Epcot Disney

Food and Wine Festival

Food festivals are great places to experience local restaurants, taste new foods, and learn about the food culture of the cities or towns you visit. However, not all food festivals have various gluten-free options, so trying new foods and expanding your food library can be difficult. Fortunately, this was not the case when visiting Epcot at Disney this summer when we unknowingly planned our family vacations during the Food and Wine festival.

It has been a few years, ok decades, since I have visited Disney, and I have never been to Epcot (that I can remember). I expected to try two or three new dishes from around the world at the festival. Since that is the norm when eating gluten-free, I was thrilled to find out most countries had at least one gluten-free dish. As you can imagine, I was beyond excited to see a new place, make memories with my family, and enjoy some fresh food.

Not only was I able to eat my way through Epcot, but I also experienced new foods, added new destinations to my bucket list, and got the whole family involved with trying new dishes. Here is my food tour!

Australia

Our first stop on the food tour was Australia. My father-in-law tried the lamb chop, and I went with the shrimp. It was hard to choose between shrimp and lamb chop; however, I was curious about a balance between sweet and spicey and a bush berry flavor. I’ve never tried a bush berry mix on shrimp before, so I thought, “Why not?” The shrimp was cooked perfectly, and the vegetables gave just the right amount of crunch for an outstanding balance of texture. The flavor was not overwhelming, nor was the spice. My father-in-law said the mint was a wonderful surprise that gave a sweet counterbalance to the salty chips. He also enjoyed the different textures of the food.

Asia

Next, we made our way to Asia. I went with the tofu pho, which had mushrooms, hot peppers, herbs, green onions, and a slice of fresh lime. I’ve never had pho before, so I was thrilled to see the many options available. I became a kid in a candy shop looking at the possibilities. Since this was my first time trying pho, I needed to prepare for the amount of heat this dish had cooked into it. My lips were on fire, but I could not stop eating the delicious soup. The lime was perfect for giving the pho a burst of flavor and helping calm down my taste buds. I would happily try the other noodle dishes because the flavor was terrific, and it’s not every day your find gluten-free Asian food.

Kenya

After visiting Asia, we traveled to Kenya. Kenya had two things on the menu, and one was gluten-free. Kenyan coffee barbecued beef tenderloin was hit with everyone in the family. Each serving size was enough to share and had a fantastic flavor. The tenderloin was placed on top of sweet potato and corn mealie pap, and a kachumbari slaw was placed on top of the tenderloin. The barbecue sauce draped over the sweet potatoes and corn like a delicious blanket, and the slaw added a wonderful crunch for the perfect bite. The tenderloin was cooked perfectly as well.

Spain

The last country we visited was Spain. I was most excited about trying food from this country since it’s been on my list of places to visit for the past ten years. I was not disappointed in the least. Spain was my favorite food location, not just because it had the most options but because it had the most diverse options. There was a charcuterie board, paella, and a seafood salad. Seafood is always my favorite, so I ordered the seafood salad and enjoyed every bite. The salad had a fantastic variety of shellfish lightly mixed with a dressing of extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, and paprika. My family ordered the paella and even went back for seconds. Although these appetizers were just a glimpse into the many types of food from Spain, it has further my desire to visit.

Although we were not about to visit all the different countries to enjoy the delicious foods, I am already planning another trip to Epcot to visit more food festivals throughout the year to discover more gluten-free favorites. This food adventure has been my favorite so far.