Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival supplies the treats
Disney California Adventure guests are in for a treat. Over 50 treats, in fact. The park is hosting its annual Food & Wine Festival through April 26, with a dozen Festival Marketplaces throughout the park serving sips and snacks that celebrate California flavor.
Kiosks like Garlic Kissed and Avocado Time are offering small plates, cocktails and beverages inspired by California-grown ingredients like avocados, citrus and peppers.
Creative dishes like frozen guacamole, an avocado paleta with lime crema, pico de gallo and chile-lime seasoning, and peanut butter and jelly macaroni and cheese with brown sugar streusel and strawberry crackle are on the menu along with more conventional fare.
Disney California Adventure’s culinary director, Chef Jeremiah Balogh, said if you are an adventurous eater or not, you can expect good food. “Sometimes we go off-kilter, but we also have some amazing treats that you are very familiar with,” said Balogh, “like avocado toast, strawberry shortcake … but the flavors and the details that we put in all of them are just amazing.”
Guests over 21 can indulge in wine and mimosa flights. Craft beers by the glass are served at Paradise Beer Garden, located near Paradise Garden Grill. Sonoma Terrace will feature a cocktail lounge atmosphere with mixed drinks and bar snacks.
Other highlights include nonalcoholic drinks like strawberry horchata, and Balogh said guests can expect more vegetarian options this year too.
“I love the fact that we are able to play with more plant-based food offerings,” said Balogh. “We have an Impossible gyro, Greek-inspired, and it is 100% plant based.”
A petite avocado Impossible burger with dairy-free pepper jack, and a gyro-inspired flatbread featuring Impossible ground beef, chipotle hummus, tzatziki and spiced crispy chickpeas are also available.
Guests hungry for more than one dish can pick up a Sip and Savor Pass, which has eight tabs redeemable for select food and nonalcoholic beverages at Festival Marketplaces and tasting-size portions at some dining locations.
Besides the food, the festival brings appetizing entertainment in the form of culinary demonstrations from Disney chefs preparing their favorite dishes and sharing cooking tips.
Presenters include members of Disney’s culinary team, like Executive Chef Chris Maggetti and Pastry Sous Chef Gracie Gomez.
“We have some internal chefs, some of our Disney chefs,” said Balogh, “and what is exciting about that is it gives you the opportunity to see us that may not always be on the front stage if you will — we are usually in the kitchens. So we are excited to be a part of that.”
The event will also spotlight local chefs like Shachi Mehra, who has an Indian restaurant, Adya, at the Anaheim Packing House. Mehra will be on the Hollywood Backlot Stage in Hollywood Land on April 9, preparing a jackfruit salad with spiced shrimp.
“I am really excited to be able to highlight Indian flavors at Disney,” said Mehra.
Mehra is no stranger to giving chef demos and leading cooking classes, which she often hosts at her restaurant and did virtually throughout the pandemic. She said she is looking forward to sharing her cuisine with the wide audience Disney parks can attract.
“Whenever I do a demo or a class, I want people be curious about it and interested in it enough to go out and try it, ” said Mehra. “Whether that means they are going to go out and buy the ingredients to make the dish or they are going go try Indian food because it sounds really good, to be a part of that is really cool for me. And to have the opportunity to that for a Disney audience … that’s people from all over the world.”
Mehra said when Disney first approached her to participate, it sounded like a fun experience but also like an opportunity for representation.
“The more I thought about it, I thought this is really important,” Mehra said. “It is really important that I am representing Indian culture, I am representing females, I am representing chefs in Orange County … I am doing a lot of things up there.”
Separately ticketed culinary experiences are also available for guests interested in expanding their palates, like wine, beer and mixology education and tasting seminars at Sonoma Terrace, taught by expert sommeliers, brew masters and mixologists or the Carthay Circle winemaker receptions, with winemakers serving a rare selection of wines with hors d’oeuvres.
As the cherry on top of the California treats, the Soarin’ Over California attraction is returning to Disney California Adventure for the occasion for a limited time and features new aerial adventures that highlight the Golden State.
A full list of food available at Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival can be found on the Disney Parks website.
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