin Food + Wine is the perfect platform to do just that and this year's festival, lucky number seven, will be the best year yet!"

The 2018 Festival officially kicks off at Auditorium Shores on Friday, April 27, with Grillin' and Chillin' – the ultimate hands-on grilling dinner party hosted by Tim Love.  This event will offer All-In ticket holders the opportunity to sharpen their grilling skills as they join Tim for an interactive and lively night of hands-on grilling, drinks and dinner, all underneath the gorgeous Austin skyline.  Grillin' and Chillin' attendees will have their own grill to share with a partner as Tim guides them on how to become grilling experts.  Grillin' and Chillin' is exclusively included with the All-In ticket and will be the only time that the hands-on grilling demo will be offered throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, April 28, and Sunday, April 29, the Festival grounds at Auditorium Shores will come alive with cooking demonstrations, book signings and an interactive area where chefs will cook over live Fire Pits and offer tastes to attendees throughout the weekend.  Offering multiple stations daily, the expanded Fire Pits will provide interactive experiences cooking with live fire from local and national pitmasters and chefs, including David Bull (Second Bar + Kitchen, La Corsha Hospitality Group); Sonya Coté (Eden East, Hillside Farmacy); Billy Durney (Hometown BBQ; Brooklyn, NY); Wayne Mueller (Louie Mueller Barbecue); Rodney Scott (Rodney Scott's BBQ; Charleston, SC); Victor Sandoval (Parkside Projects); Andrew Wiseheart (Contigo, Contigo Catering, Chicon) with more chefs to be announced.

The Chef Showcase will feature a dynamic roster of local chefs and restaurants in the Grand Taste Pavilion all weekend. Enjoy signature dishes from participating chefs, including: John Bates & Brandon Martinez (Noble Sandwich Co.); Stephen Bonin (Geraldine's); Jeff Brown (Old Thousand); Thomas Calhoun (Aviary Wine & Kitchen); Taylor Chambers (Justine's Brasserie); Ji Peng Chen (Wu Chow); Austin Ewald (Grizzelda's); Kazu Fukumoto (Fukumoto: Sushi and Yakitori Izakaya); Natalie Gazaui (Eberly); Albert Gonzalez (Jacoby's Restaurant & Mercantile); Taylor Hall (Apis); Clinton Kendall (East Side King); Lance Kirkpatrick (Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew); Geronimo Lopez (Botika); Harold Marmulstein (Salty Sow); Stephanie McClenny (Confituras); Jason McVearry (Poke Poke); Brian Moses (Olive & June); Ashley Neave (Forthright); David Norman (Easy Tiger Bake Shop & Beer Garden); Sterling Ridings (Guild); Maribel Rivero (Yuyo); James Robert (Fixe); Charles Schlienger (Sway); Eric Silverstein (The Peached Tortilla); Max Snyder (Pitchfork Pretty); Anthony Sobotik (Lick Honest Ice Cream); George Thomas (Unit-D Pizzeria); Joshua Thomas (Mattie's) Carmen Valera (Tamale House East); Miguel Vidal (Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ); Josh Williams (Texas French Bread) with more chefs to be announced.

Rock Your Taco, Saturday evening's signature tasting event at Fair Market, will bring out the competitive side of all participants, with a live musical performance by award-winning Latin Pop artist, Gina Chavez. Chefs will square off against one another to create the ultimate taco, with winners chosen by an esteemed panel of judges, including legendary chef and cookbook author, Lidia Bastianich (Felidia, Becco, Del Posto, Eataly, Lidia's; Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, NYC). Chefs include Tatsu Aikawa & Takuya Matsumoto (Ramen Tatsu-Ya, Kemuri Tatsu-Ya); Nyesha Arrington (Native; Los Angeles); Jamie Bissonnette (Toro, Coppa, Little Donkey; Boston & NYC); 2017's Rock Your Taco champion, Tyson Cole (Hai Hospitality: Loro); Andrew Curren (ELM Restaurant Group); Cassidee Dabney (The Barn at Blackberry Farm; Walland, TN); Jason Dady (Jason Dady Restaurants; San Antonio); Amanda Freitag (Chopped); Diego Galicia & Rico Torres (Mixtli; San Antonio); Ray Garcia (Broken Spanish; Los Angeles); Stephanie Izard (Girl & The Goat, Little Goat, Duck Duck Goat; Chicago); Paul Kahan (One Off Hospitality Group; Chicago); Tim Love;  Bryan Voltaggio (Volt; Frederick, MD); and Michael White (Altamarea; London, Istanbul, Hong Kong, New Jersey, NYC, Washington, D.C.).

A star-studded collection of sommeliers, wine, beer and spirits experts rounds out the Austin Food + Wine Festival line-up, including Devon Broglie (Master Sommelier, Associate Global Beverage Buyer Whole Foods); Craig Collins (Master Sommelier, Beverage Director ELM Restaurant Group); Helen Johannesen (Owner Helen's Wines, Partner Jon & Vinny's, Joint Ventures; Los Angeles); and June Rodil (McGuire Moorman Hospitality, June's All Day).

Additional programming announcements will be made over the course of the spring; please visit www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com for more information and updates.

Tickets for the 2018 Austin Food + Wine Festival go on sale Thursday, January 18, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. CT at www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets. The All-In ticket is $625/per person and includes Saturday and Sunday Festival access; over 40 culinary demos; beer, wine and cocktail tasting sessions; access to the expanded Fire Pits; all-day access to the Grand Taste Pavilion, including the Chef Showcase; a special Sunday Gospel Brunch; Grillin' and Chillin'; and entrance to Saturday night's Rock Your Taco.  

The Weekender ticket is $250/per person and includes Saturday and Sunday Festival access; over 40 culinary demos; beer, wine and cocktail tasting sessions; access to the expanded Fire Pits; all-day access to the Grand Taste Pavilion, including the Chef Showcase; and a special Sunday Gospel Brunch.

All-In and Weekender tickets can be purchased at www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets.  All attendees must be 21 years of age or older. For more information, please visit www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com, or follow us on Instagram @austinfoodwine, Twitter @austinfoodwine and Facebook.com/austinfoodwine.

For press credentials, please fill out the online application here: http://www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/press-application/

The Austin Food + Wine Festival is generously sponsored by FOOD & WINE, Republic National Distributing, Barilla, Toyota and KitchenAid.

About Austin Food + Wine Festival:
The Austin Food + Wine Festival marks a compelling collaboration between C3 Presents and some of Texas' most exciting chefs and restaurateurs, including Tim Love, Iron Chef Champion and co-host of CNBC's Restaurant Startup, as well as owner/chef of TLC Catering, The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Love Shack, White Elephant Saloon, Queenie's Steakhouse, and The Woodshed Smokehouse across Texas and Tennessee, and Jesse Herman of New Waterloo, owner of South Congress Hotel, Hotel Ella, Central Standard, Café No Sé, La Condesa, Sway and Otoko.  C3 Presents is the Austin-based event company that produces Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park, and Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin's Zilker Park.  The Austin Food + Wine Festival will take place April 28-30, 2017, bringing an array of taste, talent and culinary entertainment to the Capital City.  Please visit www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com for future details on the event. http://www.facebook.com/austinfoodwine  http://www.twitter.com/austinfoodwine

About FOOD & WINE
FOOD & WINE is the ultimate authority on the best of what's new in food, drink, travel, design and entertaining. FOOD & WINE has an extensive social media following on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and Snapchat. FOOD & WINE includes a monthly magazine in print and digital; a website, foodandwine.com; a books division; plus newsletters, clubs, events, dinnerware and cookware. FOOD & WINE is a registered trademark of Time Inc. Affluent Media Group.

SOURCE Austin Food + Wine Festival