Austin FOOD & WINE Festival Announces Full Schedule of Over 40 Interactive Seminars, Hands-on Demos, Wine & Spirits Tastings, Addition of Chefs Graham Elliot Bowles and Brian Malarkey, and More for April 26-28, 2013 Event

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Austin FOOD & WINE Festival is pleased to announce the release of the 2013 festival's full schedule of events: http://www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/schedule/.  With over 40 interactive elements, the second annual Austin FOOD & WINE Festival will include demonstrations from acclaimed national chefs like Marcus Samuelsson, Graham Elliot Bowles and Susan Feniger;  the world's largest hands-on grilling demo with Tim Love and special guest chefs like Andrew Zimmern; wine and cocktail tastings from Ray Isle, Tony Abou-Ganim and Mark Oldman; live musical performances from Allen Stone, Delta Spirit, and Whiskey Shivers; expanded grand tasting tents, book signings, and much more. 

Tickets are available at www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com.  Featuring world-class chefs, sommeliers & cocktail experts, and rising stars from the Lone Star State, Austin FOOD & WINE Festival attracts a national and international audience of food, wine and music lovers, while showcasing the talent, innovation and unique flavors of Texas.  The Austin FOOD & WINE Festival is a partnership with founders Charlie Jones (founding partner of C3 Presents, whose musical festival production credentials include Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza); chefs Tim Love (Love Shack, The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, TLC Catering, White Elephant Saloon, & Woodshed Smokehouse); and Tyson Cole (Uchi & Uchiko); restaurateur Jesse Herman (La Condesa & Sway); along with Christina Grdovic (publisher, FOOD & WINE).

Austin FOOD & WINE Festival kicks off Friday night, April 26, with the Taste of Texas, a bash as big as the Lone Star State: an all-star lineup of Texas talent serving up dishes that reflect each chef's signature style.  Deep in the heart of Austin, under the live oak trees of Republic Square Park, guests will get up close and personal with chefs, tasting their way across the park with wine, beer or cocktail in hand, then dance the night away to live performances by Delta Spirit and Whiskey Shivers.  The Taste of Texas line-up includes Tim Byres (chef/co-owner, SMOKE);  Jason Dady (chef/owner, Jason Dady Restaurant Group);  Ned & Jodi Elliot (executive chef/owner & pastry chef/owner, Foreign and Domestic); Aaron Franklin (pitmaster, Franklin Barbecue); Terrence Gallivan & Seth Siegel-Gardner (executive chefs/owners, The Pass & Provisions); Sarah Grueneberg (executive chef, Spiaggia & Cafe Spiaggia); James Holmes (executive chef, Lucy's Fried Chicken & Olivia); Paul Qui (founder, East Side King); John Russ (executive chef, Luke); Chris Shepherd (executive chef, Underbelly); Philip Speer (pastry chef, Uchi & Uchiko); Blaine Staniford (executive chef, GRACE); Danny Trace (executive chef, Brennan's); Tre Wilcox (executive chef, Marquee Grill); Andrew Wiseheart (executive chef, Contigo); and Jamie Zelko (executive chef/owner, Zelko Bistro).

At Saturday night's Rock Your Taco competition in Republic Square Park, acclaimed chefs square off against one another to create the ultimate taco, as decided by an esteemed panel of judges, with a live musical performance by Allen Stone.  Defending 2012 Rock Your Taco champion Tyson Cole will compete against David Bull (executive chef/owner, Congress, Second Bar + Kitchen & Bar Congress); Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo (chef/owners, Animal & Son of a Gun); Susan Feniger (executive chef, Border Grill); Bryce Gilmore (chef/owner, Barley Swine); Tim Love; Tony Mantuano (cookbook author and chef/partner, Spiaggia, Cafe Spiaggia, Terzo Piano & Bar Toma); Brian Malarkey (chef & restaurateur, Searsucker); Marc Murphy (executive chef, Landmarc NYC & Ditch Plains); Rene Ortiz (executive chef, La Condesa Austin, La Condesa Napa Valley & Sway); Marcus Samuelsson (chef/owner, Red Rooster Harlem, Ginny's Supper Club & co-founder, FoodRepublic.com); Laura Sawicki (pastry chef, La Condesa Austin, La Condesa Napa Valley & Sway); Christina Tosi (pastry chef, Momofuku Milk Bar); Jonathan Waxman (chef/owner, Barbuto NYC); and Andrew Zimmern (chef, author, teacher, James Beard Foundation Award winner from Bizarre Foods on Travel Channel).

Festival programming kicks off at Auditorium Shores on Saturday morning, April 27, with the world's largest Hands-on Grilling demo, led by Tim Love.  Attendees will have three opportunities during the festival weekend to man a live grill, learn tips and tricks about cooking up perfect cuts of meat and veggies all while enjoying crisp white wine and perhaps even a tequila shot – or two. 

In One-Pot Party, Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo, Los Angeles' hottest culinary duo, will offer their fool-proof ideas for curing the munchies.  From broths and soups to sauces and stews, the guys will share fun and accessible recipes – with the use of only one pot!  Marc Murphy will share his game plan for laid-back entertaining, so making brunch is Easy Like Sunday Morning.  In Entertaining from Around the World, Susan Feniger highlights dishes from her new cookbook, Susan Feniger's Street Food.  The legendary chef hits Auditorium Shores to share with attendees her favorite exotic and sublime nibbles from travels around the globe.

Master of the vine Ray Isle will teach attendees how to swish, savor and get acquainted with Superstar Wines from FOOD& WINE's 2013 Wine Guide, sourced from 500 of the world's greatest wineries.  In Cinema Vino: Wines from the Movies, wine impresario Mark Oldman will travel through cinematic history when he takes attendees on a tour of wine types made famous in the movies.  It's a tour of discriminating palates from James Bond to Hannibal Lector that's guaranteed to educate and entertain.

Everything is bigger in Texas – even the wine landscape!  Texas wine expert Russ Kane will curate an all-star panel of experts, including DevonBroglie (Master Sommelier), Craig Collins (Master Sommelier), and June Rodil (general manager, Qui Restaurant) to discuss the state of Lone Star vino.

See the full list of demonstrations, seminars and Festival programming at:

http://www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com/schedule/

Tickets for the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival come in two flavors: Taste ($250) and Savor ($850).  The Taste pass includes access to over 40 demos, seminars and tastings, and daily Grand Tasting events.  Purchasers of the Taste pass can also add-on tickets for Friday night's Taste of Texas event ($150) and/or Saturday night's Rock Your Taco event ($200).  The Savor experience includes priority access to all demos, tastings and hands-on experiences, private Grand Tastings on Saturday & Sunday, access to a VIP lounge with a bar and additional tastings, and access to both the Taste of Texas and Rock Your Taco evening events.

All attendees must be 21 years of age or older.  For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com, or follow us on Twitter @austinfoodwine and Facebook.com/austinfoodwine.

For media credentials, please fill out our online application here: http://afwf.co/afw-press-app.

The Austin FOOD & WINE Festival is generously sponsored by FOOD & WINE Magazine, Citi, H-E-B, KitchenAid, Stella Artois, Republic National Distributing Company, Glazer's, Chateau St. Michelle and Majestic Fine Wines.

SOURCE Austin FOOD & WINE Festival