Star chefs back at BottleRock
There’s air of familiarity around the food and drink lineup of the 2020 BottleRock Napa Valley music festival as Thomas Keller and Masaharu Morimoto return as the event’s culinary headliners.
But the familiarity isn’t a bad thing considering it means the festival again has chefs with Michelin stars and some of the best wine, beer and spirits in California.
Keller and Morimoto are part of a starstudded list of chefs and television personalities in the newly announced culinary lineup for this year’s festival taking place Memorial Day weekend, May 2426.
Keller is best known for his threestarred Michelin restaurant French Laundry in Yountville. At BottleRock, he will again host booths for Ad Hoc, Bouchon Bakery and La Calenda, his new Oaxacan restaurant in Yountville that has been praised since opening last year.
Morimoto will most likely serve his wildly popular menchi katsu burger, among other fanfavored bites.
The Estate Events by Meadowood is again part of the culinary lineup. In past years, the Estate Events by Meadowood culinary team catered the areas designated for the Platinum VIP ticket holders.
Overall, the BottleRock dining list is hyperlocal with Napa’s Forge Pizza serving pies and Napa mainstays Boon Fly Cafe and Mustards Grill also in the mix.
Since BottleRock takes place in a region with more than 600 wineries, there is some notable Wine Country representation among the offerings as well. Jam Cellars, Amuse Bouche and Napa Cellars are just a few of the brands with local roots.
BottleRock, however, seems to be taking a different approach with the craft beer list, opting this year to provide Blue Moon Brewing Co., Coors Light, Pacifico and Hop Valley Brewing. Lagunitas Brewing Co. out of Petaluma did at least make the cut.
As for the hard stuff, the festival plans to have a bar with two options: Bulleit bourbon and Monkey Shoulder Scotch, which made its festival debut with the help of “Game of Thrones” actor and DJ Kristian Nairn and rapper Too Short.
All of the BottleRock cocktails will contain Ketel One vodka, Hendrick’s gin, Aperol, Captain Morgan rum or Bailey’s.
The lineup for the WilliamsSonoma Culinary Stage, where celebrity chefs are often paired with BottleRock musicians, has not yet been announced, but Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band and Stevie Nicks are set to headline the main music stage for the eighth annual festival.
Tickets for BottleRock, which range from $349 general admission threeday passes to threeday Platinum passes with private viewing areas and artist meetandgreets for $4,350, have all sold out, but those interested in still making it to the festival are encouraged to check out what’s available through Lyte, BottleRock’s official ticket exchange platform.
For a full list of vendors, go to datebook.sfchronicle.com.