Austin Food & Wine Festival is back for the seventh time this year, with a few event changes and expanded chef lineup featuring local and nationally-recognized names. It takes place from Friday, April 27 through Sunday, April 29.

The biggest change to the festival is with chef Tim Love’s giant hands-on grilling lessons. Instead of hosting two educational booze-soaked classes on Saturday and Sunday, Love will share his grilling knowledge on Friday, April 27 for a special single evening class. Only those with all-in tickets will be able to attend. Last year’s Lone Star Nights (née Taste of Texas) isn’t happening either.

As usual, the main event takes place at Auditorium Shores, which will be the setting for the festival’s usual events: cooking demonstrations to be announced, interactive fire pits, book signings, wine and booze tastings, and music.

The fire pit selection is expanded with more out-of-Texas chefs like Hometown BBQ pitmaster Bill Durney from Brooklyn, New York and Eater Charleston’s Chef of 2018 pitmaster Rodney Scott. The Grand Taste tents feature a mostly Austin-centric lineup. See the full lineup so far below.

The Rock Your Taco competition takes place again at the Fair Market on Saturday, April 28 with returning champion Tyson Cole of Uchi, alongside chefs from Austin and others like Stephanie Izard of Girl & The Goat in Chicago, Boston chef Jamie Bissonette, and Cassidee Dabney of Blackberry Farm. Judging the contest will be chef and cookbook author Lidia Bastianich, among others.

As for wines, beers, and drinks, there will be sessions and tastings poured by Austin’s Devon Broglie (Whole Foods’ associate global beverage buyer and master sommelier), Craig Collins (ELM Restaurant Group’s beverage director and master sommelier), June Rodil (McGuire Moorman Hospitality’s beverage director and master sommelier), Helen Johannesen (owner of wine shop Helen’s Wines in Los Angeles, wine director and partner of Los Angeles restaurants John & Vinny’s).

The prices remain the same as last year’s: the all-inclusive package (which includes access to the festival grounds with tastings, fire pits, and demos; Love’s grilling demonstration; Rock Your Taco; and Sunday Gospel Brunch) are $625. Tickets to the festival and the brunch are $250 for both days. Separate admission to the Feast Under the Stars dinner is $250. Tickets go on sale today, Thursday, January 18 at 10 a.m.

The separately-ticketed five-course, family-style dinner Feast Under the Stars will feature collaborations from Austin chefs at Auditorium Shores on Thursday, April 26. Entry to this is $250.

More chefs will be announced at a later date.

Austin Food & Wine Festival’s 2018 Lineup

Thursday, April 26

Feast Under the Stars

Tyson Cole (Uchi, Uchiko, Loro)
Mary Catherine Curren (ELM Restaurant Group)
Todd Duplechan (Lenoir)
Kevin Fink (Emmer & Rye)
Michael Fojtasek (Olamaie)

Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29

Fire Pits

David Bull (Second Bar + Kitchen)
Sonya Cote (Eden East, Hillside Farmacy)
Bill Durney (Hometown BBQ in New York)
Wayne Mueller (Louie Mueller Barbecue)
Rodney Scott (Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Charleston, South Carolina)
Victor Sandoval (Parkside Projects)
Andrew Wiseheart (Contigo, Chicon)

Chef Showcases

John Bates and Brandon Martinez (Noble Sandwich Co.)
Stephen Bonin (Geraldine’s)
Jeff Brown (Old Thousand)
Thomas Calhoun (Aviary Wine & Kitchen)
Taylor Chambers (Justine’s Brasserie)
Ji Peng Chen (Wu Chow)
Austin Ewald (Grizzelda’s)
Kazu Fukumoto (Fukumoto)
Natalie Gazaui (Eberly)
Albert Gonzalez (Jacoby’s Restaurant and Mercantile)
Taylor Hall (Apis)
Clinton Kendall (East Side King)
Lance Kirkpatrick (Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew)
Geronimo Lopez (Botika in San Antonio)
Harold Marmulstein (Salt Sow)
Stephanie McClenny (Confituras)
Jason McVearry (Poke Poke)
Brian Moses (Olive & June)
Ashley Neave (Forthright)
David Normal (Easy Tiger)
Sterling Ridings (Guild)
Maribel Rivero (Yuyo)
James Robert (Fixe)
Charles Schlienger (Sway)
Eric Silverstein (Peached Tortilla)
Max Snyder (Pitchfork Pretty)
Anthony Sobotik (Lick Honest Ice Cream)
George Thomas (Unit-D Pizzeria)
Joshua Thomas (Mattie’s)
Carmen Valera (Tamale House East)
Miguel Vidal (Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ)
Josh Williams (Texas French Bread)
Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley (Foreign & Domestic)

Saturday, April 28

Rock Your Taco

Tatsu Aikawa and Takuya Matsumoto (Ramen Tatsu-ya, Kemuri Tatsu-ya)
Nyesha Arrington (Native in Los Angeles)
Jamie Bissonnette (Toro, Coppa, Little Donkey in Boston and New York)
Tyson Cole (Uchi, Uchiko, Loro)
Andrew Curren (ELM Restaurant Group)
Cassidee Dabney (The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee)
Jason Dady (Jason Dady Restaurants in San Antonio)
Amanda Freitag (New York chef from Chopped)
Diego Galicia and Rico Torres (Mixtli in San Antonio)
Ray Garcia (Broken Spanish in Los Angeles)
Stephanie Izard (Girl & The Goat, Little Goat, Duck Duck Goat in Chicago)
Paul Kahan (One Off Hospitality Group in Chicago)
Tim Love
Bryan Voltaggio (Volt in Frederick, Maryland)
Michael White (Altamarea found globally)

• Austin Food & Wine Festival [Official]