Our Disney Annual Passes were coming to a close, (but that’s a story for another time) and we decided to make one last weekend trip to Walt Disney World and spend the weekend. We wanted to check out the 2021 Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT.
While we LOVE the floral displays and topiaries, as foodies, we really wanted to check out some of the foods. So, we’ll start there!
The Food at EPCOT’s Flower & Garden Festival
Disney has made a significant push to feature foods of the world during the Flower and Garden Festival. For us, this makes so much sense. The floral gardens, topiaries, and displays are BEAUTIFUL. But you can’t take them home with you. So, focusing on plant-based food, as well as local ingredients, was brilliant. And, we all gotta eat!
Here are our top 3 Flower and Garden Festival Foods. Be sure to check out the rest of the festival menu as well.
#3 – Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake
The cheesecake itself was dense and rich, not too dry, but what we’d expect with mascarpone, and it had just a hint of honey. However, what really made it for us were the accompaniments. I was served with Orange Blossom Honey Whipped Cream, Crystalized Honey, Honeycomb, Dehydrated Honey, and Fennel Pollen Meringue Kisses.
They all had unique textures. Coming from different types of honey, they all had different flavors too. I still don’t know how they kept the Meringue Kisses together with the humidity – but they did.
This dish can be found at The Honey Bee-stro, hosted by Natural Brands Honey. It’s located at the end of Showcase Plaza near the Traveler’s Café.
Other dishes at the Bee-stro are:
Tupelo Honey and Sweet Corn Spoon Bread and the Lavender Honey Mustard marinated Chicken Flatbread.
#2 – Pecan Cake with Maple Whipped Cream
This is ironic for us, as neither of us are really big sweets people. However, the cake had a great texture, not too dense and not too crumbly. They added a few toasted Pecans for crunch and plenty of Caramel Sauce.
This is absolutely something we’d make at home for family or friends. It’s almost there with Liberty Tree Tavern’s Sticky Toffee Pudding.
The Pecan Cake can be found at Magnolia Terrace at The American Adventure. Other food options at that kiosk are Crawfish Etouffee, Cajun-style Roasted Oysters, House Made Boudin Two Ways, and Pecan Pralines.
#1 – Bon Bon Chicken Skewers
Ya, we were pretty surprised that a chicken skewer made the top of the list. It was moist and had a big flavor from the Sesame and Peanut Sauce. And, it was a nice size portion!
We had heard a couple of negative reviews about it being ‘fatty.’ Still, We found that dark meat they used just enough to really add flavor and moisture to the skewers.
The Chicken Skewers can be found at the Lotus House kiosk in the China pavilion. Other dishes available at this booth were Papa Cakes – Potato Cakes filled with Shrimp and Water Chestnuts with a Strawberry Sauce and House-made Crab and Cheese Wontons.
Honorable Mentions
There were two other food items we liked. They were good, but there was just something that kept them from being amazing. Incidentally, the two favorites came from side by side pavilions – Germany and Italy.
Potato Pancakes – the Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market in Germany offered House-made Potato Pancakes two ways. The first was with Apple Sauce. We opted for the second choice topped with Caramelized Ham, Onions, and Herb Sour Cream.
The flavor of the dish was excellent. The Herb Sour Cream cut through the saltiness of the Ham. Unfortunately, the Potato Pancake was a little mushy. It needed a slight crispness to make it a great dish.
Arancini – Primavera Kitchen in Italy offered traditional Arancini. The portion was five small Risotto Balls with Sweet Italian Sausage. The Pomodoro sauce was delicious, the Risotto had a beautiful texture, and the Arancini had a nice crunch. The problem was the size of the Arancini. The five balls were great for sharing. But, unfortunately, because they didn’t give one or two larger balls, you didn’t get enough of the tasty Italian Sausage.
So, what were some of your favorite foods at this year’s Flower and Garden Festival at Walt Disney World?
* At the time of our visit the CDC guidelines and Walt Disney World restrictions still required masks outdoors. Check out our blog post, Walt Disney World During COVID-19 to see how we made the decision to visit the parks
