Hugh Acheson, Andrew Zimmern, Ming Tsai, and More Headline Austin Food & Wine Festival

The full schedule of this year’s Austin Food and Wine Festival dropped today, and there appears to be very little change in the structure of the festival. Jack Gilmore will anchor the fire pits, along with Paul Qui, Bryce Gilmore, Ned Elliott, and others. Chef Tim Love will reprise his wildly popular mass grilling classes.

Celebrity chefs from around the country dominate the seminar tents this year, including cooking demonstrations from Ming Tsai, Hugh Acheson, and lovable Jonathan Waxman. Graham Elliot and Andrew Zimmern will once again go head-to-head in their hilarious interpretation of Chopped, although one wonders whether they’ll be able to top last year’s boozy, bare-chested shenanigans. Antonia Lofaso and Amanda Freitag are the only two women on the demo tent schedule. Local sommeliers Vilma Mazaite, Craig Collins, and Devon Broglie once again share their expertise in all things wine.

The Chef Showcases in the Grand Tasting tent will feature, among others, Janina O’Leary, Salty Sow’s Harold Marmulstein, and Thai Changthong of East Side King’s Thai Kun. Exact days and times for who will be showcasing and when are yet to be determined, so stay tuned.

Pricing for this year’s festival remains fairly static. All-In tickets are $625 (a slight increase from last year’s dramatically reduced $550 price tag) and include all of the daytime events, along with Friday night’s Taste of Texas showcase and Saturday’s beloved Rock Your Taco competition. Weekender tickets are $250 and provide access to the festival on Saturday and Sunday. Festivalgoers wishing to attend this year’s special events, including Feast Under the Stars and "Cheers to 130 Years" in celebration of the Driskill Hotel, can add them on to their All-In packages or purchase them individually. The Social Hour at the Roosevelt Room is sold out. The super-fun Sips & Sweets dessert event is not on this year’s schedule.