Here are some quick tips for fun food events around Orlando this week, including EPCOT Eats, cooking class, wine dinner and more.
If you’ve got loquats growing in your yard, you can trade ten pounds for a locally-produced bottle of mead – the alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey. Zymarium Meadery is Orlando’s only mead maker and the Artisan Profile in the current issue of Edible Orlando. Zymarium loves using fresh fruit to flavor their meads and wants your neighborhood “Japanese plums.” Contact them to donate and get a free bottle when the mead is ready.
Central Florida artisans, chefs and entrepreneurs are working hard each week to fill the local food scene with fun food events. Edible Orlando writer John Graham sorts through it all and picks the five best bets around Orlando for the week. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss, Saturday to Friday.
Whiskey Weekend, EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival
This is a big week for bourbon around Orlando, with one event in St. Cloud on Saturday and another on Sunday in Lake Nona. The Whiskey in the Cloud Craft Spirit Festival is along St. Cloud’s New York Ave., 5 – 9 p.m., with around 40 labels for sampling. Live music will play all night. General admission is $45 plus tax and fees. VIP is $150 with extras including early access and gift bag.
On Sunday, the Lake Nona Wave Hotel is doing a “Bourbon and Bluegrass” take on its Sculpture Garden Party Series, 3 – 6 p.m. Each $76.54 admission gets you two bourbon cocktails (Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Maker’s Mark), lawn games, a swag bag, and chef-prepared noshes including bacon-wrapped salmon bites, barbecue short ribs, artisan cheeses, and chocolates.
The EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival is on through July 5th, and while lots of folks go for the topiaries and colorful flowers, we’re gonna talk about the food. Around two dozen outdoor kitchens and food locations will be serving up sample-size menus you can’t get the rest of the year. Just a few of the new choices for 2023 include grilled swordfish with crushed fingerling potatoes, “pollinator” flatbread (prosciutto, blueberry gastrique, honey-whipped mascarpone, bee pollen – pictured), shrimp scampi poutine, and a banana split funnel cake. On Saturday, the Garden Rocks concert series features former Journey singer Steve Augeri. Sunday, it’s the band Daughtry. The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival is included with valid theme park admission and a park reservation for the same date.
Cooking with EO Editors, Wine Dinner 
On Thursday night, 6 – 8 p.m., Edible Orlando’s Managing Editor Pam Brandon (on the right) and Editor Katie Farmand (on the left) will host the monthly “how to” night at Edible Education Experience. Our mother-daughter team will teach you to make a vegetarian three-course meal with five-ingredient recipes. We’d tell you more, but Katie and Pam are waiting to see what’s fresh in the garden before locking in their recipes for the night. They promise that after the class, you’ll be able to get the table set and meal ready in an hour. They’ll also cover the best staples to keep in your cupboard so you’re always ready. Tickets are $70 per person and you must be at least 18.
Stags’ Leap Winery is teaming up with Vines Grille & Wine Bar on Thursday night for a five-course dinner with wine pairings. Starting at 6:30 p.m., the meal is designed by Executive Chef Justice Placeres and his staff. Courses include poached lobster with Chardonnay, duck trio with merlot, and herb-crusted lamb shop with Cabernet. Tickets are $135 per person which includes tax and tip.
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