Epcot's
2004 International
Food & Wine Festival

Party for the Senses

PARTY FOR THE SENSES

November 6, 2004

Chefs and Menus | Desserts | Wines | Review

CHEFS AND MENUS

 

Tim Creehan, Beach Walk Café, Destin, Florida
--Chinese Five Spice Pork wrapped in Pancakes with Green Onions and Plum Dipping Sauce

Anthony Gregorek, Jiko-The Cooking Place, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
-- Moroccan Chermoula Marinated and Pulled Air Chicken with Natural Sauce and Hearty Red Colusari Rice

Eugene Ralph - Disney's Wilderness Lodge
--Roasted Eggplant and Mushroom Dumplings with a Jacamar Salad and Micro Greens

Michael Senich, Disney-MGM Studios
--Grilled Tandoori-Style Shrimp with Small Greens tossed in a Cilantro-Yogurt Vinaigrette

Michael Ginor, Hudson Valley Fois Gras, Ferndale, New York
--Truffled Flan of Hudson Valley Fois Gras, Fig Glaze

Vincent Panisset, Boma, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
--SESWAA: African Ox Tail and Short Ribs Stew

Christopher Gross, Christopher's Fermier Brasserie and Paola's Wine Bar, Phoenix Arizona
--Roasted Veal Rack with Five Spice and Herbs

JoAnne Theodore and Ventura Gonzalez, Greek Island Spice, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
--Vietnamese Fresh Shrimp Roll (Goi Cuon) with Mango Jicama Slaw and Passion Fruit Dipping Sauce

David Bruno, Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York
--Seared Scallop and Smoked Salmon "Sandwich" with a Fennel-Grape Fruit Salad

Ken Hittman, Epcot Events Chef
--International Cheese Selection

Mike Young and Thomas Edel, Disney's All Star Resort
--Roasted Rack of Lamb with Rioja Sauce and Horseradish Rutabaga

Thomas Griffiths, Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York
--Poached Halibut with Carrot Sauce

Jason Thayer, Rose & Crown Pub and Dining Room, Epcot
--Curry Shrimp Marsala with a Herbed Couscous Cake

Chris Yao, Straits Restaurant, San Francisco California
--Southeast Asian Chicken Satay with a Spicy Peanut Sauce

Dylan Schauwekcer and Allison Emery, Garden Grill, Epcot
--New England Style Pork Tenderloin with Gravenstine Apple and Horseradish Sauce with Sweet Potato and Cranberry Hash

Robert Gilbert and Jarrod Pearman, Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort
--Prosciutto Wrapped Lobster Tail with a Guava Passion Fruit Glaze Paired with Cantaloupe and Ginseng Slaw

Andrew Ormsby, Tucker Restaurant, Dallas, Texas
--Tandoori Lamb Loin with Biryani Lentils, Paris Mushrooms and Yoghurt

Brooke Vosika, Four Seasons New York, New York City
--Catskill Smoked Salmon with Potato Crepe, American Caviar and Chives

Douglas James, Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom
--Loin of Venison with Roasted Sweet Potato Dumplings and Bitter Chocolate Jus

Devilish Deserts

Ewald Notter, Notter's School of Confectionary Arts, Orlando, Florida
--Symphony of Chocolate Passion

Stanton Ho, Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada
--Plaisir de Petits Fours: Dry Petits Fours, Fresh Pestige Petits Fours, Macaroons, Mini-Fresh Tartlets, Savarins and Classics

Keegan Gerhard, Wynn Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
--Chocolate Lava Cake with Malted Milk Chocolate Ice Cream; Almond Financier, Oven Roasted Apples, Caramel Cider Ice Cream

Laurent Branlard, Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin
--Vanilla Caramelized Pineapple Coconut Fondant with Passion Fruit Jelly and Vanilla Curd

Jeff Lehuede, Ritz Carlton Laguna Beach, California
--Chocolate Banana Samosas, Coconut Yogurt Sorbet, Pandan Vanilla Sauce

WINERIES/BEVERAGES

Echelon Vineyards	Edna Valley Vineyards
Montevina Winery	Stonestreet Alexander Mountain Estate
Frias Family Vineyard	Honig Vineyard & Winery
Peachy Canyon	Winery Rosemount Estate
Jade Mountain Vineyards	Valckenberg
Dr. Loosen - Villa Wolf	Georges DuBoeuf
Remy Martin	the Little Penguin
Lindemans	Rudi Wiest Selections
Three Rivers	Champagne Pommery
Pierre Sparr	Trinchero Winery
Rancho Zabaco Winery	Penfolds
Samuel Adams	Inbev

 

REVIEW

PARTY FOR THE SENSES
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2004
by Becky Ashley

My husband and I attended our first Party for the Senses as part of our four-day 20th anniversary trip to Disney for the Food and Wine Festival. From reading Dotti's and Debra's reports, it appears that the menu changes significantly for each event. So I guess if one were so inclined they could attend each week and have a completely different experience. As first timers, I was glad that I had the opportunity to read Dotti and Debra's reports before attending. Knowing what to expect as far as the set-up and the flow of the evening was very helpful.

We arrived around 6:00 p.m. skipping the Eddie Money concert at the American Pavilion. We passed by the America Gardens Theare the night before while he was performing, and decided that that was as much Eddie Money as we needed to see. After checking in and receiving our plates and wine glasses, we assembled in the pre-dining area to wait for our 6:30 entrance to the main dining area.

At 6:30, we entered and made our way over to a table to the left of the room. After reading the above reports, I purposely stayed away from the band platform. As the evening went on, we realized we would have been better off to move further into the room to be able to see the Cirque du Soleil performances and be more centrally located to the various food booths. Some people did float from table to table if all of the seats weren't taken, but we decided that once we were settled we would maintain our home base.

The initial rush to the food booths was a little overwhelming, but within a half-hour or so, the feeding frenzy calmed down and it was easy to move from booth to booth sampling at one's leisure. We tried many of the offerings, but while writing this report, I realized there were a lot of items that we missed! It is quite dark in the room and the menu is done on colored paper and is quite difficult to read in some places. Of course, it may have helped if I had brought my reading glasses!

We especially liked the following: Prosciutto Wrapped Lobster Tail -- my husband thought it was too salty; the New England Style Pork Tenderloin -- I'm a sucker for anything that has pork and apples; Catskill Smoked Salmon with Potato Crepe, from which I scraped off the caviar -- sorry I just don't like it no matter how good it's supposed to be; Moroccan Chermoula Marinated and Pulled Air Chicken; Grilled Tandoori-Style Shrimp -- my husband went back several times for this: Loin of Venison with Roasted Sweet Potato Dumplings and Bitter Chocolate Jus -- we both really liked the Venison, but my husband didn't care for the chocolate.

My only complaints about the food selection were the complete absence of any beef offerings and the very limited selection of fish items. I guess beef and fish just aren't the hip things to eat right now.

As for the beverages, I'm a white wine kinda girl -- too much red triggers my migraines. My favorites from the evening were the Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc from the Honig Vineyard and Winery, the Pinot Grigio from Montevina Winery, and the Syrah Rose (which is just a little bit red) from the Peachy Canyon Winery. Two other treats were the Samuel Adams Utopia, which is a 25% alcohol (that's right - 50 proof) beer from Sam Adams that is very, very tasty and warming! I also tried the Remy Martin VSOP, which was a perfect evening ender to go along with my coffee and desserts. I regret that I never managed to make it over to the champagne booth.

Oh yes, did I mention there were desserts? I believe I managed to sample most of the desserts -- I kept getting lured back to the booth with the vast array of truffles that were absolutely delicious.

Overall, it was a very good experience. I remember thinking when we first arrived that I would have no trouble sampling everything, but even though the individual servings are for the most part quite small, I think it would be very difficult to try everything without some type of Monty Python-esque event. Would we go again -- most definitely!

Post script: We were somewhat worried about the wine glasses making it home in our luggage, but we wrapped them in socks in their individual plastic bags, and they are now sitting in the kitchen waiting to be filled!