I have had the distinct honor of co-coordinating the Food and Wine Festival for the past two years. In other words, I have consumed a lot of Food and Wine food! In my personal opinion, it kind of makes me an expert on the subject. Therefore, I have compiled a list of my top 10 must-haves for anyone coming to the festival. It was very difficult to narrow the list down to ten, because all of the food is amazing. I do suggest that you try everything, but these favorites are a great place to start. Bon Appetit.
1.Steak Au Poivre in France - The sirloin is crusted in a peppercorn rub, cooked to medium for a nice pink coloring in the center, and then served with a brandy cream sauce. It just melts in your mouth.
2.Schnitzelwich in Germany - This item was our number two seller last year and there is no question as to why. The thinly sliced pork is lightly breaded and deep fried, placed on a buttered roll, and topped with a caper sauce and a sliver of lemon. Tip: don’t take the lemon off – eat the whole thing together. I promise it is amazing.
3.Sonoran Spiced Pork at American Southwest - If you like your food with a little kick, you will love this item. The spiced pork tenderloin is served on a bed of jicama-chayote slaw and then topped with a sweet pepper salsa. Guaranteed to make your taste buds tingle.
4.Gamba Fritters at the Caribbean - These little things are addictive. Chopped shrimp are mixed with hush puppy batter and deep fried to a crisp golden brown. We top them with sliced scallions and serve it with pickapeppa dip. This dip is well known in the Caribbean region and gives these fritters an extra jolt of flavor.
5.Venison Sausage with Corn Porridge in Canada - I have heard guests in the past say that they don’t like venison because the flavor it too gamey. Not the case here. The taste profiles come together so nicely in this dish; it is an explosion of flavor that will leave you wanting another. The sausage is topped off with apple cider and caramelized onions and paired with a side of creamy polenta.
6.Fish Taco at American Southwest - I am in love with fish tacos and I could eat this one every day. We give the Tilapia a little kick with chilé spice, bake it and then stuff it in a taco with pico de gallo, red cabbage slaw and cilantro lime sauce.
7.Köttbullar in Scandinavia - We have all had meatballs before, but these bring meatballs to a whole new level. The Swedish version has a different flavor than the traditional American meatball and we take that a step further by serving them in a cream sauce and topping them with a cold Lingonberry (similar to a cranberry) jam.
8.Tapas Platter in Spain - We have taken traditional Spanish favorites and presented them like you would find them in Spain: tapas style. Manchego cheese is a mild cheese, but you must eat it with the quince paste (the orange jelly); it makes it taste completely different. The marinated olives are great (I am a huge olive fan) and the Marcona almonds are out of this world.
9.Heart of Palm Salad at the Caribbean - The Caribbean is also making the list twice because of this light and refreshing salad. Shrimp are tossed with black beans, corn, red peppers, onions, palm hearts, and homemade cilantro lime vinaigrette and then served on a bed of fresh, baby spinach. Yum.
10.Scottish Egg in Scotland - This item made the Top Ten because it is so unique (well, and delicious). A hard-boiled egg is wrapped in breakfast sausage, deep fried to golden crispy and then served with a sweet and spicy mustard sauce.
Are you full yet? But wait, there’s more. You might have noticed there aren’t any desserts on this list. There is only one reason for that; all of them are just too darn delicious. Our bakery team has created so many tantalizing treats, I couldn’t narrow it down to 10 because I was leaving another favorite out. The complete list of desserts is as follows and I highly recommend trying each and every one of them.
Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival Desserts
- Scottish Toffee in Scotland – Fudge-like toffee with almonds and chocolate
- Krumkake at Scandinavia - Norwegian waffle cone cookie served with hazelnut cream and tart berry pudding
- Chocolat de Noisette et de Banane Crêpe at Crepes and Coffee - Crepe stuffed with hazelnut-chocolate spread and bananas
- Brie et Marmelade d’Orange Crêpe at Crepes and Coffee - Brie cheese and orange marmalade crepe with whipped cream
- Huis van Lum Chocolate Wafel at Belgium – House of Lum’s rich chocolate walnut brownie waffle with berry compote
- Tartelette au Citron in France– Lemon tartlet with raspberries
- Pumpkin Caramel Mousse Canada– Spiced pumpkin mousse with caramel topped with maple Syrup
- Chocolate Lava Cake at the American Southwest – Fudge brownie cake with spicy molten ancho chile chocolate filling
- Tres Leche con Mermelada de Pina at the Caribbean– Sweet cream cake with pineapple citrus marmalade
- Linzer Torte in Germany - Traditional pastry of spiced cookie crust with ground nuts, lemon zest and raspberry filling
- Tiramisu in Italy - Italian parfait with sweetened mascarpone cheese layered with espresso soaked lady fingers
- Panna Cottain Italy - Vanilla cream pudding served with strawberries
- Cannoliin Italy - Crispy pastry shell filled with sweetened ricotta cheese and chocolate chips
- Hazelnut Custard at Spain - Spanish flan custard with ground hazelnuts
- Baklava at Greece - Sweet pastry with nuts and honey between thin crispy filo pastry layers
I hope you enjoy my top 10 as much as I do. If not, we still offer 30 other items for you to choose from. I sincerely hope you come try it all, but please, come more than once. It is just too much to handle in one day…trust me, we had to test all of it. It’s a rough job, but someone has to do it.
-Mary, Culinary Manager