This lists the entire finest dishes, desserts, and drinks on the 2024 EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition at Walt Disney World. Right here we cowl absolutely the must-eat snacks on the International Marketplaces all through World Showcase and Celebration, with every thing that you must attempt on the fall foodie occasion.
This ‘better of the fest’ checklist makes planning and grazing across the World Showcase simpler, as there are dozens upon dozens of dishes on the International Marketplaces of various high quality: good, dangerous, and ugly. This a lot is evident for those who’ve learn our Sales space Menus, Meals Images & Evaluations for the 2024 EPCOT Worldwide Meals & Wine Competition.
For many who don’t need to comb via these particular person opinions, this prolonged checklist of must-try dishes, desserts, and drinks is a one-stop useful resource for these of you visiting within the close to future who need a concise rundown of what to eat and keep away from at this 12 months’s EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition at Walt Disney World. As all the time, there are shocking (generally) new additions in addition to returning fan-favorites on this checklist…
Let’s begin with a couple of prefatory notes earlier than digging in. First, you’ll discover that this dish is generally extra bold choices. This isn’t as a result of we’re meals snobs or don’t take pleasure in a responsible pleasure–we do. It’s as a result of anybody who’s crazing french fries, mac & cheese or scorching canine in all probability is aware of precisely what they need and may inform by the menus and sneaking a peek at plates of their neighborhood whether or not it’ll enchantment to them. This checklist is thus higher centered on the distinctive and extra borderline dishes that might be glorious or atrocious relying upon execution.
On that notice, it’s additionally vital to level out that tastes could fluctuate. Once more, we’re not meals snobs–that a lot must be clear by a couple of of those entries, however we do assume {that a} devoted meals competition ought to have bold and adventurous choices. Crowd-pleasing consolation delicacies has a spot, however that’s accessible virtually all over the place at Walt Disney World. We’ve been annual attendees of the EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition for 15+ years with the intention to style international delicacies and dishes which can be totally different.
Moreover, as we’ve seen since we’ve been masking Meals & Wine Competition over the past decade-plus, high quality management will not be all the time one of the best…and even so-so. Dishes differ from everyday and even hour to hour. Gadgets are produced rapidly and in giant portions, and aren’t made to order. As such, outcomes might be inconsistent, and one particular person’s “completely cooked” steak might be over-cooked for a visitor who orders the identical factor minutes later.
Likewise, portion sizes can fluctuate fairly considerably. There have been instances when we’ve sat at our desk stood at our trash can, and observed that different visitors close to us who ordered the identical factor have considerably smaller or bigger parts. Each of those variables can impression your notion of a specific dish.
Freshly-prepared Le Cellier filet mignon that’s twice the dimensions of a very fatty portion that’s been sitting underneath a warmth lamp for half-hour goes to assessment higher. This isn’t an arbitrary instance–we’ve discovered that meats are mostly inconsistent, with the long-lasting Canadian steak being the most important offender. That’s very true on slower days. You is perhaps joyful to search out no traces on the meals cubicles, however traces are literally a very good factor from the angle of freshness.
Anyway, check out the best-of the 2024 EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition checklist…
Smoked Corned Beef (Flavors from Fireplace) – The dangerous information is that the Flavors from Fireplace sales space is a shadow of its former self and has been within the post-reopening period. The excellent news is dangerous by Flavors from Fireplace requirements (the #1 total sales space for a number of consecutive years) continues to be fairly good.
If you wish to go for just one merchandise, that completely must be the Smoked Corned Beef with Home-made Potato Chips, Cheese Curds, Pickled Onions and Beer-Cheese Fondue (prime). This has been one of many prime 5 dishes for so long as it’s been on the menu, and that’s true once more this 12 months. It’s smoked corned beef on a mattress of house-made potato chips, with a fondue drizzle to prime it off. The fondue is advanced, and the corned beef is lean and tender, with a wonderful smokiness. It’s an ideal marriage of flavors; an bold consolation meals that’s good for fall.
The opposite objects are additionally worthy of consideration. The Not possible Montreal Fashion Burger Slider is a plant-based standout, however I’ll admit to being upset that Flavors from Fireplace isn’t a carnivore’s paradise. The true burger is even higher, however nonetheless dear and small for what it’s. Truthfully, I might’ve liked to see full-sized variations of each burgers at Connections and one thing else on the menu right here. Flavors from Fireplace has began to stagnate and it’s time for a full menu redo, minus the reliably good Smoked Corn Beef, in fact.
Liquid Nitrogen Frozen Candy Potato Mousse (Swirled Showcase) – For years, our favourite dessert at EPCOT’s Meals & Wine Competition was the Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Heat Whiskey-Caramel. Within the submit reopening-era of the occasion, it has kind of returned, however with totally different displays and subpar high quality.
That is that dessert for actual, however with totally different flavors. And whereas I miss the decadence of the outdated one, I additionally love the brand new Liquid Nitrogen Frozen Candy Potato Mousse with candied pecans and maple-caramel sauce. That is principally fall in dessert kind. The proper style of Thanksgiving as a calming indulgence.
I really recognize that his is good potato versus pumpkin, as has a extra earthy taste and doesn’t appear fairly as candy. The maple-caramel sauce does the trick for sweetening it, with the candied pecans offering texture. It’s an unimaginable dessert; one which’s bold and acceptable for a fall foodie competition. It additionally makes me miss the chocolate model rather less–though that ought to come again for EPCOT’s Competition of the Holidays. That is our #1 dessert of the 2024 EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition.
Pink Wine-braised Beef Brief Rib (Earth Eats) – This beef quick rib is served atop a mattress of goat cheese polenta and puttanesca sauce, and is garnished with shaved pecorino, and petit herbs. It falls aside when reduce with the fork, and is extremely tender, flavorful, and juicy. Equally as vital, it has slightly little bit of fats for taste, however not a lot as to render any of the meat inedible.
Whereas the puttanesca sauce is there for taste, I felt no want to the touch this till I used to be carried out with the meat. Fortunately, each stood on their very own–the puttanesca sauce had chunks of tomatoes and greens, plus the right acidity and garlic stage. Then there was the goat cheese polenta, which was completely heavenly–wealthy and creamy and with simply the correct quantity of earthiness. (Becoming given the sales space title!)
The dimensions of this sales space’s portion coupled with the standard is what makes this the finest worth dish on the 2024 EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition. That is extremely advisable whether or not you’re paying out of pocket or on the Disney Eating Plan. I’ll be getting this repeatedly; it’s an amazing substitute for a counter service meal. That is EPCOT competition meals at its finest–nuanced taste and a focus to element, whereas nonetheless being approachable for everybody. The Pink Wine-braised Beef Brief Rib belongs on the very prime of your checklist of dishes to order.
Roasted Lamb Chop (Australia) — This International Market has been providing up lamb dishes since so long as I can keep in mind, and the Roasted Lamb Chop with mint pesto and potato crunchies is a private favourite. I actually just like the refreshing mint pesto contrasted with the wealthy lamb; the potato chips aren’t obligatory, however slightly texture by no means hurts.
Ours had a beneficiant quantity of meat and wasn’t too fatty (YMMV on each counts), and the accompaniments are refined and considerate objects that pair effectively with the lamb.
Australia virtually will get the coveted “order the whole menu” endorsement. Possibly it ought to have. The Grilled Bushberry Spiced Shrimp Skewer with sweet-and-sour greens and coconut chili sauce is one of the best model of the shrimp we’ve ever had, and the Lamington is similar because it all the time is (which is to say that quite a lot of the Meals & Wine trustworthy like it, however we’re extra combined).
Chocolate Amarula Mousse (Refreshment Outpost) – That is primarily an outsized Zebra Dome, which–for these unfamiliar with the long-lasting Animal Kingdom Lodge dessert–may be very excessive reward. There’s a purpose Zebra Domes are among the many most iconic Walt Disney World desserts regardless of being accessible at some of the inconvenient resorts. This brings them right into a mainstream in-park location that in all probability sees extra foot visitors in a day than AKL does in a 12 months.
Suffice to say, the Chocolate Amarula Mousse is ideal. The mousse is buoyant and creamy, the interior filling is wealthy, and the cookie base offers a little bit of crunch and texture. There’s a lot greater than meets the attention right here, because it’s a flavorful, distinctive and nuanced dessert. My solely ever-so-slight “disappointment” is that promoting this at EPCOT makes a visit to Animal Kingdom Lodge much less particular. I’m not attempting to “gatekeep” or no matter…I simply actually assume extra Walt Disney World followers ought to go to AKL, and eradicating an incentive to do this is barely unlucky. However who is aware of, extra individuals changing into hooked on this big Zebra Dome is perhaps a boon for enterprise as soon as this competition ends!
Lobster Tail (Coastal Eats) – It’s going to by no means stop to amaze me that Walt Disney World will cellphone within the absolute most elementary of dishes–french fries, doughnuts or rooster wings–however completely crush it with advanced seafood. And this occurs with regularity, 12 months in and 12 months out.
This lobster tail is ideal in each conceivable manner. There’s a beneficiant quantity of meat, which is flavorful and tender. The butter and lemon deliver out the pure taste of the seafood much more, enhancing what’s already there fairly than masking subpar seafood or making rubbery meat manageable.
Truthfully, our largest disappointment with Coastal Eats is that the menu isn’t bigger, with separate scallops and salmon choices. These are two different dishes that the EPCOT culinary staff has traditionally carried out extremely effectively. Allow them to showcase their skills!
Kalua Pork Slider (Hawaii) – It’s frankly a travesty that Hawaii isn’t listed as an “every thing” sales space. For causes that I’ll by no means perceive, they eradicated the fan-favorite SPAM Hash. Fortunately, the Ardour Fruit Cheesecake nonetheless delivers (and earns our suggestion), as does the Kalua Pork Slider.
It’s the latter merchandise that finally ends up scoring the spot right here. Should you’ve been to EPCOT’s Meals & Wine Competition previously decade–and even learn protection of the occasion–you’ve tried or heard of this. It’s a fan favourite, and for good purpose. Regardless of the comparatively small roll, this sandwich comes with a heaping serving to of moist pork, topped with pineapple chutney and a liberal coating of spicy mayonnaise. The gentle zest of the sauce mixes completely with the pineapple, and the meat is all the time completely flavored. It is a can’t miss!
Griddled Cheese (Greece) – The long-lasting Griddled Greek Cheese is again as soon as once more for 2024! This makes use of kasseri cheese, which is a conventional semi-hard Greek cheese made out of sheep and goat milk. Griddling the cheese softens it up, giving it an exterior pores and skin.
The hardened honey provides a sweetness and the bottom pistachios supply additional crunch. The components coalesce remarkably effectively, and the tip result’s a creamy, nutty, candy, and earthy cheese dish that may be a really elegant. That is simply one in every of our all-time favourite dishes of the EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition.
Feijoada (Brazil) – This dish options crispy pork stomach, black beans, Brazil nut pesto, and lengthy grain white rice. It is a good one-two punch for us; the bottom gives well-rounded taste with loads of seasoning and nuance.
And naturally, what’s to not love about pork stomach?! This meat is melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious, with the correct quantity of fattiness and excellent preparation. Collectively, it’s a well-balanced dish that’s directly bold and comforting. If Walt Disney World goes to make Meals & Wine menus extra crowd-pleasing, this is strictly find out how to do it!
Freshly-baked Chocolate Pudding Cake (Flavors of America) – For these lamenting the lack of the Eire sales space, America’s acquired you coated. In typical USA trend, we’re taking dishes from different nations and making them our personal. That’s kind of what’s occurred with this chocolate pudding cake, which merely swaps out the Irish Cream Liqueur Custard for Bourbon Caramel Sauce.
Being distinctly patriot, you’ll by no means get me to confess Eire’s sauce is superior. That is nonetheless unbelievable. The cake is extremely moist and gooey, with simply the correct density. It’s a wealthy and decadent indulgence–exactly what you’d anticipate from a sales space slinging 4 totally different scorching canine (‘MURICA!). Seize whichever of these catches your eye, and pair it with this extremely advisable dessert!
Tiramisù Funnel Cake (Funnel Cake) – It is a funnel cake…served at Funnel Cake, which is the title of the one-person kiosk between American Journey and Japan. This little spot all the time has a competition funnel cake, and so they’re normally winners.
The 2024 EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition is not any totally different, and that is wonderful. The draw back of the solo store is that the traces might be lengthy and transfer at an anemic tempo. The upside is that the funnel cake is all the time freshly-made. This Tiramisù Funnel Cake is topped with vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate rum sauce and cream cheese whipped cream and dusted with cocoa and espresso powder. It does an incredibly good job at approximating Tiramisù and isn’t in the least pretend or synthetic.
Eel Temaki Sushi (Japan) – That is hand-rolled sushi with grilled eel, egg crumbles, cucumber, and pickled daikon radish served with eel sauce. That is one in every of two related choices, following the crowd-pleasing American Wagyu beef hand roll. I like eel, and would implore you to present it an opportunity for those who’ve by no means had it. Eel is not that unique or adventurous.
The eel has a fragile taste that’s mild, candy and savory; the feel is agency and chewy–very distinctive. The place it actually shines is when accompanied by eel sauce, which provides the fish a deeper umami taste, which performs effectively with its candy and savoriness. The egg and cucumber likewise add to the flavour–I may’ve used extra of the latter (and maybe some extra eel sauce given the quantity of rice).
We make it a degree to go to unagi eating places every time we’re in Japan. Nagoya has some unbelievable ones, lots of which supply exponentially extra eel for under barely more cash than this hand roll, however that’s the character of the beast. Nonetheless, I’d extremely advocate this Eel Tamaki Sushi regardless of the excessive value as a result of it’s one thing distinctive and attention-grabbing carried out surprisingly effectively. On the DDP, it’s an absolute no-brainer.
Pickle Milkshake (Brew-Wing) – Final 12 months’s viral drink on the EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition is again for spherical two. This spawned a ton of sturdy reactions final 12 months, however it’s now outdated information–the influencers have moved on. My opinion then and now could be far more vanilla. Actually. It’s a vanilla milkshake with dill seasoning plus inexperienced meals coloring. The tip result’s one thing that has an attention-grabbing interaction of candy and creamy, and semi-sour, savory, tart and tangy. Greater than anything, the Pickle Milkshake is tasty, cooling and refreshing.
I really like this! The ice cream within the shake tastes shockingly top quality, the portion is sizable, and the worth is comparatively cheap. It additionally is available in a plastic mason jar, which I suppose you can take house as a memento? Don’t get me improper–that is like #22 on my checklist of highlights on the 2024 EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition, however nonetheless, it does make the checklist. The Pickle Milkshake will not be essentially the most ingenious, bold, and even bizarre dish, however it’s a cheap ice cream supply car. It’s price giving a shot.
Every little thing (Harvest Hole) – It’s a time honored custom for this weblog to advocate a couple of cubicles of their entirety, saving your sanity and time in not having to attend in a bunch of lengthy traces for particular person objects. For the 2024 EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition, we’re taking this a number of steps additional and endorsing a complete space: Harvest Hole.
That is the new-look stretch alongside the Rose Stroll between Journey into Creativeness and World Showcase. It’s house to 3 meals studios and a grand complete of 9 dishes. Whereas we don’t assume they’re all fairly of equal high quality, they’re all superb to nice. And likelihood is, there are taste and ingredient combos in that blend that ‘gained’t converse to you’ otherwise you’ll in any other case need to skip. With that stated, if we may solely do three cubicles on the 2024 EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition, this trio can be eat. Listed below are particular person opinions of the meals studios in Harvest Hole:
Critically, begin right here and work your manner backwards. These are our #1, #2, and #3 cubicles of the whole 2024 EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition. Throw in Earth Eats, Coastal Eats, and Flavors from Fireplace and you can simply ‘end’ Meals & Wine earlier than even coming into World Showcase!
Honorable Mentions – It’s inconceivable to checklist each dish from the 2024 EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition that’s superb or higher. Accordingly, right here’s a listing of honorable mentions–along with a number of the secondary picks listed above:
- Hawaiian Rice Bowl (Hawaii)
- Braised Beef Poutine (Refreshment Port)
- Cheddar Cheese Soup with Pretzel Roll (Canada)
- Filet Mignon (Canada)
- France Sales space (all dishes are good to superb, however not nice)
- Beer-braised Beef (Belgium)
- Tangierine Cafe (nothing new right here, however all dishes are superb)
- India Sales space (each objects are superb)
- Caramel Apple Milk Shake (Sunshine Seasons)
Even skipping complete cubicles like Mexico, Italy, China, Germany, Spain, and different well-liked choices–you continue to have over three dozen suggestions for those who order every thing on this checklist. That’s quite a lot of dishes to attempt! Should you don’t get full or go broke attempting, likelihood is, you’ll need to repeat a few of them earlier than needing to hassle with the remainder of the fest.
Take a look at our International Market Sales space Menus & Images for the EPCOT Meals & Wine Competition Sales space Menus submit if you wish to see and skim extra about each menu this 12 months! You’ll additionally need to learn our full 2024 EPCOT Worldwide Meals & Wine Competition Information earlier than you go to get an concept of what to do, technique for the competition (sure, you will want a method), and far more!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you’ve any favourite snacks from the 2024 EPCOT Worldwide Meals & Wine Competition? Should you’ve tried any of the dishes on this checklist, what’d you consider them? Did we snub any of your prime dishes, desserts, or drinks at this 12 months’s occasion? Agree or disagree with our decisions? Any questions we will help you reply? Listening to suggestions about your experiences is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
