#CorksandCoasters at Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival 2016

Through an opportunity with Tampa Bay Bloggers and Busch Gardens , I was given 2 tickets to the VIP Media event for a sneak peak at the event. All opinions are my own.

Feast your eyes on this….

Buffalo Chicken & Blue Mac & Cheese

Rekorderlig Strawberry-Lime Cider

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Pale Ale

Pan-Seared Creole Shrimp and Duck Fat Truffle-infused Fries

De Loach Vineyards Pinot Noir

Murphy-Goode Homefront Red

Pan-Fried Bread Pudding

Lamb Chop

Graham Beck, The Game Reserve Chardonnay

This was just a small sampling of what will be at at the 2016 Food & Wine Festival at Busch Gardens. It was all delicious! I love to try new foods and I also love to learn food and wine pairings. Add in the beautiful surroundings and new topiaries and the fabulous weather this time of year and it is sure to be a wonderful 8 weeks for this event.

There will be 11 food cabins, 65+ fine wines, and 50+ craft brews. Each food cabin has wine and drink pairings. The food cabins are:

Savory Tavern – tempt taste buds with the rich flavors of Savory Tavern, including coconut shrimp cigars, espresso flan, and a goat cheese polenta cake topped with olives and tomatoes.
Southern Station – tantalizes taste buds with all-new bison sliders, pan-fried cod over fennel risotto, roasted pork belly with red pepper jam, and venison chili with roasted corn, black beans and lime sour cream.
Light Fair Canteen – freshen up your palate at the Light Fare Canteen with returning favorites like scallop ceviche, a potato and goat cheese tart, and a perfect cheese plate to accompany a glass of wine.
Gourmet Lodge – explore the exotic flavors of Gourmet Lodge, featuring smoked beef brisket, pickled shrimp over couscous salad and a guest-favorite griddled cheese cake sandwich.
Comfort Kitchen – the Comfort Kitchen fuses classics like the famous bacon mac & cheese with contemporary elegant eats like lobster ravioli over tomato basil sauce.
Blazin’ Bistro – breaks out the grill for island-inspired cuisine, featuring jerk chicken sliders, roasted cauliflower hummus and a refreshing vanilla Maduro ice cream float with caramel.
Artisan Eats – treat yourself to sophisticated flavors crafted to treat your appetite, including truffle fries, shrimp & grits and pan-fried bread pudding with nutella-mascarpone drizzle.
Field House Eatery – the Festival’s biggest location, offering pan-seared diver scallops and lamb chops with tabouleh and tzatziki sauce.
Coast to Coast Cookery – tastes of the land and sea come together at Coast to Coast Cookery, featuring green peppercorn-seared hangar steak, bacon-wrapped prawns and chilled smoked chicken with apples, sundried cranberries and walnut quinoa.
Garden Gate Cafe – Garden Gate Café joins the Festival this year with pheasant sausage flatbread topped with filet de pomodoro and tuna poke.

On top of the food and wine, there are concerts every festival day. Concerts start at 6pm each. You can also add priority seating for your favorite concert. The line up is…

While you are enjoying the food and wine, be sure to take in the larger-than-life topiaries. There are 11 masterpieces that capture the excitement of spring.

There will be Wine & Bourbon Bars to purchase collectable and sample even more wine varieties. And you can purchase a bottle of favorite wine home.

The Food & Wine Festival is open Saturdays & Sundays, March 5 through April 24. Sampler and VIP packages can be purchased to add even more flavor to your visit.

Food Sampler – choose any 5 samples of food for $24.99
Wine & Brew Sampler – choose any 10 samples of beer or wine for $36.99
Food, Wine & Brew Sampler – choose any 5 samples of beer or wine and any 5 samples of food for $44.99

We had so much fun at the VIP event and cannot wait to go back for more. There was so much to see and do AND we even got to feed kangaroos!