The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
Memphis Food & Wine Festival: 5 things to know before you go
After a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Memphis Food & Wine Festival will make its return Oct. 16.
In its fifth year, the food and wine celebration promises a return that is “bigger and better than ever.” The event will be from 6 to 10 p.m. at Radians Amphitheater at Memphis Botanic Garden.
“We’re counting down the days to this year’s Memphis Food & Wine Festival, and it looks to be a stellar lineup of chefs and vintners,” said Al Larocca, festival board chairman.
Attendees will have access to all the culinary specialties from the chefs and vintners, who will be set up at tables around the amphitheater.
Officials expect to sell all 3,000 tickets available for the event.
“We have many favorite local chefs participating, as well as renowned chefs from around the country coming to Memphis. The wines are outstanding, and the cause — Fedexfamilyhouse at Le Bonheur — is one we’re proud to continue to champion,” Larocca said. “It’s been a challenging time for the hospitality industry, and to see folks come together to support this cause and put on a great show is inspiring.”
Here are five things to know about this year’s event.
Who are the chefs?
Thirty-seven chefs will participate this year.
The featured chef is Nicholas Costagliola from Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. In 2019, Costagliola was promoted to executive chef of the upscale French restaurant.
Participating Memphis chefs include Phillip Ashley Rix from Phillip Ashley Chocolates, Robert Cox from Rendezvous, Andreas Kisler and Konrad Spitzbart from The Peabody, Ben Smith from Tsunami, Emily Laforce and Jose Gutierrez from River Oaks, Hugh Balthrop from Sweet Magnolia Gelato and
Jonathan Magallanes from Las Tortugas, among many others.
The event will also feature chefs from around the country including Don Yamauchi from 400 Rabbits in Sanibel, Florida; Jonathan Jerusalmy from Sea Island in Sea Island, Georgia; and Jose Salazar from Mita’s and Salazar restaurants in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Who are the vintners?
Attendees will also have access to 38 vineyards and winemakers from around the world.
Vintners that will be in attendance include Copper Cane Wines and Provisions from St. Helena, California; Zonin from Gambellara, Italy; XOBC Cellars from Seattle; and Byrne Vineyards from Norwood, Australia.
What musical acts will perform?
Throughout the afternoon, attendees can enjoy soulful sounds from the region.
There will be entertainment from Mississippi blues and folk guitarist and vocalist Terry “Big T” Williams, and Memphis locals The Handy Band and Ghost Town Blues Band.
Will there be COVID-19 precautions?
In a statement, the festival said: “As the Memphis Food & Wine Festival is an outdoor event, the board of MFWF is following State of Tennessee direction and not require testing nor proof of vaccination to attend.”
Because it is an outdoor event, the festival is also not subject to Shelby County’s mask mandate.
How can you attend?
There are still tickets available for purchase on Ticketmaster. Individual tickets are $200. For a seat at a reserved table, tickets are $250. A reserved table for eight costs $2,000. Attendees must be 21 and over.
Proceeds from the event will benefit Fedexfamilyhouse, a home away from home for out-of-town families with children receiving treatment at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. To date, Memphis Food & Wine Festival has donated more than $325,000 to Fedexfamilyhouse.
Astrid Kayembe covers South Memphis, Whitehaven and Westwood. She can be reached at astrid.kayembe@commercialappeal.com, (901) 304-7929 or on Twitter @astridkayembe_.
vigorated and reintroduced to mainstream audiences every so often.”
Over the course of his career, King would record some 80 albums, and de Visé notes that there’s a scope and breadth to those recordings that’s often overlooked.
“Considering he’s the greatest blues artist, it’s striking how many dozens of records he made that don’t sound anything like 12-bar blues. Some of the really great records he made with (producer) Bill Szymczyk at the close of the ‘60s or Stewart Levine in the late-‘70s, there’s tons of stuff on those records that doesn’t sound like blues. He’s branching out to funk and jazz and rock, all these genres, and at times he’s very far removed from Delta blues,” says de Visé.
“That’s a big part of why he stayed on top for so long. He kept stretching into these different areas. That’s why his story is so interesting too — he really was an innovator and a visionary.”