Spicing Things Up at Disney Festival of Holidays

Krystal Rhaburn

by , Communications Specialist, Disneyland Resort

Sweet dishes are fun and savory dishes are nice, but it takes guests with an adventurous spirit to try a bite with some spice! At Disney Festival of Holidays, Cook Andrew Zibble has just the dish for those adventurers — his signature Nashville Hot Turkey Slider with dill pickle.

“The inspiration came from me and one of my co-workers,” Andrew said. “We started going to a place in L.A. called Howlin’ Ray’s that brought Nashville chicken to the West Coast, and we were just blown away by it! We experimented when we had downtime in the kitchen, trying to replicate it but also making it our own. In the Festival kitchen, we took the hot chicken and twisted it with turkey to give it that holiday value and feel.”

Nashville Hot Turkey Slider with dill pickle

The dish is a great option for those who are looking for a decent (but bearable) kick, coming in at around a six or seven on Andrew’s personal spiciness scale. “We had to keep it hot enough to where you get the heat of it, to where you have to take a drink of water after it — but not have to chug a whole bottle.”

One of Andrew’s favorite parts of his role is seeing guests share their experiences on social media with the dishes he creates. “I love it when I see people posting their pictures,” shared Andrew. “It makes you go, ‘wow, that’s my creation, and thousands of people are enjoying it.’ It’s the most satisfying thing.”

Disney Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure park runs through Jan. 9.