Here are some quick tips for fun food events in Orlando this week including breakfast with Santa, a mystery dinner, and local liquor.
We’re headed into the Edible Orlando archives today for a make-ahead holiday brunch. Our advice is do as much as you can ahead of time, so you can enjoy your guests instead of running in and out of the kitchen. Our brunch plan covers everything from a greens and gruyère strata to a whole lot of bacon to Florida winter mimosas. Even if you don’t want to follow the full plan, we’ve got some killer breakfast recipes in there.
As we dive into the holiday season, you might get distracted and miss some of the Orlando food fun that is popping up. Edible Orlando writer John Graham is on always on the hunt for what’s happening around Central Florida. Here’s what’s ahead.
Saturday, Dec. 9
Santa Claus is popping into Central Florida for some breakfasts between now and Christmas. At Maria and Enzo’s in Disney Springs, Santa is doing Saturday breakfast seatings at 9:30, 9:45, and 10 a.m. You get a family-style breakfast, a visit with Santa and elves, a photo with Santa, treats, activities, and for adults 21+, a prosecco mimosa. Tickets are $79 for adults and $49 for children 3-10. Santa will be back at Maria and Enzo’s on Dec. 10, 16, 17, 22-24.
Do Good Farm in Winter Garden is raising money for the Africa Windmill Project with a farm-to-table brunch, 10 – 11:30 a.m. The menu is a surprise, but the outdoor, locally sourced meal will raise money for the area charity that helps small African farmers pump water to get through the dry season. Tickets are $75 per person. Fun fact: Do Good Farms is one of the farms listed in the Healthy West Orange Health & Harvest Guide! CLICK HERE for the complete list of resources for farms, food, fitness and fun in West Orange!
Sunday, Dec. 10
Santa is also breakfasting at Dave and Buster’s Orlando on International Drive, 9 a.m. – noon. Admission includes breakfast buffet with soda, coffee & tea; a $10 credit with unlimited video game play, personal photo with Santa and more. Tickets are $41.25 before fees, taxes, and tip.
Thursday, Dec. 14
Formerly of Highball & Harvest at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Chef Jason Thate is hosting a series of chef’s table dinners in December that pay tribute to his youth in Tennessee and local farms in Appalachia. Held at a mystery location in Lake Nona, the menu will also vary from date to date. Tickets are $181.05 (or $287.55 with wine pairings and two glasses of per course). If you can’t make it on Dec. 16, Chef Thate will also be cooking on Dec. 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23.
Horse Soldier Bourbon and St. Cloud’s Levee Liquor are teaming up for “Whiskey and War Stories” with the liquor brand’s co-owner, Rob Schaefer, 5:30 – 7 p.m. Held at the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce Board Room on New York Ave., the event includes heavy appetizers, a guided whiskey tasting, and a bottle of Horse Soldier to take home. Horse Soldier’s name comes from Green Beret teams, some on horseback, that entered Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001. Bottles are pressed with a mold made of metal recovered from the World Trade Center. Tickets are $87.96 with taxes and fees.
Saturday, Dec. 16 
Four Flamingos at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress is hosting a spirits dinner, 6 – 9 p.m., with St. Augustine Distillery. The four-course meal includes labneh (double-strained yogurt) and grilled fig with a gin bramble, spiny lobster cannelloni and walnut bechamel with a rum old fashioned, a limoncello sphere intermezzo, braised boar shank with a bourbon clarified New York sour, and a dessert of panettone with port-finished bourbon on the rocks. Tickets are $156.57 including taxes and fees.
Monday, Dec. 18
The Edible Education Experience hosts monthly “how to” nights with an expert and some hands-on cooking. Tonight, 6 – 8 p.m., guest instructor and Orlando resident Salmah Hack (PBS’s “The Great American Recipe”) is teaching about both sweet and savory recipes from her family’s history in Guyana. That includes mithai (a fried dough with anise) and pholourie (a yellow split pea fritter). The class is $70 and you must be 18. The class is vegetarian friendly, although it includes eggs and dairy.
Wednesday, Dec. 20
Chef Eddie Nickell is hosting Bites and Bubbles’ annual December Champagne Dinner, starting at 6: 30 p.m. The meal opens with a reception and a French 75. From there, it’s warm brie with Taittinger Brut La Française, roasted airline-style pheasant with Canard-Duchêne Brut Cuvée Léonie, beef tenderloin with DAOU Cabernet Sauvignon, and a dessert of berry French crème with Champagne PIAFF Brut. Tickets are $150 per person including tax and tip.
For more inspiration, visit our archives.
