Now in its 16th year, and its second at the Home Depot Backyard, the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival runs September 10-13. Six hosts will guide six events across four days, four of them stepping into the role for the first time.
Author and AJC dining editor Monti Carlo opens the festival Thursday with The Atlanta Standard. “When they [a21] invited me to host The Atlanta Standard, I said yes so quickly I may have answered before they finished asking,” she says.
She’s bringing 800 samples of her Malta Chocolate Cake, from her debut cookbook Spanglish: Recipes and Stories, and admits she’s now second-guessing that number. Her enthusiasm for the night itself hasn’t wavered, though. She calls it a chance to interact “with those who are changing the way we think about Atlanta’s food.” To her, a21 made sure the night reflects the city as it actually is: “a21 made a genuine effort to include the many communities moving Atlanta’s food culture forward.” She describes the whole event as a well-fed block party, “one that belongs to the city.”
Friday belongs to celebrity chef and author Andrew Zimmern, hosting Flavors of Atlanta, the festival’s tasting tents built around restaurateurs who bring guests into their hometowns and, often, other countries and continents through their food. Zimmern has spent his career as a vocal advocate for diverse cuisines, and Friday’s lineup covers dishes from the Americas, African nations, and across Asia.
Saturday shifts back to the flavors of the Deep South, split across two events alongside the Goya-sponsored tasting tents. Chef Shawn Osbey hosts, and says what he’s most looking forward to isn’t the cooking, it’s getting away from his own station to taste his way through the other tents. Ford Fry hosts Stacked, the festival’s burger-focused event on the same day. Here chefs compete for festival goers top votes to win $1000, and Mike’s Amazing People’s Choice Award. Fry says, “Smashed or thick patty…can’t wait to see who rises to the top!”
Whiskey & Fire, a partnership between Heritage Fire and Whiskies of the World now in its second year, runs offsite that evening at Guardian Works, and stays open an extra hour after festivities wrap up at The Home Depot Backyard.
Sunday closes the festival with two events. Kardea Brown hosts The Homecoming, celebrating the best of Southern cuisine. Kelli Potter hosts Southern Fried: A Fried Chicken Affair alongside it. Chef Hsu of Lazy Betty is leading a cooking demo that day on the Publix Culinary Demonstration Stage, where he says the format lets him connect with festival-goers more closely than his own restaurant allows.
For anyone attending for the first time, Monica Sunny of The Chai Box Cafe offers a useful read on what the festival can mean beyond the big-name hosts. This is her first year at AFWF too, and she’s using it to put her own corner of Atlanta’s food scene in front of a new crowd: she’s “happy to include chai in Atlanta’s dining conversation.”
That’s arguably the real value of a first AFWF visit, not just tasting what’s already famous, but finding the smaller tents doing something specific that hasn’t crossed your radar yet.
The chef count appears down from the 200-plus of past years to just over 150, though organizers note new names are still being added. For a first-timer, that’s unlikely to change the experience much: with four distinct nights and a lineup this wide, curiosity and an empty stomach will get you further than trying to hit every tent.
Two 45-minute demonstrations run each night on the Publix Culinary Demonstration Stage, one from that night’s host, one from a participating restaurant’s chef, giving early arrivals a way to plan their evening.
Tickets are on sale now at atlfoodandwinefestival.com, with prices starting at $89 depending on the night and event. Six chances to taste a different piece of the city, four days to catch them all.
Know Before You Go
Festival hours vary by day. September 10-11, 7:30 to 10.30 p.m.; September 12, 1 to 9.30 p.m.; and September 13, 1 to 7.30 p.m., with an extra hour each day for early VIP access.
Limited on-site parking. Ride share or MARTA (Vine City Station) is recommended.
Tickets must be purchased for each day, however multi-day and multi-event passes are available. Daily ticket covers all the events and demonstrations for the day. The Whiskey & Fire Event requires a separate ticket, is off site accessible by a 10-min car ride. Note closing times for each event.
Standard concert venue bag policy. Check atlfoodandwinefestival.com/faq for more.
