Saturday, January 7, 2023

Festival of the Arts Foodie Guide, and the Return of Figment?

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 7, 2023

 

Woohoo! The new foodie guide for the Festival of the Arts has been released!  



That’s something to look forward to in our house. In many respects, we’ve come to enjoy the EPCOT Festival of the Arts “Food Studios” more than the food booths at other EPCOT Festivals, in part because of the creativity the Disney chefs exude in preparing for this very short festival. The dishes always seem to be more colorful and more appealing to the senses than at other fests. They are just more “fun.”  When we were at EPCOT earlier this week, the booths were already lined up, signs in place, ready to start dishing out their wares. Artists’ booths covered in canvas were waiting for the creators to set up shop and greet art lovers as they arrive next Friday.


This year’s EPCOT International Festival of the Arts runs from January 13 through February 20, 2023, and offers nearly 15 Food Studios, in addition to live performances, sidewalk chalk drawings, enormous murals, and meet and greets with artists.

 

Figment no doubt is getting his day in the sun at this year’s festival, with Figment’s Inspiration Station at the Odyssey: Art, Food, and Little Sparks of Magic.  Over at Connections Café, there will be a new Figment Liege Waffle. And if you didn’t capture yourself a Figment souvenir popcorn bucket last year (remember the six hour lines??!!), you’ll get another chance.  Figment is back this year, with an updated EPCOT 40thAnniversary neck strap. You can snap him up at Figment’s Inspiration Station at the Odyssey (limit of two per guest).


Can’t get enough Figment?  Disney guests can grab a limited-edition Munchling that looks like the purple mascot. The new Fruity Fig Bar Figment Munchling smells like berries (a much better choice than the smells on his Journey Into Imagination ride!) You can find him at the merchandise locations at the festival, but if you aren’t making your way to Florida anytime soon, the Munchling will also be available on shopDisney. And don’t forget about Figment’s Brush With the Masters, an art-based scavenger hunt around the countries of World Showcase.

 

Among the new food items our family is looking forward to trying is the Duck and Dumplings at The Artist’s Table (The American Adventure), a smoked duck breast with ricotta dumplings, petite vegetables, and duck jus.  And at L’Arte di Mangiare (Oh, Italy booth, how we want to like your dishes…we keep trying!), the Mozzarella Fritta, a flash-fried breaded fresh mozzarella with an adorable accompaniment of artist palette condiments, and the Ravioli ai Funghi, Perle Tartufate, a  wild mushroom-stuffed pasta with truffle butter and truffle pearls, are calling us. We have a few returning favorites we’ll be hunting down as well.

 

While you are choosing which delights to enjoy, food-wise, keep an eye out for the dishes included on the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine. This returning food stroll allows diners to collect stamps for sampling certain brightly colored options, and after collecting five Colorful Cuisine stamps in the back of your Festival Passport, you can turn the stamps in for a special prize from the Deco Delights studio. Selections included on the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine are noted in the descriptions below.

 
While the artists and Broadway performers are obviously the stars of this festival, the Food Studios also play an important role in the success of the Fest.  To help you plan your day snacking around the park, here’s a peek at the Foodie Guide to EPCOT’s International Festival of the Arts.  

 

Pop Eats (Near Port of Entry)

 

Food Items:

  • Tomato Soup with grilled cheese
  • Tomato Soup with pimento cheese, bacon, and fried green tomato grilled cheese (New) 
  • Almond Frangipane Cake layered with raspberry jam and Belgian chocolate (Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)  

 

Beverages:

  • Brooklyn Brewery Pulp Art Hazy IPA
  • Bleu Spectrum: Blanc de Bleu Cuveé Mousseux with boba pearls 

 

Courtesy of the Disney Parks Blog


The Deconstructed Dish (Near Port of Entry)

 

Food Items: 

  • Deconstructed BLT: Pork belly, soft-poached egg, onion bread pudding, watercress espuma, and tomato jam 
  • Deconstructed French Onion Soup: Beef broth ravioli, gruyère cream, onion bread pudding, and onion textures 
  • Deconstructed Key Lime Pie: Flexible Key lime curd, “Key lime” mousse, graham cracker cake, and meringues (Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)  

 

Beverages:

  • Deconstructed Apple Pie à la Mode: Apple-cinnamon gelato, cinnamon apple cider, apple pie filling, and streusel (Non-alcoholic) 
  • Wicked Weed Brewing Blank Canvas Belgian Blonde Witbier

 

Deco Delights (Near Port of Entry) 

 

Food Items:

  • Dulce Chocolate Mousse with chocolate crémeux and dark chocolate truffle 
  • Decadent Valrhona Chocolate with dark chocolate mousse, chocolate brownie, and cassis mousse 
  • Orange Mousse with Lemon Cake and Raspberry Meringues (Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)  

 

Beverages:

  • 3 Daughters Brewing Strawberry Blonde Nitro
  • 81Bay Brewing Co. Vanilla Porter
  • Playalinda Brewing Co. Milk Stout
  • Espresso Martini featuring Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka (New) 
  • Neapolitan Beer Flight 

 

Courtesy of the Disney Parks Blog


The Craftsman’s Courtyard (Near Creations Shop)

 

Food Items:

  • Beef Wellington: Mushroom duxelles, prosciutto, and puff pastry with red wine demi-glace and baby vegetables 
  • Cast Iron-roasted P.E.I. Mussels with sautéed tomatoes, garlic, and fresh herbs 

 

Beverages:

  • BrewDog Jet Black Heart Nitro Oatmeal Stout (New)
  • Cold Fashion Coffee Cocktail 

 

Refreshment Outpost

 

Food Items:

  • Plant-based Bratwurst with spicy turmeric aïoli, coffee barbecue jackfruit, and slaw (Plant-based item) 
  • Artist Palette Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie 
  • Soft-serve Waffle Cone: DOLE Whip, salted-caramel soft-serve, or swirl

 

Beverages:

  • Ivanhoe Park Brewing Co. Berries & Cream Sour Berliner (New) 
  • Left Hand Brewing Co. Wook Bait IPA (New)
  • Central 28 Beer Company Wall Art Brown Ale

 

Pastoral Palate (Germany) 

 

Food Items:

  • Red Wine-braised Beef Short Rib with parsnip purée, broccolini, baby tomatoes, and aged balsamic 
  • Wild Boar Cassoulet with duck confit, ham hock, and wild boar sausage
  • Black Forest Cake: Chocolate Mousse with morello cherries and Chantilly cream (New) 

 

Beverages:

  • 3 Daughters Brewing Rosé Hard Cider
  • 81Bay Brewing Co. Rosé Blonde Ale
  • Frozen Rosé 
  • A Play on Rosé Flight 
  • Marietta Old Vine Rosé

 

The Artist’s Table (The American Adventure)

 

Food Items:

  • Three-Meat Meatloaf with “Peas and Carrots”: Green pea pudding, carrot ketchup, shaved carrot salad, and snap peas (New)
  • Duck and Dumplings: Smoked duck breast, ricotta dumplings, petite vegetables, and duck jus (New) 
  • Hummingbird Cake: Banana cake with pineapple, coconut, pecans, and cream cheese frosting with banana sorbet (New) 

 

Beverages:

  • Sipping Chocolate Flight: White, milk, and dark chocolates (Non-alcoholic) 
  • Boulevard Brewing Co. Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale (New)
  • Parish Brewing Co. South Coast Session Amber Ale (New) 
  • Brewery Ommegang Three Philosophers Belgian Quad (New) 
  • Lange Estate Winery Pinot Noir
  • Symphony in Chocolate Flight: Mozart Chocolate Liqueurs paired with sipping chocolates 
  • Beer Flight 

 

Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina (Morocco)

 

Food Items: 

  • Carrots Three Ways: Chermoula-spiced grilled carrots, pickled carrots, and carrot ginger purée (Plant-based item) (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly) 
  • House-made Crispy Almond Phyllo Pockets with white chocolate pomegranate and milk chocolate orange 

 

Beverages: 

  • Chai Tea Mint Sparkler featuring Twinings Chai Tea with Sprite (Non-alcoholic) 
  • Stem Ciders Flockstar Hard Cider
  • Blake’s Hard Cider Co. Mule de Pomme: Pomegranate, ginger, and lime hard cider
  • 3 Daughters Brewing Chai Hard Cider
  • Chai Tea Mint Mimosa featuring Twinings Chai Tea with Key lime sparkling wine and mint 
  • Cider Flight 

 

Vibrante & Vívido: Encanto Cocina (Between Morocco & France) 

 

Food Items:

  • Chorizo and Potato Empanada with turmeric aïoli and annatto aïoli (Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)  
  • Spicy Ajiaco Soup with guajillo and árbol chili-spiced chicken, potato, avocado, corn, and crème fraîche (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
  • Passion Fruit Mousse with dragon fruit jam (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly) 

 

Beverages:

  • Coconut and Passion Fruit Smoothie (Non-alcoholic)
  • Frozen Piña Colada 
  • Passion Fruit Daiquiri 

 

Refreshment Port (Near Canada)

 

Food Items:

  • Gnocchi Poutine with red wine-braised beef, cheese curds, basil, and burrata 
  • Artist Palette Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie 
  • Soft-serve Waffle Cone: DOLE Whip Strawberry, DOLE Whip Lemon, or swirl 

 

Beverages:

  • Blood Orange Cosmo: Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka with blood orange, cranberry, and lime 
  • Boulevard Brewing Co. Quirk Blueberry Lemon & Lavender Hard Seltzer (New)  

 

Courtesy of the Disney Parks Blog


Gourmet Landscapes (Canada) 

 

Food Items: 

  • Blood Orange-braised Beet Tartare with mustard vinaigrette, pickled clamshell mushrooms, and golden beets (Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item) (Plant-based Item) (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)  
  • Roasted Bone Marrow with onion marmalade, pickled mushrooms, and petite lettuce 
  • Wild Mushroom Risotto with aged Parmesan, truffle shavings, and zinfandel reduction 

 

Beverages:

  • Whole Hog Brewery Raspberry Chéret Double Radler
  • Schlumberger Cuvée Klimt Brut
  • The Meeker Vineyard Winemaker’s Handprint Merlot
  • Frozen Rusty Nail Cocktail 

 

Moderne (Near Test Track)

 

Food Items:

  • Compressed Watermelon Tataki with pickled watermelon rind, yuzu pearls, watermelon foam, and wasabi (New) (Plant-based Item)
  • Angry Crab: Whole crispy soft-shell crab with green papaya salad, mango-sriracha fluid gel, and coconut-lime foam with pomegranate and mango crush pearls (New) 
  • Pan-seared Scallops with vanilla-butternut squash purée, brown butter cauliflower purée, and lime foam (Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)  
  • The Tropics: Lilikoi mousse, guava cake, coconut crémeux, compressed pineapple, and mango gel (New)

 

Beverages:

  • Watermelon Mary featuring Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka (New) 
  • J. Lohr Riesling (New) 

 

Figment’s Inspiration Station at the Odyssey: Art, Food, and Little Sparks of Magic

 

Food Items:

  • Fruit Pizza: Watermelon, compressed cantaloupe, berries, and berry balsamic (New) (Plant-based Item) (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
  • Pop’t Art: Sugar Cookie with blueberry filling (Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)  
  • Rainbow Cake with freeze-dried SKITTLES bite sized candies 
  • Figment Premium Popcorn Bucket with rainbow popcorn (Limit 2 per person) 

 

Beverages:

  • Grape Smoothie with freeze-dried SKITTLES bite sized candies (Non-alcoholic) (New) 
  • 3 Daughters Brewing Black Cherry Hard Cider (New)
  • 3 Daughters Brewing Blood Orange Hard Cider (New)
  • 3 Daughters Brewing Passion Fruit Hard Cider (New)
  • Rainbow Cider Flight (New)
  • 81Bay Brewing Co. Green with Envy Blonde Ale (New)
  • 81Bay Brewing Co. Blue Butterfly Lager (New)
  • Urban Artifact The Gadget Raspberry & Blackberry Midwest Fruit Tart (New)
  • Rainbow Beer Flight (New)

 

Connections Café 

 

Food Item: 

  • Figment Liege Waffle (New) 

 

Connections Eatery

 

Beverage: 

  • Dusk ‘Til Dawn: Three Olives Blueberry Vodka, lemonade, and orange juice with cotton candy 

 

L’Art de la Cuisine Française (France)

 

Food Items:

  • Crème de Brie en Petit Pain: Warm creamy brie in a house-made bread bowl 
  • Croissant à la Truffle Noir d’Hiver: Black winter truffle croissant 
  • Mille-Feuille de Betteraves aux Herbes et Noix de Cajoux: Plant-based napoleon with beets, cashew-herb filling, pepper-pine nut sauce, and balsamic vinegar caviar (New) (Plant-based Item) 
  • Moelleux aux Noisettes et Chocolats Valrhona: Molten chocolate and hazelnut cake with pure origin Valrhona chocolates and passion fruit-mango sauce 

 

Beverages:

  • Frozen French Martini: Grey Goose Vodka, vodka, chambord liqueur, pineapple, orange, and grape juices with lemon-lime foam 
  • Charles Lafitte, Brut Rosé Prestige, Méthode Traditionnelle Champenoise, French Rosé Sparkling Wine 
  • Domaine Raphaël Sallet, Mâcon-Uchizy Les Maranches 2020, Chardonnay, Mâconnais, Burgundy (New)
  • Cîroc Sunset Citrus Vodka Spritz (New) 

 

El Artista Hambriento (Mexico)

 

Food Items:

  • Carne Asada: Chipotle-marinated beef sirloin, sweet potato purée, and crispy-fried onions (New) 
  • Huarache de Champiñones: Guajillo chile and corn masa huarache with pinto beans, oyster mushrooms, Nopales, queso fresco, and pea tendrils (New) 
  • Flan de Coco: Coconut flan, guava sauce, and whipped cream (New) (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly) 

 

Beverages:

  • Mexican Craft Beer: Cielito Lindo Artisanal Mexican Craft Beer 
  • Bombon Margarita “Marshmallow”: Ilegal Mezcal Reposado, marshmallow cordial, lime juice, agave nectar and a hint of coffee and elderflower served with a toasted marshmallow (New)
  • Las Californias: Tromba Blanco Tequila, strawberry-lime purée, and Las Californias Citrus Mexican Gin (New)

 

Courtesy of the Disney Parks Blog


Goshiki (Japan)

 

Food Items:

  • Rainbow Katsu Sando: Pork cutlet sandwich with tangy tonkatsu sauce and cabbage in rainbow sweet bread (New)
  • Sushi Donut: Donut-shaped sushi featuring salmon, tuna, shrimp, cucumber, and sesame seed over a decorated plate of wasabi aïoli, sriracha aïoli, and eel sauce 
  • Ichigo Daifuku: Mixed berry mochi, sweet azuki bean paste, and mascarpone (New)

 

Beverages:

  • Sui Sui Watercolor Lager (New)
  • Masu Sake in a traditional personalized wooden cup 
  • Purple Yuzu Sake Lemonade: Sake cocktail infused with butterfly pea flower and yuzu lemonade (New)

 

The Painted Panda (China)

 

Food Items:

  • General Tso’s Chicken Shumai 
  • Char Siu Pork Bun 

 

Beverages:

  • “Panda” Bubble Milk Tea with black tea, milk, chocolate, and tapioca boba pearls (Non-alcoholic)  
  • Lucky Foo Pale Ale 
  • Silk Road Hard Lemonade with Smirnoff Vodka, lavender-coconut syrup, and lemonade (New)
  • Sea Butterfly: Butterfly Pea Flower-infused cocktail with Smirnoff Vodka, light rum, lychee syrup, and magic boba pearls 

 

L’Arte di Mangiare (Italy)

 

Food Items:

  • Mozzarella Fritta: Flash-fried breaded fresh mozzarella with artist palette condiments (New)
  • Ravioli ai Funghi, Perle Tartufate: Wild mushroom-stuffed pasta with truffle butter and truffle pearls (New)
  • Budino al Cioccolato: Chocolate pudding with colorful chocolate décor (New)

 

Beverages:

  • Peroni Pilsner 
  • Chianti 
  • Prosecco 
  • Italian Sangria Red or White 
  • Italian Margarita with tequila and limoncello 
  • Amaretto Bellini: DISARONNO Originale Liqueur, white peach purée, and prosecco 

 

Courtesy of the Disney Parks Blog


Funnel Cake

  • Mocha Funnel Cake: Mini Funnel Cake with cappuccino ice cream topped with chocolate whipped cream and M&M’S chocolate candies (New)

 

Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company

 

World Discovery (Near Mission: SPACE) 

  • Amber Frost: An artistic blend of frozen lemon ice, a splash of Minute Maid Premium Lemonade, blood orange, and orange popping boba pearls (New) (Alcoholic version available with Grey Goose Vodka)

 

Near Canada

  • Magenta Frost: An artistic blend of frozen lemon ice, a splash of Minute Maid Premium Lemonade, dragon fruit, and dragon fruit popping boba pearls (New(Alcoholic version available with Grey Goose Vodka) 

 

Showcase Plaza (Near Disney Traders) 

  • Jade Frost: An artistic blend of frozen lemon ice, a splash of Minute Maid Premium Lemonade, green apple, and green apple popping boba pearls (New) (Alcoholic version available with Grey Goose Vodka)

 

The American Adventure 

  • Cerulean Frost: An artistic blend of frozen lemon ice, a splash of Minute Maid Premium Lemonade, blue raspberry, and blueberry popping boba pearls 6.39 (New) (Alcoholic version available with Grey Goose Vodka) 

   

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

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