The Food and Wine Classic in Aspen will feature a full plate of seminars, tastings and special events this Friday through Sunday.
Passes for the festival sold out again this year, at about $3,000 apiece. But many events around town don’t require a badge to get in — while others sell tickets a la carte.
Food and Wine Classic Public Programming
A festival pass is required to enter the Grand Tasting Tent, as well as most of the seminars. But a few of the talks are open to the public, on a first-come first-served basis at the Isis Theater.
On Friday at 10 a.m., a panel about “How Iconic Restaurants Build a Legacy” will feature several big-name chefs, restaurateurs and sommeliers: Meg Bickford, Carlin Karr, Ti Martin, Danny Meyer and Bobby Stuckey. The conversation will be moderated by Food and Wine Magazine’s executive features editor Kat Kinsman.
Later in the day, at 3 p.m., the conversation focuses on a “Cooking Competition Confessional,” featuring former Top Chef contestants Stephanie Izard, Shota Nakajima and Claudette Zepeda. Chef and cooking competition judge Maneet Chauhan will moderate.
And on Saturday at 3 p.m., the Isis will host an “unfiltered” conversation with celebrity chef David Chang, moderated by Kat Kinsman.
Members of the public are encouraged to line up 30 minutes before each seminar. Attendees must be 21 or older.
Festival-adjacent events
The formal programming of the Food and Wine Classic makes up only a portion of the weekend’s events. People can also find public pop-ups, tastings and meet-and-greets all over the downtown core — largely based in galleries and retail stores.
Below are just a few examples of what’s on tap; many more can be found by just dressing up and walking around Aspen.
- Hooch, on East Hopkins Avenue, is teaming up with James Beard Award-winning restaurateur Kelly Whitaker for a selection of sustainably-minded sushi on Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. Whitaker is using pieces of fish that might typically go to waste, to show that every ingredient has the potential to become part of an impressive meal, he told Aspen Public Radio.
- Explore Booksellers, on Main Street, will host a book signing with journalist and wine expert Ray Isle from 2 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Isle is the executive wine editor for Food and Wine Magazine, and the author of “The World in a Wineglass.”
- M.S. Rau, an art gallery and antique dealer with a pop-up on Mill Street, will offer a wine and art pairing experience through Saturday, with drinks from Keller Estate in Sonoma. Then, on Sunday afternoon, they’ll host a book signing with mixologist Neal Bodenheimer from 3 to 5 p.m. He’s the author of “Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em.”
Hotel Jerome’s Epicurean Passport
The Hotel Jerome hosts its own culinary program the same weekend as the Food and Wine Classic, with a lineup of big-name chef dinners and daytime events. All-access passes, to the tune of nearly $5,000, are required for some of the events. But others offer standalone tickets that are priced closer to a nice meal out.
“A la carte” programming includes champagne tastings and caviar-and-cocktail offerings, as well as a “Bar Legends” program at the hotel’s Bad Harriet speakeasy. There’s also a celebrity chef basketball tournament on Friday afternoon and a Dance Aspen performance paired with wines later that day.
And throughout the weekend, Aspen-based artist Jody Guralnick will be installing a new mural at the hotel. Her 32-foot-wide, 6-foot-high piece is focused on the wildflowers of Aspen, with gold accents inspired by a recent trip to Japan.
