Memphis Food & Wine Festival aims to deliver 'best party in Memphis.' Here's a sneak peek.

Jennifer Chandler, Memphis Commercial Appeal

October 9, 2022 at 10:01 PM·5 min read

More than 30 wineries and nearly 40 chefs from across Memphis and around the country will gather Saturday for a night of amazing food, stellar wines and a heaping serving of fun.

Memphis Food & Wine Festival will be held at the Radians Amphitheater at Memphis Botanic Garden. It’s a night not to be missed. The lineup of world-renowned chefs, hometown favorites and first-class vintners rivals top food festivals across the country."From the beginning, we wanted this to be the best party in Memphis ever,” said Jose Gutierrez, event co-founder and chef/owner of River Oaks. “And now we strive to top it year after year.”

This event offers patrons the opportunity to interact face-to-face with leading chefs and vintners from around the nation.

Guests at the 2017 Memphis Food & Wine Festival. The 2022 event will be on Oct. 15.

Here are five things to know about Memphis’ premier food and wine festival.

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Who are the chefs?

Memphis Food & Wine Festival is once again bringing renowned chefs from around the world to Memphis to cook for festival-goers.

Top Memphis chefs — including Gutierrez, Wally Joe of Acre, Patrick Reilly of The Majestic Grille, Erling Jensen of Erling Jensen Restaurant and David Krog of Dory — will showcase their culinary creativity alongside visiting food superstars.

Each year, Gutierrez and Joe, the festival Culinary Talent co-chairs, invite chefs from around the world to participate.

Collectively, the 39 participating chefs have earned hundreds of accolades, including awards from the James Beard Foundation, Michelin Stars and Food & Wine’s best new chef designation.

“There are only 71 French Master Chefs (Maitres Cuisiniers de France) in the USA. Seven of them are participating in the Memphis Food & Wine Festival — Jose Gutierrez, Bernard Guillas, Gerard Bertholon, Frederic Morineau, Nico Romo, Jonathan Jerusalmy, and the current President of their Association, Jean-Louis Dumonet,” festival board member Bob Chimenti said.

In total, there will be 18 visiting chefs.

"This year we have three legendary icons coming that I am excited about," Joe said. "Michael Ginor of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Shawn McClain of MCHospitality in Las Vegas and Michael Smith of Farina in Kansas City."

Scenes from the annual Memphis Food & Wine Festival at the Memphis Botanic Garden on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021.

Each chef pulls out all the stops, creating signature bite-size dishes that showcase their restaurant or business.

“This event highlights our great food scene, which has really been building over the past 10 years,” Joe said. “These chefs have such a great time that they want to come back, plus it’s a way for us to showcase these visiting chefs that Memphians may have read about in a magazine or seen on TV.”

Who are the vintners?

Attendees will also be able to sample more than 100 curated wines from acclaimed vintners and wineries.

"30 different vintners will have tents, but each will be pouring several wines," said John Adams, the festival vintner chair, a position he has held for each of the five festivals.

Memphis Food and Wine Festival is held annually in October.

California wineries Twomey Cellars and Silver Oak Vineyards, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, are two favorites of past festivals that are returning again this year.

Adams said Copper Cane Wines & Provisions, which houses a collection of brands from California and Oregon, has partnered with Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits to donate $12 to the Mid-South Food Bank for each case of Böen Vineyards wines purchased in the Memphis market.

“We curate the wines to be accessible and affordable while being highly reviewed and respected from some of the most esteemed vineyards in the world,” stated festival president David Benson of Southern Glazer's Wines and Spirits. “Patrons will not only see names they recognize like Silver Oak, Twomey, Rockmere and Copper Cane, but they will also have the chance to be introduced to new producers who are changing the landscape of American wines.”

As in past years, each guest receives a keepsake Riedel wine glass to use while tasting wines at the festival.

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What musicians will perform?

You can’t have an event in Memphis without music.

Memphis Food & Wine Festival will be Oct. 15 at Memphis Botanic Garden.

Each year, festival organizers select Memphis-based musicians to provide the entertainment for the night.

The “Best of Memphis” performances will start with The WC Handy Band, followed by The Will Sexton Quintet. Ghost Town Blues Band will be the final act of the night.

Culinary with a cause

Since its inaugural event in 2016, the Memphis Food & Wine Festival has donated more than $375,000 to local charities.

The primary beneficiary for 2022 is the Mid-South Food Bank.

“Food insecurity is a real issue in our community,” Benson said. “Our board thought it was important to align our celebration of great food with an entity that helps meet the basic food needs of people in our community who need that boost.”

Mid-South Food Bank is the leading food distributor in the Mid-South region.

“We feed the need by distributing millions of pounds monthly to families fighting hunger. Hunger can impact anyone at any time," Mid-South Food Bank CEO Cathy Pope said. "That’s why we depend on and are grateful for community partners like the Memphis Food and Wine Festival to support our mission of eliminating hunger in the Mid-South."

Ticket details

Ticket are on sale at memphisfoodwandwinefestival.org. Individual tickets are $200. For a seat at a reserved table, tickets are $250. Attendees must be 21 and over.

Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.