Seven years ago, Visit San Antonio board member Chef Johnny Hernandez formed a task force with a big goal in mind: “to bring a national-level food event to our city.” Thanks to the efforts of Culinaria president and CEO Suzanne Taranto Etheredge and Marc Anderson, president and CEO of Visit San Antonio, the event Hernandez initially envisioned arrives this week, Oct. 27-30, as the Tasting Texas Wine and Food Festival.
Taranto Etheredge and Anderson secured the participation of the James Beard Foundation for the four-day festival, to bring chefs from Texas and the U.S. to San Antonio to dazzle with a bevy of delectable comestibles, and to celebrate the city’s food scene.
Tasting Texas events run the gamut from the already sold-out “Haunted Dinner” in the Haunt cocktail lounge at the St. Anthony Hotel, to a Thursday evening “French Aperitif Soirée” hosted by the Witte Museum, and a Saturday morning 5K run and walk to help attendees burn some of the calories they’ll consume.
Texas traditions
A Friday evening “Southern Hospitality” event at the Pearl could serve as a theme for the festival, with many events featuring traditional southern cuisine: an “Ain’t Your Average Steak Night” at Bistr09; Botika’s “Journey Through BBQ in Texas;” a “Canary Island Basque Exchange” at Pharm Table; “Open Fire Wild Game,” “Backyard Smoking 101” and “Celebrate Agave” in Travis Park; a Sunday morning “Gospel and Grits Brunch” at the Meadow Neighborhood Eatery and Bar; and “Burgers and Beer” to wrap things up at Travis Park.
Tickets for each event can be purchased online, though they are selling fast and several events have sold out, said Taranto Etheredge.
The festival’s centerpiece is “The Collective: A Modern Take on The Grand Tasting” in Travis Park from noon to 6 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Each $100 daily ticket to The Collective gains access to all food and drinks on offer from chefs set up throughout the park, plus access to a pop-up bistro, a kids zone, live entertainment, and an array of artisan vendors. In addition to tasty treats, attendees can take in wine seminars and cooking demonstrations, including Rick Bayless cooking masa Saturday night and teaching a class on Sunday.
“It’s going to be so great and really relaxed. It’s come and go all day,” she said. “It’s just a full day of wine food and everything about the craft.”
Local chefs
While celebrity chefs including Bayless, Alex Raij, and Hugo Ortega are a big draw, Taranto Etheredge said the reason for the festival is to draw attention to “the confluence of culture that is found in our [local] culinary landscape. … We know that San Antonio is amazing, we know that the talent here is ridiculous, and we want everyone else to know it, too.”
The list of local talent cooking during the festival features James Beard Foundation Award nominees and semifinalists Jason Dady of the Jason Dady Restaurant Group and Esaul Ramos of 2M Smokehouse.
The list of San Antonio chefs includes names familiar to local diners: Nicola Blaque of the Jerk Shack, Sofia Tejeda and John Brand of Hotel Emma, John Russ of Clementine, Elizabeth Johnson of Pharm Table, Laurent Réa from Brasserie Mon Chou Chou, and Tim McDiarmid from the Good Kind Hospitality Group, among others.
The James Beard Foundation holds many events throughout the U.S., but Taranto Etheredge said this will be the first time the noted New York-based culinary institution will sponsor a major four-day festival. San Antonio’s status as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy — Tucson is the only other designee in the U.S. — no doubt helped, she said, but what put the city over the top was Culinaria’s dedication to raising $250,000 from festival proceeds for hospitality education scholarships in Texas.
Hernandez will be busy preparing for the Day of the Dead “Spiritlandia” river parade and celebration also running Oct. 27-30, but he said, “I’m excited that we were able to get that event finally done.”
According to Chef Johnny, as he is colloquially known, the early vision for the festival, “to align our culinary talent locally, and organize our effort to promote our chefs and our independent operators,” will finally be fulfilled.
This article has been updated to reflect the involvement of Culinaria president and CEO Suzanne Taranto Etheredge and Marc Anderson, president and CEO of Visit San Antonio.
