Food & Wine is about more than stuffing your face.
Though you know from my last post on the topic that I stuffed it well.
My favorite feature of Atlanta’s Food & Wine Festival is the focus on education.  Each day of the festival begins with classes led by well-known Southern chefs and libation experts.  You get to choose 3 per day from a long list.  Proof that life is full of tough choices.
My friend Rich and Me
My strategy was to choose classes that were diverse. Â The amount of time I spent creating my schedule is embarrassing, but in the end it paid off!
Without rambling on (hopefully), I want to share some photos and takeaways from a few of those classes.
This Little Piggy Got Spicy
This class was taught by Chef Asha Gomez, a lady I admire and respect  (she inspired me to try curry leaves!).  She owns Cardamom Hill, one of the best Indian restaurants in Atlanta.  She focuses on cuisine from her home-region of Kerala.  It’s much different that the spicy curry dishes many associate with Indian food!
I especially love Asha’s mentality when it comes to trying new things:
I will never walk away from a fruit, vegetable, or spice that I am not familiar with. Â I will always pick it up and try it.
Pork Vindaloo
- While some of her dishes may seem like fusion, she prefers to call it evolution. Â Her fried chicken recipe is one her mother made back in India!
- Curry powder is a Western thing; in India curry simply means that something is braised with a sauce
- Classic Indian spices are black pepper, cardamom, and ginger; cumin and red chili pepper were introduced later by foreign merchants
- There is no naan in Kerala – gluten is not produced there so their main carb is rice
- The smaller the pepper, the spicier it is (I can’t believe I never realized this, but SO true)
- To learn the nuances of a spice, blanch a vegetable it in it
Fresh Start
Chef Nathan Lyon taught this clean eating course.  You may be familiar with his series on Discovery Health, A Lyon in the Kitchen, or from his appearance on The Next Food Network Star.
Summer Squash Salad
- When you salt food, do it from high up; this allows the salt to be distributed more evenly
- Sea salt is better than table salt (duh), and you can use less of it
- You don’t need to spend a ton of money on a variety of knives, rather have a couple of favorites and keep them sharp
- His focus on eating seasonally was best demonstrated with a delicious gazpacho-esque smoothie combo (that I forgot to take a pic of): watermelon, tomatoes, jalapeno, parsley, mint, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, red wine vinegar, and freshly squeezed lemon juice
Beer & Doughnuts
Beer Director Greg Elbert and Pastry Chef Tiffany MacIsaac (read: doughnut genius) from Birch & Barley and GBD Chicken & Donuts in Washington DC blew my mind with this session.  Who knew beer would be so tasty for breakfast?!
Beers sampled:Â
- Gose –Â old German beer style from Leipzig, unfiltered wheat beer, crispness and low hop, hints of coriander
- Allagash Curieux – this is Allagash’s Tripel Ale in Jim Beam bourbon barrels, amber color, soft and flavorful, yeast and vanilla upfront with hints of tasty bourbon at the end (this was my favorite)
- Avery Anniversary Twenty – new release (we were the frist in GA to try it), copper color, super hoppy IPA, citrus sweetness, surprisingly not bitter
Doughnuts sampled:
- Passion Fruit glazed, churro-style
- Classic yeast doughnut with a chocolate pudding filling, topped with chocolate glaze, maldon salt, and Cocoa Krispies
- Sour cream doughnut with a grapefruit and campari glaze
- Like wine, the best pairing is the one that tastes good to you
- What tastes good to me is the Allagash Curieux with the chocolate yeast doughnut or the grapefruit glazed
- When pairing food and drink, “make sure the impact matches” (this is why we typically don’t drink a light white wine with a T-bone steak)
Aged to Delicious Bourbon and Cheese
Led by Tim Gaddis of Atlanta’s Star Provisions and Seth Thompson of The Bourbon Review magazine, this session was a boozy treat. Â At least it was after noon at this point. Â To be honest I think all cheeses go with bourbon… I was an easy sell.
The Bourbons:
- Blanton’s Single Barrel – amber color, lots of citrus on the nose, nice caramel and clove taste
- Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey – reddish gold color, more oak and leather in taste, some vanilla
- Woodford Reserve Double Oaked – dark copper color, tons of butterscotch up front, deepens to a warm and woody finish (easily my #1)
- Four Roses Small Batch – amber color, lighter with more caramel and fruit on the finish
There isn’t much in terms of education notes to share here – you really have to experiment at home!
The cheeses were all scrumptious – we sampled Sweet Grass Dairy’s Green Hill Cow’s Milk, Ossau Inaty Sheep’s Milk, Rogue Blue, and Gouda.  I’d had all but one before (I love cheese, what can I say?).
The one I hadn’t tried was actually my favorite! Â It was a Aged 5 Year Gouda. Â It wasn’t smoked – it was a deliciously sweet butterscotch/caramel flavor that sung when paired with the Woodford.
***
One other note: don’t be afraid to go to events by yourself! Â I went solo on Saturday and met two awesome friends who I hung out with into the evening.
Were any of the lessons/takeaways new or surprising to you?
What is the most valuable food or drink-related lesson you’ve learned?
The beer and doughnut class sounds like my version of heaven! I never realized the size to spiciness ratio in peppers either!
It really was. Even at 10am. 😉
How funny about the curry powder and naan!! I make “Indian” food a lot, but I guess it’s very westernised 😉 I made lamb korma from complete scratch one time and it took hours. It was delicious but still so much easier to use curry powder!
I bet that was amazing! Lamb is my favorite.
Well, I never had beer for breakfast (at least not after 8 hours of sleep – definitely at 6am though) and never had doughnut since we don’t have them here. But I could live with that combo for sure! I used to drink Whisky and eat cheese with my Grandfather every time we met. It is my best memory of him, since we had great talks, laughs and deliciousness in front of us.
I think your grandpa and I would have gotten along famously. 🙂
Oh yum! I think I’d prefer beer n’ cheese to beer n’ doughnuts, but this is partially because I’m not a fan of tripels and those boozey-like heavy ones. I’d be allllllll over that Avery one though! Deeeeelish.
You would have liked this one (I think) – after being aged in the bourbon casks it was intense!
I love these festivals for the LEARNING! I literally EAT it up, haha. You learn to respect the culture and food even more, yes?!
Exactly! And there was SO much diversity.
oh cheese!!!! Pure heaven for me!
DANG all were new to me.
I NEED ME SOME SCHOOL.
Sounds so fun. And I love that you went by yourself and met new friends. I wish I was more outgoing like that!
It’s easy to make friends over beer and doughnuts. 😉
The curry part – I didn’t realize that it was a technique not a seasoning or flavor. But I still love the western curry LOL. And beer and donuts? Very interesting. I haven’t had a donut since I worked at a bakery nearly 20 years ago!
Same here! And I didn’t know cumin wasn’t native!
That was my first doughnut in years… and all 3 were worth the wait. 😉
I was already jealous of your beer and donuts breakfast, but now that I know that you got to sip on the Avery Anniversary IPA with a grapefruit and Campari glazed sour cream donut, I’m double jealous. Don’t get me started on the fancy cheese with a few really good bourbons. Throw in a charcuterie and fresh bread course for dinner and you’ve made my perfect day of food.
Oh, did I leave that part out? 😉 It was outstanding. And yes, midway through the whiskey and cheese I was wishing for a baguette.
What an awesome experience! I am jealous! And you are right, going to events by yourself can be SO fun. I have even ventured out to restaurants by myself and the dining experience is totally unique, as a result.
So many great lessons! After you mentioned the S. Beach Food Festival, I looked it up! Maybe you can come down for it. 🙂 It’s a little pricey because of all the celebrity chefs but sounds like it’d be right up your alley!!
OMG – that would be so much fun! The ATL fest is a lont of $$ too… but worth every cent.
Ah cheese. Sometimes I miss it. I found the information about curry and Indian spices interesting. What a great festival, to combine food tasting and education. I would love that!
That’s interesting about the curry powder and naan – obviously, that’s the first thing I think about when I think about Indian food, so I never would have guessed that.
I’m not a beer fan, but maybe if paired with donuts I could handle it 😉 Sour cream glazed donuts are my absolute favourite.
Me too! I should have know from eatig at her restaurant so much!
Yummmm.
I didn’t realize they don’t make naan in Kerala – crazy!
I think the “don’t be afraid to go alone” comment is the most important! If you want to go to an event, go! Or restaurant–can’t believe how many people refuse to go out to eat alone (and then miss out on going somewhere they really want to eat.) That said, I’m still envious of that beer-at-breakfast. Mmm…
I actually prefer it – you learn all sorts of things at the bar. 🙂
That all sounds so interesting! I went to a Cheese & Wine festival in London, but that was pretty much one in which you stuff your face – not too much education there. The festival you went to sounds much more up my alley. I’ve always wondered about the different uses of the word “curry”, and I love that saying “make sure the impact matches” when pairing wines with foods. All very interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks! It was a great one. I wonder if all of the Food & Wine Festivals have the education piece? It was for sure the highlight.
I AM CLUELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks like tons of fun but if I ate even 1/4 of that, I think my stomach would have rebelled – got up – and walked out of my body! It is not used to that stuff! 😉
So glad you had fun!!!!!
I love this concept : she prefers to call it evolution.
I absolutely love Indian food. I grew up with it. I just bought myself a groupon for one of the best Indian food restaurants in my city. It’s called Namaste 🙂
Donuts are huge these days. I feel like they are the next best thing beside cupcakes. Nooo. No way. Cupcakes are that bomb. They will always be my #1.
Love that you went alone and met friends. I totally would do that too!
I loved the evolution term too – fusion makes it sounds too trendy!
Cupcakes > donuts. Most of the time.
Obviously my close personal friend Asha provided such insightful educational points. I only have friends of high intelligence.
Hahaha – I thought of you. Soon we will dine at Cardamom Hill together. Will you move already?!
WOW! What a lovely overview! I am so glad you had a wonderful time, learned a lot and indulged in all our wonderful Southern flavors and traditions … even those from Southern India.
We look forward to seeing you in 2014!
Cheers,
– Dominique Love
CEO & Co-Founder, AF&WF
Thank you so much, Dominique! It was a fabulous event! I’ve been all 3 years and it just gets better. Already looking forward to 2014. 🙂
It’s no surprise I’m in love with the cheese plate. I still can’t get over how incredible your weekend sounds and looks. delicious.
I must admit I’ve long been perplexed by the reliance on “curry powder” in North American (blog) recipes for Indian food; I’ve never known people to use that instead of individual spices when making curries, back home that is! Loved reading the tips you picked up, Laura, thank you for sharing them. If only you could have shared the beer and cheese too…