The 2014 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival started yesterday and runs through May 18. We now have food photos and reviews for EVERY food item (and most of the drinks!) at the 11 amazing Outdoor Kitchens! See our Overall Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Food Booths Page for details!
Simply click on the links for each booth to see photos of the booth, the full menu, and every single food item!
And the festival isn’t resting on its laurels from last year. We were in Epcot for the better part of opening day, trying lots and lots of new things! We have lots to show you, so let’s get to it!
NEW!: Urban Farm Eats
Urban Farm Eats is brand new to the festival this year. Featuring a bevy of farm fresh foods and sustainably farm-raised fish, we didn’t quite know what to expect.
Urban Farm Eats Menu
The Ghost Pepper-dusted Tilapia with Crisp Winter Melon Slaw and Mint Oil featuring The Original Sauce Man’s Kick It Up Rub was a real winner, though! The fish was cooked to perfection, and the spicy ghost pepper lent a kick to the plate.
Ghost Pepper-dusted Tilapia
The Eggplant “Scallop” wasn’t our favorite dish of the day, though. Our serving was way too salty. And even though the eggplant was a miss, the spicy Romesco sauce on the side was great!
Land-grown Eggplant “Scallop”
Huge kudos to the staff for using LAND-grown produce, though! Be sure to check out the Urban Farm Eats page for additional photos and reviews!
Intermissions Cafe
, located at the Festival Center in Future World, will open at 10 a.m. throughout the festival. It features several light and fresh food options.
Intermissions Cafe Menu
This year, they’re showcasing a fun TRYit! food item again for the kiddos — a Push Pop!
Caprese Push Pop
This year, the 1-bite treat features a traditional Caprese Salad mix — with Tomato, Mozzarella, and Balsamic Vinegar.
Pineapple Promenade
If there was one thing that we heard from plenty of you last year, it was the suggestion that Dole Whips served at the festival should be spiked with Coconut Rum. Well, guess what? Disney clearly agrees with you.
Pineapple Promenade Menu
This year’s festival debuts not one, but TWO different grown up versions of the popular soft serve: order it topped with your choice of Myer’s Dark Rum or Parrot Bay Coconut Rum! Thank you, I think I will.
Dole Whips with Captain Morgan’s Parrot Bay Rum (L) and Myer’s Dark Rum (R)
Two thumbs up, with one slightly more up for the Parrot Bay version! This is the Dole Whip perfection we’ve all been waiting for.
Disney is also adding another incredible entry to their waffle repertoire at this booth. Be sure to check out our Pineapple Promenade page for the skinny on the Sweet Potato Cinnamon Waffle served with a topping of — what else? — Dole Whip!
Buttercup Cottage
This quaint cottage, located in the UK Pavilion, is a celebration of that most civilized of rituals — afternoon tea.
Buttercup Cottage Menu
There are some surprisingly delicious savory flavors here as well. The Pork and Apple Sausage Roll combined a savory minced filling with a tender pastry crust. The Piccalilli that accompanies the roll provides the perfect amount of zip, tang, and color to complement the rich dish.
Pork and Apple Sausage Roll
Strawberries are in season in Florida! And if you’re looking for an interesting way to serve the bounty of available berries, take fresh inspiration from this delicious salad.
Field Greens with Plant City Strawberries, Toasted Almonds, and Farmstead Stilton has everything — sweet, tangy fresh flavor from the berries, and a rich bite from the generous sprinkle of Stilton. A light vinaigrette and crunchy almonds finish the salad perfectly.
Field Greens with Plant City Strawberries, Toasted Almonds, and Farmstead Stilton
The warm Fresh-Baked Lemon Scones were another of our favorites! Pop over to the Buttercup Cottage page for more details and pictures of the offerings at this charming spot.
Fleur de Lys
Another standout on our Trip Around the World is the Fleur de Lys Outdoor Kitchen, situated in France.
Fleur de Lys Menu
We told you about the Confit de Canard in yesterday’s First Look post. And you definitely don’t want to miss out on that dish! I’m still shocked by how completely awesome and…luxurious this dish is. So. Good. (Head to the Fleur de Lys page for the pic.)
But if you can believe it, there are other, nearly equally incredible dishes to be had here. The Gnocchis Parisienne a la Provençal — Parisian-style Dumplings with Vegetables and Mushrooms — is one of the best vegetarian dishes I have ever tasted. Seriously. If they don’t put out a cookbook with these recipes, I may be forced to start a petition.
Gnocchis Parisienne a la Provençal — Parisian-style Dumplings with Vegetables and Mushrooms
And when I didn’t think it could possibly get better, I bit into the Orange Blossom Macaron. Heaven. I mean it. Orange-y, Creamy Bliss.
Orange Blossom Macaron cross-section
Run, don’t walk, to get this dessert that is as beautiful as it is delicious.
Taste of Marrakesh
The Morocco Pavilion has been front and center on our radar in 2014 with the opening of Spice Road Table. We love the exotic cuisine that you can find in this part of the World.
Taste of Marrakesh Menu
Taste of Marrakesh offers two new items this year. Our favorite during our first trip around the promenade is the Lamb Brewat Roll.
The sweet prune is a brilliant match for the strong flavor of the lamb. The meat itself is tender, and the wrapping provides a nice little crunch as you bite into the roll.
Lamb Brewat Roll
The Harissa Chicken Kebab is also new this year, and was good, but didn’t quite stand up to the Lamb.
Hanami
Hanami in Epcot’s Japan Pavilion returns this year with some intriguing twists on traditional favorites, making this one of the most fun stops on the Flower and Garden Tour.
Hanami Menu
Frushi, one of the biggest hits of last year’s festival, returns for another round. If you’re interested in trying this fun take on fruit sushi at home, check out our recipe post here.
Hanami gets high marks for beautiful presentation. The Hanami Sushi Platter features balls of sticky rice topped with Scallop, Salmon, and Beef. The trio is served with a beautiful Shiso Violet Sauce.
Hanami Sushi
It was also a lot of fun to watch the chef in the outdoor kitchen prepare the Temaki Hand Roll to order! The Crispy Chicken, as well as the other components of the dish, were warm.
Temaki Hand Roll
The Smokehouse: Barbecues and Brews
Over at the Smokehouse, guests are clamoring for the new Piggylicious cupcake! We know because they were sold out when we first tried to get one!
The Smokehouse Menu
This bacon/maple/pretzel/cupcake combo capitalizes on the bacon trend…and also cleverly sort of promotes the new Muppet movie… 😉
Piggylicious Cupcake — Bacon cupcake with maple frosting and pretzels
The smoked turkey “rib” here was essentially a mini turkey leg, so if you like that giant snack, you’ll also like the flavor here. Other favorites returned from last year and still make the cut at The Smokehouse.
Primavera Kitchen
Italy’s contribution this year is pretty understated, but still worth visiting.
Primavera Kitchen Menu
Our favorite item here was the dessert — a lemony and strawberry cheesecake! While the other dishes were fine, they weren’t outstanding enough to beat out their counterparts from other booths.
Lemon Cheesecake
Check out full photos here!
Lotus House
China’s booth is always a winner, and this year’s Flower and Garden Festival is no exception. You can tell they’re always playing with something new here.
Lotus House Menu
The guest-favorite candied strawberries are back this year, as is the Spring Pancake; but the vegetable spring rolls were what caught our hearts this year! Super flavorful and accompanied by a delicious sauce, these were where it’s at.
Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Dipping Sauce
We were also pleased to see that the bubble tea is served with smoothie straws this year!
Popping Bubble Tea
Check out more at the Lotus House Booth Page!
Jardin de Fiestas
Ah, Mexico! You always bring your A-game.
Jardin de Fiestas Menu
This year, that means an awesome vegetarian quesadilla and some incredible chocolate flan! So flight and mousse-like, and the chocolate wasn’t overpowering at all!
Flan de chocolate Abuelita
See more details from the Jardin here!
Florida Fresh
Finally, Florida Fresh powers back with even more flavors from the Sunshine State.
Florida Fresh Menu
The stand-out Watermelon Salad and Shrimp and Grits return, but the new entry this year is the fancy Kumquat pie! We loved the flavor, though the texture didn’t wow us.
Florida Kumquat Pie Close-Up
See more Florida Fresh booth food pics here.
Gluten Free and Vegetarian Options
New for 2014, there’s a real emphasis on hearty vegetarian fare, as well as lots of gluten free options.
Gluten free options are spelled out for you in the festival’s handy passport. Also back for another year are TRYit! selections — tasty options that encourage kids and their families to TRY new foods!
Flower and Garden Passport Page Showing Gluten Free Options
We hope you’ll get the chance to check out the festival this year. It gets better and better from a food perspective in our opinion! Enjoy!
For all of the menus, reviews, and photos visit the 2014 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Index Page!
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Went yesterday to Food & Garden…..er Flower and Garden. Really enjoyed it.
Shrimp and Grits were my favorite. Had it with Rogue Valley Pinot Noir. I’m picky about my Pinot’s. This was very enjoyable.
Pulled duck confit in France was really good too. I’d definitely have that again.
Pulled pig slider and the turkey “rib” at the Smokehouse were my second favorites after the Shrimp… Gotta love a BBQ!!!
Temaki Roll was good. If I would have had it first, I would have been more impressed, but after everything else, it ranks as good. It was fun watching the chef make it for me. Not detailed, but nice to see something freshly made and not just pulled off a line.
Guess Who this weekend at the American Garden Theater…. I’ll be back to Epcot.
Frank
Thank you so much for getting this up so soon! Checking for this blog was the first thing I did when I got up! So excited to try these dishes in two weeks!
Hopefully I’ll be able to go next year….which I will drop the hint that Urban Farm Eats should REALLY incorporate that cucumber water with vodka. I’ve seen cucumber infused drinks (and stuff I’ve made at home) and I think it’s something different that is starting to catch on. Mainly because they are so good and refreshing.
Two thumbs up for the Sweet Potato Cinnamon Waffle with Dole Whip! DW and I both thought it was very good.
Ahh thank you, thank you for this run down. I’m heading down tomorrow and will be at the Festival on Saturday. It looks like they got rid of the tomato and carrot wine at the Florida Fresh booth from last year (I thought they were both pretty gross, but neat to try). Can’t wait to try that cupcake!
Glad to see more vegetarian options! Now, they need to expand to vegan (but glad they’ve labeled the few they do have, including the wine!) 🙂 So many of the veggie dishes could be made without the cheese or with a dairy free cheese option and taste great. Vegans and those with dairy allergies would rejoice!
Oh. My. Gosh! We were going to go to the Food & Wine next year (taking this year off), but now I’m thinking we should go down during the Flower and Garden festival instead! Everything looks amazing! We used to go to the Flower and Garden festival years ago, but they didn’t have food booths then. Honestly, the menus look amazing.
Can you purchase items on the menu with your snack credits from the dining plan?
Somebody please try the cupcake for me 🙂
The abundance of DDP snacks here excites me! I would absolutely LOVE to eventually be able to go to the Flower & Garden festival and the Food & Wine festival! I just need to know first how crowded it gets, how high the hotel rates are, and whether or not cast member sign-ins are blocked out (I’m guessing they would be)
Oh, @Valerie: Everything with the purple box next to its price counts as a DDP snack.
Woohoo, a spoon (or fork) full of food for $5, or a $4 glass of OJ oh mah gawd! We’ve been a few times over the years, and there are a few “almost good” things to taste, but nothing spectacular and definitely nothing worth near what they charge for it.
Pass.
I’ve seen the phrase “Land Grown _____” for vegetables on some Epcot items. What does that mean? I assume the product was grown on property at the “Land” pavilion. Can anyone confirm this?
Does Germany not have a booth?
Winston — Yes, indeed! The ingredients were grown at the Land pavilion.
@andrew none of these things are just a forkfull, most you can share. So, for $4-5 I think that is pretty good.
Can’t wait ! 28 more days! Thanks for the quick post–you are great!!
Thank you for the menus and pictures!! I’m planning our family reunion & most of them have never been to WDW so they have no clue what to expect. I can’t wait to show everyone my home away from home!!
@lynne: I’ve been to the festival a few times over the years as I said. There is definitely not enough food to share, and I’m not sure how you could possibly believe there is. A fork full was a bit of an exaggeration, but there is definitely not enough nor is the quality nearly good enough to justify the cost. Then there is the problem of waiting in long lines to buy it, and the only available “seating” being the top of the nearby garbage cans when you finally get through that line 45 minutes later.
http://i.imgur.com/byEXd6U.jpg
I agree with lynne. I’ve done F&W four or five years now, and last year we did F&G and have plans to hit it up once or twice this year as well. My friends and I share everything, which allows us to try more things. With most offerings, there’s at least enough for 4 of us to take a decent-sized bite. I am of the opinion that the prices are definitely a bit steep for some things, but it’s Disney, after all, and I think the prices are steep for pretty much everything down there 🙂
Looking forward to the pork and sausage apple roll from the Buttercup Cottage booth and the duck confit from France – I haven’t tried duck since I was a little kid! I remember really liking the spring pancake from China last year, but thought the Moroccan baghrir was a disappointment. Will have to plan a day trip soon.
Thank you so much for posting this! The pictures really help with deciding what looks good and what’s worth the money!
does anyone know if disney gift cards can be used at these booths?
Yes, the booths take Disney Gift Cards. We went this past weekend and enjoyed sampling the food booths. I have to say that the best value for your money is at the smokehouse booth in American. The pulled pork sandwich was delicious and big enough to share. My husband had to try the bacon cupcake and loved it. I was grossed out at the thought of it, but I tried a bite and loved it!! The maple buttercream icing is amazing! The gnocchi in France was disappointing and bland. The hand roll in Japan was my favorite of the day. The pickled beets at Urban Farms were delicious. Don’t spend $2 on Cucumber Lemon “Spa” water, it was a waste of money. We skipped the Pineapple Promenade because we weren’t sure it was real Dole Whip since it wasn’t called Dole Whip!
Hi, Mallory! Yes, you can use Disney Gift Cards at the booths. Enjoy!
Delicious dishes, and bubble tea awesome
We went to Epcot yesterday, and thoroughly enjoyed the festival food booths. Although there were crowds of people, we did not wait in any food booth line for more than a few minutes. Most of what we tried averaged around $5, and we shared each one between 2-4 people. Trying various foods at all the different booths kept our family of 6 fed throughout the afternoon and evening for probably what we would have paid to sit down at one of the restaurants. We really enjoyed the tilapia, the spring pancake and bubble tea, the watermelon salad, and several other things, but the one item we will all be dreaming about for a long time is that orange macaron! A fun and enjoyable experience all around!
Just got back from a quick visit to MK and Epcot today. Got to try the Piggylicous cupcake. I wasn’t sure about it going in but after asking a gentleman who was eating one just outside the entrance to the kiosk and him answering that it is “amazing!. This is my second of the day.” I had high hopes.
I thought the cake itself was good but nothing really special. I tasted bacon but didn’t really get any sweetness from the cake itself. Then I had a bite with the icing and it was a whole different experience. The maple icing was sweet and smokey and really worked to bring the cake portion up a notch. I wish there would have been more icing so that every bite could include it but overall it was good and I’m glad I tried it. Although I don’t know if I’d get it again. I’d rather spend my calories on the caramel popcorn at Germany.
I was at the festival on Friday, the third day they were operating. A few comments have come up regarding the quantity of food versus the price. I’ll agree that the plates are a tad expensive, but nothing unusually high for Disney standards. I tried every food item from their Outdoor Kitchens (the Intermissions Café was out of the push pops when I arrived, so it was the one item I couldn’t taste). The total cost was just over $150, but it took about 5 hours to get through it all, including all the photography and note taking. Looking at it as a whole, for around $150 I got to have a substantially large meal that lasted half a day and counted for a little over two meals for me. That’s not too terrible in my opinion. It would be like me trying two signature restaurants in one day, which isn’t too absurd an idea for me if done on a rare occasion.
Also, at these two “signature restaurants” I got to try a huge variety of different foods from many different cultures. Try doing that at any of the table service restaurants in one or two sittings. I think the experience was worth it personally, but I understand it may not be for everyone. If you’re sharing with someone else, then consider it a single signature dining experience for the two of you, and it puts it in a much better perspective.
We made it over yesterday – 3 of us, so we ordered all 3 options on nearly every menu we tried. The best options so far (IMHO) are: basically everything on the Fleur de Lys menu (and oh,my God – we went back twice for the duck confit); the mushroom quesadilla was surprisingly good; and the lamb brewat. We quickly decided that we could only do half of the booths, and have already planned a return trip in a couple of weeks for the other half.
I think that decision came after the tequila flight and the La Vie en Rose slushie…
Thank you for the rundown!
I love all the food festival events at EPCOT. I don’t think the prices are bad at all. They are about what you expect for tapas-style food. We are vegetarian, so Food & Wine has become a challenge…and is more Wine than anything. SO pleased at all the vegetarian options…even though I will miss Terra and that delicious Gardein chili!
Still very annoyed that I can’t easily get any recipes for the food at the booths. AND no one knows how to get them. I asked at Urban Eats for the recipe for the beets and they said I should be able to get them on line.
The Flower and Garden Festival has always focused on how you can do/replicate what you see at the festival at home. So why can’t they follow this through with the food at their booths!. They push “try it” and showing “gardens” in front on the booth with the foods that go into the recipes, but….. That is my only gripe. Love the addition of the food booths and love the food.
My friend and I went the second day of the festival, and went and grabbed food in china. She asked what was in the vegetable roll and he said chicken base. She isn’t a vegetarian but I am. I asked why the sign said V- for vegetarian, because it was just chicken base. That made me decide not to get it.
Heads up: I read somewhere else online that there was a misprint in the passports, the cornbread in the smokehouse is NOT gluten free.