Here are some quick tips for fun food events in Orlando this week including wine and jazz, Florida strawberries, and cupcake decorating.
Have you noticed Florida strawberries are really hitting the supermarkets right now? Coincidentally, the peak of the season hits right around Valentine’s Day – whether you’re grabbing a quart in the produce section or hitting one of the u-pick farms around Central Florida. If you want an easy recipe for home, here’s one for balsamic strawberries with crème fraiche from the Edible Orlando files.
Got plans? Edible Orlando is here to help you find the fun food events around Central Florida. Writer John Graham tracks down all the options and brings you the best stuff in the next couple weeks.
Saturday, Jan. 20 
More than 30 local breweries will be in Loch Haven Park, 1 – 4 p.m., for Orlando Science Center’s Science on Tap. OSC will also be bringing interactive science demos into the park as well as live music, lawn games, and food trucks. Your $60 ticket gets you admission and beer sampling. OSC members and the museum’s Young Professionals get in for $50. Designated drivers pay $30. VIP tickets include early noon admission and two 12-ounce beers in addition to the samples.
More than 300 works from local artists, alcoholic beverages, and free pancakes? That’s the return of the Pancakes & Booze Art Show at The Abbey, 7 p.m. – midnight. General admission is $15 or $20 if you wait until the show. Around 75 local artists will have work for sale as well as live DJs, music producers, and live body painting. Everyone loves free pancakes, but this is a 21+ event.
Friday, Jan. 26
Tickets are going fast for Winter Park Wine & Jazz at the Winter Park Events Center, 6 – 10 p.m. The night includes food and beer/wine/cocktail stations, music from both Dana and Sharon with Johnny Mag Sax as well as saxophonist Kevin Allen Scott. Tickets start at $77.10 and move up for various VIP packages that include early entry, exclusive areas, and open premium bar.
About a dozen local restaurants are joining up for the Downtown St. Cloud Food & Art Festival, 5 -9 p.m., in Historic Downtown St. Cloud. Of course, there will be local artists and live music too. Admission is free, but $33.85 gets you ten tickets for the restaurant samples. A limited number of tickets will be on sale the night of the event.
Saturday, Jan. 27
As part of the 2024 ZORA! Festival, dedicated to Eatonville author Zora Neale Hurston, check out “An Evening Inspired by Zora Neale Hurston” at First United Methodist Church of Orlando, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. The organic dinner menu will be inspired by Hurston’s folklore research and cooked from scratch by Chef Crystal Clarke. Attendees are encouraged to dress in the style of Harlem’s Renaissance era. Tickets are $215.26 per person. Hurry – sales end Jan. 22.
The International Vegan Food Festival is back at Wall St. Plaza in Downtown Orlando, 3 – 8 p.m. From pizza and tostones to fried “chicken” and “cheesecake,” admission is free, but of course, you buy what you eat. A $35 VIP ticket gets you in at 1 p.m. with access to tables and chairs at a lounge inside Money Bar as well as a discounted first bar drink.
Monday, Jan. 29
Remember us telling you about the Florida strawberries? Jaleo, Chef José Andrés’ restaurant at Disney Springs is teaming up with Clermont’s Southern Hill Farms to bring back Festival de Fresas, adding strawberry-themed items to the menu through Feb. 18. That includes Gazpacho de Fresas Gazpacho (chilled soup with fresh strawberry, bell peppers, pistachio and crumbled goat cheese), Vieras Crudas con Fresas (scallop crudo with textures of strawberries), and Pintxo de Fresas, Melecatón, y Lardo Iberico (pintxo of strawberry, grilled peach, and torched Iberico lardo with sherry dressing).
Thursday, Feb. 1
Orlando Police Department’s SWAT team will be serving dinner for Dining in the Dark at Sheraton Orlando North in Maitland, 6 -9 p.m. The hook is that they’ll be wearing night vision goggles and you won’t be able to see a thing. Instead of visuals, this dinner is all about the taste, smell, sound, and texture. Each $200 ticket supports Lighthouse Central Florida, assisting hundreds of people living with blindness and vision loss each year.
Friday, Feb. 2
Valentine’s Day isn’t that far off, so The Confectionery Academy at D&G Occasions is teaching a half-day cupcake decorating class for beginners, 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. You’ll learn a special buttercream recipe for piping as well as tips and techniques and how to make a fondant topper. Of course, you get to take home the cupcakes you make! The class is taught by Pat Ashley Howard who has appeared on Food Network and is also a gingerbread house champion. With taxes, your day of sweets for your sweetie is $154.43.
For more inspiration, visit our archives.
