35 restaurants, 60 beverage makers and 10 cheesemakers will be at the first Indulge Milwaukee
Diners at the Indulge Milwaukee food, wine and spirits tasting event can try samples from 35 Milwaukee restaurants and 60 wine and spirit brands — and they'll help the restaurant industry attract more workers while they do it.
Sponsored by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation and the largest alcoholic beverage distributor in the state, Badger Liquor, Indulge is coming to American Family Field Saturday, Aug. 20, and Sunday, Aug. 21. The event will raise funds for the association's Education Foundation, which helps prepare future restaurant workers.
Hiring more workers is a dire need at restaurants; one survey found the majority of restaurants are understaffed.
This is the first year for Indulge Milwaukee. Connie Fedor, executive director of the WRA's Education Foundation, said the WRA plans to hold it annually.
Fedor estimates attendees will be able to try more than 300 food and beverage tastings, including plates from Milwaukee-area favorites like Blue's Egg, Café Benelux, Carnevor and five Bartolotta group restaurants — Bacchus, Harbor House, Lake Park Bistro, Joey Gerard’s and Ristorante Bartolotta.
Attendees also can see food and drink demonstrations by industry experts, such as seventh-generation Jim Beam master distiller Fred Noe and Larry O'Brien, one of 269 Master Sommeliers in the world.
Celebrating Milwaukee's best
Fedor said representatives from Badger Liquor approached her about holding a high-end food and beverage tasting event in Milwaukee. It was supposed to take place in September 2020.
Although Indulge was inspired by other exclusive food, wine and spirits festivals like Chicago Gourmet and Aspen Food and Wine, Fedor emphasized that Indulge is uniquely "Wisconsin-ized."
First, in addition to the beverage and restaurant offerings, attendees can pair their wine with cheese selections from 10 award-winning Wisconsin cheesemakers at the event's cheese pavilion.
Second, American Family Field provides an unconventional setting that's culturally significant to the state and the city.
"Something like this has never been done at American Family Field before," Fedor said. "We knew to have this elevated, unique tasting experience, we needed to have it at a very different, unique venue."
Because the Brewers are in season, food and beverage exhibitors will be stationed in the stadium concourse. Attendees can take their samples out into the stands to enjoy.
To create a more intimate atmosphere, regular-admission tickets have been limited to 2,000 per day of the event, Fedor said. Tickets are available online for $150.
Each day, 250 VIP tickets are available. For $350, VIP attendees get access to a two-hour, on-field dining experience in the dugout. The VIP experience is catered by the Bartolotta Restaurants and 12 wine and spirit brands, each offering exclusive pours not typically available in stores.
Promoting the next generation of culinary professionals
Indulge's charitable focus is another factor that differentiates it from other food and beverage festivals, Fedor said. All proceeds from the event benefit the WRA Education Foundation.
The foundation oversees workforce development programs for future restaurant workers, including the ProStart program. ProStart is an instructional and mentorship program that prepares students for careers in the restaurant industry and hosts high school culinary competitions. It's available in more than 115 Wisconsin high schools.
ProStart "is really helping us to attract future workers," Fedor said. "That's one of our goals with (Indulge), really investing in the future of restaurants and attracting workers, because that's the Number 1 issue in a lot of our restaurants. They don't have the staff."
According to a September 2021 National Restaurant Association survey of 4,000 restaurant operators, more than 70% of U.S. restaurants are understaffed.
"COVID was a catastrophic hit to our industry," said Dan Sidner, co-owner of the Black Shoe Hospitality Group.
Five of Sidner's six businesses — Story Hill BKC, Blue’s Egg, Maxie’s, Buttermint Finer Dining and Black Shoe Catering — will be represented at Indulge.
Sidner previously worked in Colorado and participated in the Aspen Food and Wine and Taste of Vail festivals. He said he is eager to participate in Indulge because he believes events like it give attendees a greater appreciation for the area's locally owned restaurants.
But he admitted he's struggling to sufficiently staff his restaurants' Indulge exhibits in addition to the restaurants themselves, which will be open the weekend of the event.
This is precisely why he feels supporting the WRA Education Foundation and ProStart's mission is so important.
"Our industry desperately needs more quality people, and anything we can do to ... get more people to really embrace hospitality as a career," Sidner said. "We will always have a need for good people who are working part time or for periods of time in the industry, but what we lost with COVID were career hospitality people. ... We need to get young people in the industry, because it can be a terrific career."
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If you go
What: Indulge Milwaukee
Where: American Family Field, 1 Brewers Way
When: Aug. 20-21, noon - 5 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase online at indulgemilwaukee.com/tickets. Regular admission tickets are $150 a day and include access to tastings from 35 restaurants, 60 alcoholic beverage brands and 10 cheesemakers. A VIP level ticket, at $350, includes a two-hour on-field experience in the dugout, catered by the Bartolotta Restaurants.
Restaurants taking part
Antigua Latin Inspired Kitchen
Aria at Saint Kate
Bacchus – A Bartolotta Restaurant
Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro
Black Shoe Catering
Blue’s Egg
Bridgewater Modern Grill
Brunch
Buckatabon
Buttermint Finer Dining
Café Benelux
Café Hollander
Canal Street Cafe
Carnevor
Centraal Grand Café & Tappery
The Cheel
DanDan
Dorsia
The Firepit
Harbor House
Joey Gerard’s – A Bartolotta Supper Club
Mason Street Grill
Maxie’s
Miller Time Pub
Milwaukee Chophouse
Mo’s a Place for Steaks
Mr. B’s – A Bartolotta Steakhouse
Onesto
Ristorante Bartolotta
Ruyi
SafeHouse
Smoke Shack
Story Hill BKC
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Indulge Milwaukee brings exclusive food, beverages to AmFam Field
