2014-08-01 Eater

31 Food & Drink Events for August and Beyond

Friday, August 1, 2014, by Amy McKeever

There's no such thing as dog days when it comes to Summer food and music festival season. Headlining this month of food events is Noma chef René Redzepi's annual food conference that'll be bringing in chefs, farmers, and other industry professionals from across the world to discuss what cooking is today (MAD Symposium). This month will also see the kick-off of a tour of the Americas by some of Spain's most celebrated chefs (Roca&Roll Tour), as well as an annual Midwestern tribute to fried foods and butter sculptures (Iowa State Fair). Not to mention all the food-loving music festivals coming up in San Francisco (Outside Lands), Minneapolis (Cultivate), and San Jose (Electronic Sriracha Festival). And that's just August — there are even more mega events in September and beyond. Check it out:

Houston Restaurant Weeks
When: August 2014
Where: Houston, TX
What: Not your average restaurant week. Houston Restaurant Weeks is a monthlong affair in which restaurants band together to benefit the Houston Food Bank. All month, participating restaurants will offer specials with proceeds going to the charity. Participants include Caracol, Hugo's, Vallone's, Etoile, La Fisheria, and more.

Eat Drink SF
When: July 27 - August 3, 2014
Where: San Francisco, CA
What: The wine and food festival formerly known as SF Chefs is back with a ton of events in the works this year. Though the main events — tastings, demos, and classes of all stripes — are taking place August 1-3, there's a pre-party that will celebrate San Francisco Chronicle's new Top 100 class, plus a Top 100 bar crawl.

Farm to Table International Symposium
When: August 2 — August 4, 2014
Where: New Orleans, LA
What: Chefs, policy-makers, researchers, slow food advocates, and farmers are coming together in New Orleans this weekend for the Farm to Table International Symposium. There will be panels and lectures on things like sourcing, preventing food waste, and "starting a farm-to-glass distillery." There's also going to be a film festival curated by the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.

Roca&Roll World Tour
When: August 4 — September 5, 2014
Where: Various.
What: Last December, the brothers of Spain's three-Michelin-starred El Celler de Can Roca announced that they would embark on a Roca&Roll tour of the Americas beginning in August 2014. According to the New York Times, the brothers will launch their tour in Houston on August 4, an end in Lima, Peru on September 5. They'll visit six cities in total.

Iowa State Fair
When: August 7 — August 17, 2014
Where: Des Moines, IA
What: The Iowa State Fair is renowned for its contributions to totally insane food combinations and concoctions, and this year looks as promising as ever. New food things at this year's fair include funnel cake sticks, chicken fried bacon, pineapple inside out funnel cake, and tater dogs on a stick.

Outside Lands
When: August 8 — August 10, 2014
Where: San Francisco, CA
What: There are killer lineups on both the food and music side of the upcoming Outside Lands festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Restaurants participating include AQ, Homeroom, and TBD, while the musical acts include Kanye West, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Killers, The Flaming Lips, Haim, and a whole lot more.

Have Another Offal Day
When: August 10, 2014
Where: Sacramento, CA
What: Chefs from across Sacramento are getting together again this year for a celebration of all things offal. Dishes at last year's event included the likes of lamb brain samosas and deep fried duck tongues and testicles, while this year should see plenty of haggis and balut (embryonic duck eggs).

Bon Appétit Grub Crawl
When: August 16, 2014
Where: Park City, UT
What: Bon Appétit's Grub Crawl hits Park City this month offering two separate culinary "trails" for diners to explore, including Zoom, High West, and Wahso on Trail A and The Sky Lodge, Shabu, and Chimayo on Trail B. Later this year, the Grub Crawl will stop in Nashville and San Francisco.

Northern Chefs Alliance Play With Fire Benefit Dinner for FarmOn
When: August 17, 2014
Where: Hudson Valley, NY
What: A crew of US and Canadian chefs that includes Zakary Pelaccio, April Bloomfield, Sean Brock, Jamie Bissonnette, Francisco Migoya, Derek Dammann, Matt Jennings and more are gathering at Fish & Game farm in August for a feast feature five open pit fires and whole spit roasted meats to benefit FarmOn.

Crab Cake 2014
When: August 17, 2014
Where: Los Angeles, CA
What: A bunch of famous Maryland natives are teaming up in Los Angeles for the second annual crab cake fest that will raise funds for the Los Angeles Mission. The chef hosts include Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, and Duff Goldman. Musicians Joel and Benji Madden will also host, along with Mad Men actor Ben Feldman (who, fun fact, is Susan Feniger's nephew, according to People).

Los Angeles Food & Wine
When: August 21 — August 24, 2014
Where: Los Angeles, CA
What: LA Food & Wine is back this year featuring a lineup that includes Masaharu Morimoto, Graham Elliot, Daniel Boulud, and many other yet-to-be-announced chefs. According to Eater LA, this year's event includes a Chef Challenge that "pits influential chefs in a culinary battle (for charity)."

Cultivate Festival
When: August 23 - October 18, 2014
Where: Various locations.
What: Chipotle's fourth-annual Cultivate Festival continues on August 23 in Minneapolis. The musical lineup includes Portgual. The Man, and Grouplove, while Chipotle and its sister concept ShopHouse will be providing sustenance alongside some local artisans, brewers, and wine-makers. There will also be chef demos from Andrew Zimmern, Amanda Freitag, Erik Anderson, Jamie Malone, Paul Berglund, and Jack Reibel. Cultivate will head to Dallas next in October.

MAD 4
When: August 24 — August 25, 2014
Where: Copenhagen, Denmark
What: René Redzepi's annual MAD Symposium returns this August with D.O.M. chef Alex Atala on board as co-curator. Chefs, cooks, farmers, and other industry professionals will take over Copenhagen to discuss what cooking is today, how it will evolve, and their own responsibilities within that.

Bogota Wine & Food Festival
When: August 27 — August 31, 2014
Where: Bogota, Colombia
What: Later this month, chefs from across the Americas will head to Bogota to celebrate and explore Colombian cuisine at the Bogota Wine & Food Festival. The lineup for this festival includes chefs Enrique Olvera, Jair Tellez, David Kinch, Dominique Crenn, Carlo Mirarchi, and Renzo Garibaldi.

Hawaii Food & Wine Festival
When: August 29 — September 7, 2014
Where: Hawaii
What: The Hawaii Food & Wine Festival returns for its fourth year of celebrating delicious food in a beautiful island paradise. This year's chef lineup includes Masaharu Morimoto, Nancy Silverton, Dean Fearing, Jonathan Waxman, Christina Tosi, Andy Ricker, Ming Tsai, and more.

The Taste
When: August 29 — August 31, 2014
Where: Los Angeles, CA
What: Chefs Nancy Silverton, Thomas Keller, and Michael Cimarusti are among the co-hosts for this year's LA Times-run "culinary showcase" The Taste. Each co-host will team up with LAT writers and editors on events like a "Field to Fork" lunch and a "Flavors of LA" dinner.

Electronic Sriracha Festival
When: August 30, 2014
Where: San Jose, CA
What: Yeah, this is happening. If you are into electronic dance music and and obsessed with Sriracha, Moveable Feast is hosting a celebration of both over Labor Day weekend. There will be about 40 food trucks, plus three stages of electronic music.

Hatch Chile Festival
When: August 30 — August 31, 2014
Where: Hatch, NM
What: It's time to lose your mind over hatch chiles. The 43rd annual Hatch Chile Festival is going down over Labor Day weekend with events like chile eating contests, salsa cook-offs, green chile cook-offs, and performances by bands and mariachis. There's also a water park, beer garden horseshoe tournament, carnival, and a New Mexico merch market.

Looking Ahead:

Mistura
When: September 5 — September 14, 2014
Where: Lima, Peru
What: As Peruvian cuisine continues to spread its influence across the world, Mistura returns again to Lima in September. Bakers, farmers, and big name chefs from across the world will be around for this 10-day festival.

The Roots of American Food
When: September 7 — September 8, 2014
Where: Chicago, IL
What: Imbibe & Inspire is hosting its second annual Roots of American Food conference where chefs and restaurateurs such as Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, Dominique Crenn, Paul Kahan, Erik Anderson, Mark Canlis, Gerard Craft, Jamie Malone, and Dave Beran will cook, present talks on the topic of "influences," and honor the legendary Jeremiah Tower.

Taste Talks
When: September 12 — September 14, 2014
Where: Brooklyn, NY
What: Mission Chinese chef Danny Bowien is curating this year's Brooklyn Taste Talks, a three-day event with panels and meals and more. Panels include one of the future of food magazines, a discussion of whether Brooklyn is the next Manhattan, and an insider's look at how restaurants work. There are also demos from the likes of Brooks Headley and Christina Tosi, a "Future Food Expo" and lots of Mario Batali, the conference's official presenter.

FUZE.SW
When: September 12 — September 14, 2014
Where: Santa Fe, NM
What: Santa Fe's new food conference FUZE.SW returns for a second year of panels and lectures looking at New Mexican foodways. Events include a buffalo feast (yes, a buffalo feast), as well as a presentation from James Beard Award-winning chef Maricel Presilla.

Taste America
When: September 12 — October 25, 2014
Where: Various
What: The James Beard Foundation is bringing back its Taste America tour with stops in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. Chefs participating in this series of roving events include Daniel Boulud, Barbara Lynch, Grant Achatz, Ludo Lefebvre, Paul Qui, and more.

Feast Portland
When: September 18 — September 21, 2014
Where: Portland, OR
What: Feast Portland returns in 2014 with as impressive a lineup as ever, including Paul Kahan, Hugh Acheson, and Dominique Crenn. Popular events such as the Sandwich Invitational and the Asian Night Market will also be back again this year.

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
When: September 19 — November 10, 2014
Where: Orlando, FL
What: You've got nearly two months to check out the annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, featuring 25 global marketplaces, pairings, demos, dinners, an after-hours lounge, and a "sparkling dessert party."

Food Network in Concert at Ravinia
When: September 20, 2014
Where: Highland Park, IL
What: The Food Network is kicking off its first-ever outdoor music festival in September with a lineup of the channel's celebrity chefs, such as Alex Guarnaschelli and Jose Garces, as well as Chicago area chefs like Tony Mantuano, Mindy Segal, Paul Virant, Erling Wu-Bower, and Andrew Zimmerman. The musical lineup features John Mayer, Phillip Phillips, and more.

Music City Food + Wine Festival
When: September 20 — September 21, 2014
Where: Nashville, TN
What: The festival formerly known as Music City Eats returns with a lineup that includes Sean Brock, Ashley Christensen, Jonathan Waxman, Andrew Zimmern, Tim Love, Amanda Freitag, and more. County star (and cooking show host) Trisha Yearwood will also be there demo'ing skillet apple pie.

Chicago Gourmet
When: September 26 — September 28, 2014
Where: Chicago, IL
What: The theme for this year's Chicago Gourmet will focus on the James Beard Foundation in honor of the city's upcoming James Beard Award hosting duties. The lineup includes chefs Tony Mantuano, Rick Bayless, Jeni Britton Bauer, Homaro Cantu, Graham Elliot, Stephanie Izard, Masaharu Morimoto, Jonathon Sawyer, Mindy Segal, Paul Virant, Andrew Zimmerman and many more.

San Sebastian Gastronomika
When: October 5 — October 8, 2014
Where: San Sebastian, Spain
What: Registration has opened for this year's edition of San Sebastian Gastronomika, celebrating Basque cuisine. Spanish chefs include Juan Mari Arzak, Andoni Luis Aduriz, Joan Roca, and more. Italy is this year's "guest country," bringing in chefs such as Massimo Bottura and Massimiliano Alajmo.

New York City Wine & Food Festival
When: October 16 — October 19, 2014
Where: New York, NY
What: It's not until October, but tickets are already on sale for the New York City Wine & Food Festival. A whole slew of famous chefs will be there, while events will include a 40th anniversary dinner at Le Cirque, the annual Burger Bash, a Hot Dog Happy Hour and a Wonderland-themed evening of desserts with Dominique Ansel.

Life Is Beautiful
When: October 24 — October 26, 2014
Where: Las Vegas, NV
What: This year's Life Is Beautiful chef lineup has a lot of big names such as José Andrés, Nancy Silverton, Jonathan Waxman, Scott Conant, Giada De Laurentiis, Jet Tila, and more. Musical acts include Kanye West, Foo Fighters, and Outkast.

Something missing? Email it in and we'll add to the roster.

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