Ocala, FL— Back for a fourth year, the Ocala Food & Wine Festival presented by Lugano Diamonds returns to World Equestrian Center – Ocala November 1-3. The celebrity-chef-led celebration will feature three days of culinary competition, beer, wine, spirits education and samples of extraordinary cuisine.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Public Education Foundation of Marion County and the ProStart Program, supporting youth programming in the culinary and hospitality industries. Tickets for the event are now on sale at ocalafoodandwinefest.com.
This year’s three-day event fires up on Friday, November 1 with Flavors of the Fire, a welcome event on the Grand Plaza featuring a blend of international, live-fire dishes, spirits and live music. On Saturday afternoon, the main event unfolds with the Grand Tasting in Exposition Center 1. Attendees can relish a bounty of samples and learn from a lineup of experts during on-stage chef demonstrations from Lorena Garcia, Marc Murphy, Esther Choi and Ocala’s pitmaster Rashad Jones, among other talents.
In addition to sampling and demos, Grand Tasting attendees can enjoy seminar-style breakouts on a second stage, Q&A time with the chefs, and the crowd favorite—the Jr. Chef Mystery Basket Competition showcasing Ocala’s rising chefs in a head-to-head cookoff.
For Five-Star Experience package holders, Saturday evening will conclude with the multicourse Celebrity Chef Dinner at Stirrups, where each course is curated and presented by a celebrity chef and paired by a Master Sommelier. The festival will come to a close on Sunday, November 3 with the Champagne Jazz Brunch on the terrace at The Equestrian Hotel.
Tickets to the Ocala Food & Wine Festival are available in multiple packages for the full weekend experience, as well as per select individual events. The festival’s top package offering, the Five-Star Experience, includes exclusive activations like the Friday night Tiki Afterparty, exclusive access to the Bubble Lounge at Saturday’s Grand Tasting and a pre-dinner cocktail hour in The Equestrian Hotel rose garden Saturday evening, in addition to the coveted Celebrity Chef Dinner.
To learn more about the event and purchase tickets, visit ocalafoodandwinefest.com. Attendees can make the most of the weekend by staying on-site at The Equestrian Hotel or The Riding Academy Hotel, both of which will offer weekend hotel stay packages for attendees. Stay connected by following the event’s Facebook page: Ocala Food & Wine Festival at WEC.
The festival is made possible through the support of our generous sponsors and returning marketing partner, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.