On November 1-3, 2024, the Austin Food & Wine Festival returned to Auditorium Shores, celebrating its 13th year with music, big crowds, chef presentations, and plenty of opportunities to try freshly prepped bites and beverages.
I was excited to put on my wristband and head to the festival grounds to see what chefs, restaurants, and bartenders from all over Austin and beyond had to show us. Here were my biggest takeaways:
Fusion remains a big fascination for chefs.
The chefs participating in the Austin Food & Wine Festival had the chance to show off their skills in a few different activations. The Made In Texas VIP event on Friday night kicked off the fest with chefs drawing inspiration from Texan ingredients and cooking methods (while a country-rock band kept the tunes rolling), the Chef Showcases on Saturday and Sunday allowed chefs to serve one signature dish to festival attendees, and at the Fire Pit, barbecue masters set up grill racks and rotating spits so that they could cook their meats and vegetables over an open flame.
The event’s vibe felt very playful, and the chefs leaned into that sense of fun and curiosity by serving dishes influenced by their travels, their personal backgrounds, and their favorite ingredients from all over the world. At the Made in Texas event, Austin chef Amanda Turner of Olamaie served shrimp tacos on fresh corn tortillas made by the team at Nixta, but the shrimp was seasoned with lemongrass, bringing a Southeast Asian twist to a Tex-Mex staple. Bakery Lorraine, a San Antonio patisserie with a location at the Domain, merged French and Mexican flavors by serving a churro macaron at the Chef Showcase. And Houston chef Michelle Wallace of B’tween Sandwich Co. created a fusion of Texas BBQ and movie snacks with her smoked brisket popcorn, which she offered to Fire Pit attendees.
Cocktails, cocktails everywhere.
It may be called the Austin Food & Wine Festival, but spirits and cocktails are a huge presence in this event. Local brands like Carabuena Tequila, Fierce Whiskers Whiskey, and (of course) Tito’s Vodka along with global and national brands like Ketel One Vodka, Bulleit Bourbon, and Tanqueray Gin provided attendees with margaritas, ranch waters, old fashioneds, espresso martinis, and much more, and while some of the cocktails were miniaturized, others were full-sized versions. Luckily, there were plenty of buckets of Rambler and Liquid Death scattered throughout the grounds to keep folks hydrated in between these boozy beverages.
For the best possible experience, pony up for the VIP pass.
As in previous years, the 2024 Austin Food & Wine Festival gave ticket buyers the option of upgrading from standard passes to VIP passes for an additional fee. Not only did VIP ticketholders get access to the Friday night Made in Texas event, but they were also able to enter the Saturday and Sunday festival at Auditorium Shores 30 minutes early. As it turned out, that extra 30 minutes made a huge difference; VIPs could head over to the Fire Pit and sample all of those bites before the lines got long, and they could also do the same for the Chef Showcase.
While the wine, spirit, beer, and cocktail vendors were all still pouring their wares up until the Saturday and Sunday events ended at 5pm, the food vendors weren’t quite as successful at keeping their dishes in-stock for the duration. On Saturday, the 4-5pm hour saw several chef booths closing early, and on Sunday, I noticed even earlier shutdowns. Austin Food & Wine is always well-attended and lively, so the earlier you can get to your top-choice food vendors, the better off you’ll be, and the VIP pass makes that effort much easier.
This article appears in November 1 • 2024.