The most voracious fans of Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival know that the fifth annual Festival will celebrate “The Art of Flavor” from April 16 through May 31 this year. But the date they’re really craving is the first day of ticket sales. We’ve got that news for you today.

Tickets for selected Signature events go on sale February 4 for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders only, at the Special Offer Page. General sales of all Festival Signature events will begin on February 16 at 10 a.m., at www.disneyland.com/foodandwine.

Annual Passholders will be able to register from February 4 through February 15 to get special reduced prices for these events: winemaker dinners, a new Brewmaster Dinner, and the Festival finale celebration “Taste Food-Wine-Life.” Annual Passholders must provide proof of membership online.

While you may be familiar with the winemaker dinners, here’s a little more information about “Taste Food-Wine-Life.” It’s a fun, high-energy evening that combines the best elements of the Food & Wine Festival into one grand finale celebration, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 29. The party has live musical entertainment, an outstanding selection of wines and a variety of food to taste. Not only do you get to see Disney chefs whipping up their specialty food dishes, you can talk to them about their creations as you sample their work.

If you’ve attended Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival in previous years, please share what you enjoyed most at the Festival.

Tagged: DCA, DL, DLR, F&W, Video

Filed: Disney California Adventure Park, Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort, Special Events

OK, you may not be able to pronounce them but we’ve found several unique dishes worth tasting at this year’s Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Each treat may take you out of your “comfort zone” of flavors but as we learned in a recent post about sampling new wines, this is the Festival to live a little and branch out. So, here are our top five unfamiliar dishes:

Farofa –
Served in the Rio de Janeiro marketplace, farofa is a coarse, toasted flour made from corn or yucca. It looks a lot like couscous and can be used in the same way to make stuffing or a side dish. Farofa can also be sprinkled over meat just before eating and that’s how it’s done at Epcot – a grilled pork skewer is rolled in farofa to add flavor and a little crunch.

Gulab Juman–
Almost every culture has a sweet treat built around fried dough – donuts, beignets, loukoumades. At the New Delhi marketplace, gulab juman is made with rounds of browned sweet dough and topped with rose syrup and ground pistachios. Gulab juman is also a traditional dessert for celebrations.

Barramundi –
Popular in Australia with both sport fishers and diners, barramundi is a mild and flaky white-fleshed fish also know as the Australian seabass. In the Melbourne marketplace, a barramundi is served atop a salad of arugula, cherry tomatoes, and lemon oil.

Lamington –
Also in the Melbourne marketplace, Lamington is a cube of butter cake, covered in chocolate frosting and shaved coconut. Popular in both Australia and New Zealand, the square cake is named after the second Baron of Lamington, Charles Cochrane-Baillie. One version of the story goes that Lamingtons were invented when guests unexpectedly arrived for tea and the chef had to improvise with ingredients in the pantry.

Landjäeger –
Available in The Brewer’s Collection marketplace, landjäeger is a dried sausage from Germany and Switzerland. Similar to salami or pepperoni, the word “landjäeger” literally translates as “country hunters.” It’s a popular snack with hunters and hikers because, like beef jerky, it can be carried without refrigeration.

Do you have any foods to add to our “must try” list?

Tagged: Epcot, F&W, WDW

Filed: Epcot, Special Events, Walt Disney World Resort