9 things to check out at Food & Wine Experience
The Journal Sentinel Food & Wine Experience, a chance to sample and learn more about fare from some of Milwaukee’s finest food and spirits purveyors, is on the menu this weekend at the Wisconsin Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission at the door is $60 per day, with an entry to Critic’s Choice an additional $35. (Advance tickets are available at foodandwine.jsonline.com.)
What’s on the menu? Here are nine things to check out. Top-shelf dining: A perennial favorite, the Critic’s Choice area showcases 20 restaurants on dining critic Carol Deptolla’s Top 30 lists past and present. It runs from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. Famous
faces: This year’s event has three celebrity chefs doing cooking demonstrations.
» Duff Goldman, a.k.a. Ace of Cakes, has a demonstration at 11:45 a.m. Saturday and a meet ’n’ greet/book signing at 2 p.m. Saturday. The book-signing is a separate $60 ticket, and includes Goldman’s second cookbook, “Duff Bakes.”
» Shaun O’Neale, who won TV’s “MasterChef” competition last year, shows how he does it at 2 p.m. Saturday, with a meet ’n’ greet/book signing at 3 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday; books will be for sale at the signings.
» Sarah Carey, food and entertainment editor for Martha Stewart Living, will do a demonstration at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
Local flavors: In addition to chefs dishing in the Critic’s Choice area, local chefs will do their stuff at the Chef’s Demonstration Stage both days. And Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Hands-On Cooking Stage is just that — a chance to learn from MATC-trained culinary artists. (This year’s “lessons” are on making tarts, street tacos and cupcakes.) Wine is its middle name: They don’t call it Food & Wine Experience for nothing. A barrel of wineries are represented this year, including Wisconsin’s Parallel 44 Vineyard and Winery, Door Peninsula Winery, von Stiehl Winery, Spirits of Norway Vineyard, Captain’s Walk Winery, Vines to Cellar Winery, Forgotten Fire Winery and French Bebe Beverage Co. Also, Total Wine & More is sponsoring Wines of the Old World, a separate sampling area. Cocktail hours: A number of spirits makers will be on hand, including Soul Boxer Cocktail Co., 45th Parallel Distillery, Cider Boys Cider Co., Rabbit Hole Distilling and Great Lakes Distillery. They’ll also be mixing it up during several stations at the Libations Stage, with help from the cocktail masters from Bittercube, and at the Unwine’d Bar. Tapped in: Craft beer has a big presence at the Food & Wine Experience, with two separate spaces: A Taste of Great Brewers and the Stella Artois Belgian Beer Garden. Wisconsin brewers on hand include Capital Brewery, Water Street Brewery, City Lights Brewing, Milwaukee Brewing, Stevens Point Brewery and Brenner Brewing. Cheese doesn’t stand alone: This year’s event has not one but two cheese islands. The destinations, both called Cheddarheads Cheese Co., are sponsored by Pick N’ Save. Another island to swim to: Buddha Lounge, the pan-Asian spot, is hosting a Sushi Island smack in the middle of the hall. Sweet tooths need apply: If you’re hungry for dessert — or are one of those people who know it’s the most important part of any meal — you’ll have plenty of options. Among the vendors on hand are sweets-makers including Carrie’s Crispies, Insomnia Cookies, Mr. Dye’s Pies and Indulgence Chocolatiers.