Strolling along a causeway and indulging on gourmet noshes might sound more appealing than inhaling a sticky piece of candy.
Grown-ups are catching on to an annual Halloween weekend event at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort. The Food & Wine Classic is back for its 7th year.
"What's so cool about it is it's all our team - our food and beverage team - that's involved and they're completely passionate about everything they're doing," said Luciano Sperduto, Assistant Director of Food & Beverage. "We don't have vendors teaching classes or anything."
This year's Classic is touted as the resort's largest event to date, featuring 50 food and wine stations, 10 food/drink seminars, and opportunities to meet award-winning chefs.
Brand new this year is a Chinatown section.
"I'll be honest with you," said Director of Food & Beverage Tony Porcellini. "A bunch of us went out to San Francisco... Man, we were just inspired by Chinatown. So we were like, How can we bring this back to us? And we're like, You know what? Street food Chinese and it's really cool!"
Those offerings include crispy duck bao and pork potstickers with skin that's "a little bit thicker." The crispy duck has cucumber, scallion, hoisin sauce and a steamed bun. The Shanghai dumplings are handmade with pork, rice wine, ginger and scallion, served with soy sauce and chili oil sauce.
Also new for 2016 is the Sunday Bubbles Brunch with J Vineyards and Winery at Il Mulino New York Trattoria, featuring a menu of traditional and unconventional dishes like various cured meats and imported cheeses, along with an array of sushi and trattoria-inspired entrees.
Favorite dishes from years past aren't going away. Those include the shrimp cocktail steamroller, Thai chicken salad with organic greens, green papaya tamarind and ginger dressing as well as the dragon sushi roll with crispy shrimp, tuna and avocado.
Here's the ticket info:
- Advance purchase tickets - unlimited food and beverage samples are $105 per person; beer garden upgrade is $130 per person, including taxes
- Interactive seminars start at $50 per person, including taxes
- Sunday Bubbles Brunch with J Vineyards and Winery is $75 per person
When: Friday, October 28 and Saturday, October 29, 2016; 5:30–9 p.m. (for seminar schedule, check www.SwanDolphinFoodandWineClassic.com)
Where: Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort Causeway, 1500 Epcot Resorts Blvd., Lake Buena Vista