Tickets on Sale Now for Austin Oyster Fest, Austin Women in Culinary Dinner, and Austin Food & Wine Festival

January – the month we all resolve not to enjoy any of life’s pleasures – is almost over, and just in time: Austin’s culinary scene has promised rich rewards on the horizon.

The Austin Oyster Festival has just announced its 2019 return on Sat., Feb. 23, 12-6pm at Republic Square. General admission is $60 and benefits Central Texas Food Bank. The event will feature Austin Seafood’s Gulf and East Coast oysters prepared in nearly every way imaginable including a Grill Bar serving smoked bacon Oysters Rockefeller, fresh grilled oysters with roasted garlic and anchovy butter, Creole barbecue butter shrimp on grilled garlic bread, and oyster and rock shrimp gumbo with Andouille sausage. They’ve also planned a Fry Bar with offerings like a crispy oyster banh mi sandwich as well as New Orleans-style oyster and shrimp po’boys. Local beers by Bell's Brewery, live local music from Robert Kelly and The Blue Mist, Chansons Et Soulard, a silent raffle presented by the Central Texas Food Bank, and what organizers promise will be an “extravagant” Bloody Mary Bar, round out the event.

Level up to the VIP ticket for $115 a head to bask in VIP Chef Oyster tastings throughout the day including bites by chef Shane Stark of Mongers Market + Kitchen, chef Gerard Kenny of Le Politique, chef Russell Dougherty of The Little Darlin,’ and chef Chris Bauer of Eddie V’s Edgewater Grill which is sponsoring a swag bag for the road. Other participating restaurants include Nightcap and Salt Traders Coastal Cooking and Deep Eddy Vodka presents speciality cocktail pairings. Volunteers from Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s shell-recycling program, Sink Your Shucks, will be on hand to collect more than 2,000 pounds of oyster shells and return them to local waters, providing materials to form new reefs and habitats for fish, crabs and other ocean organisms.

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Austin's best female chefs, bartenders, and sommeliers are joining together for the second annual Austin Women in Culinary Dinner. Hosted at Eberly on Wed., Feb. 20, the progressive experience begins at 7pm with a reception in the Cedar Tavern, with passed appetizers and specialty cocktails and a silent auction with appetizers in the Study. That’s followed by a four-course dinner in the main dining room prepared by a talented line-up of 16 female chefs, bartenders, and sommeliers.

The dinner celebrates female trailblazers in the culinary industry, and each of the eleven participating chefs is creating a dish honoring a woman who has made a significant contribution to the world of food. The tickets are $125 and include the reception and dinner along with cocktails and wine pairings. All proceeds from the dinner go to Les Dames d' Escoffier Austin Chapter's scholarship program, which awards scholarships to culinary students and women pursuing further education in their respective industries. Tickets are now on sale.

The superstar food list includes:
Jo Chan, executive chef of Eberly
Amanda Turner, executive chef of Juniper
Sarah Heard, co-owner and chef of Foreign & Domestic
Sasha Grumman, chef de cuisine of Launderette
Janie Ramirez, executive chef of Dai Due
Bonnie Savage, chef de cuisine of Olamaie
Sarah Seghi, pastry chef of Eberly
Juliann Stoddart, executive pastry chef of Parkside Projects
Amanda Rockman, culinary director of New Waterloo
Mary Catherine Curren, executive pastry chef of ELM Restaurant Group
Melissa Carroll, pastry chef of Le Politique

The dream team bartender list includes:
Caer Ferguson, bar manager of Roosevelt Room
Kasey Pierce, bar manager of Barley Swine
Madeline Ridgway, lead bartender of Midnight Cowboy

Sommeliers include:
Krista Church of Eberly
Ali Schmidt of Emmer & Rye

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You’ll have to wait a little longer for the Austin Food & Wine Festival – it runs April 26-28 – but it’ll be worth it. Today’s lineup reveal includes the return of the popular Rock Your Taco competition, Tim Love’s interactive Grillin’ and Chillin’ dinner party, and the pre-fest Feast Under the Stars at Auditorium Shores, plus live fire pit cookouts, cooking demos, booksignings, and, of course, many many bites and libations for the sampling. Find the schedule, participating chef lineup, and ticket info at the AWFW website..