Atlanta Food & Wine Festival 2014 Sneak Peek
Get ready for some tasty BBQ, grits and po' boys! The fourth annual Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, one of the largest celebrations of Southern cuisine, will be taking place at a temporary park on Peachtree Walk from May 29th-June 1st, celebrating the best of the best of Southern cuisine, from tasting trails featuring BBQ, beer and more; to chef meet and greets and private dinners. The list of participating chefs ranges from Mark Abernathy of Red Door in Arkansas, to Norman Van Aken of Norman's in Miami; and from Asha Gomez of Cardamom Hill in Atlanta, to Scott Crawford (formerly) of the Umstead in Raleigh, who is opening new restaurants soon.
See The Daily Meal's coverage and photos of the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival from last year
You definitely won't get bored at Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. Each day there will be more than 130 exhibit tables, and particpants can choose to follow a "tasting trail" that samples the best of a certain type of cuisine, including barbecue, breakfast, seafood, snacks and more. The tasting tent will also be exhibiting "adopted" Southern talent, and highlighting the best Southern cuisine from other countries.
"My favorite part of this festival is seeing the South come together in Atlanta," said festival co-founder Feichter, who created the festival in 2010 with partner Dominique Love after seeing a serious need for a Southern cuisine celebration. "I love watching these southern chefs interact with one another, it's great to see southern cuisine coming together, and Atlanta is the gateway for that."
For those looking to splurge a little bit, the VIP ticket packages offer a chance to sit in a custom-made chef's kitchen and enjoy some of the culinary talent cooking right in front of you. But either way, there's plenty to chow down on at the festival and Feichter suggests trying as many different dishes as you can.
Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @JoannaFantozzi