A reveal party last October provided a taste of the event, which is expected to have a significant economic impact on the city.By Donna Cornelius
Birmingham’s food scene – along with some high-profile chefs – will take center stage this fall. The first FOOD+Culture Festival, set for Oct. 12-15, will celebrate the city’s great tastes along with the traditions and background that make Birmingham a culinary destination.
A reveal party last October provided a taste of the event, which is expected to have a significant economic impact on the city. Organizers are hopeful that the inaugural festival will be the first of many.
Established by local community leaders dedicated to building a better Birmingham, FOOD+Culture Festival will focus on food and the dynamic, diverse cultures found in this region. The festival will bring together food lovers and food makers, chefs, artisans, beverage professionals, farmers and storytellers from Birmingham and beyond.
This year’s event will feature five signature events over four days plus an amplified farmers market experience at the Market at Pepper Place, more than 10 dinners, and more than 50 featured chefs, mixologists, brewers and other culinary professionals.
“Food has the transformative power of bringing people together, and we look forward to seeing how our vision for FOOD+Culture Fest creates opportunities for connection, celebrating our culinary landscape while also shining a light on topics of deeper cultural significance,” said Rebecca Lemelin Gann, the festival’s programming director. “We have events including a lunch featuring all female chefs; a seated dinner celebrating Black chefs, culture and cuisines in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement; as well as FOOD+Fire: a Great Southern Tailgate event, presented by Southern Living.”
Celebrity Chef Headliners
Among the talented folks headlining the festival will be chef Frank Stitt, whose Highlands Bar and Grill won the James Beard Award for Best Restaurant in 2018; Dothan’s Kelsey Barnard Clark, winner of Bravo’s prestigious Top Chef Season 16 title; Misti Norris of Dallas’ Petra and the Beast, which was named one of the 50 top restaurants in the U.S. by Food and Wine magazine; James Beard Award winner Rodney Scott of Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog Barbecue; Erica Blaire, one of the country’s leading female pitmasters, of Blue Smoke Blaire’s Competition BBQ in Houston; and Birmingham’s Jonathan Harrison, a contestant on the first season of Gordon Ramsay’s “Next Level Chef.”
Also in the lineup are Adam Evans of Automatic Seafood in Birmingham, winner of a James Beard Award for Best Chef: South; James Beard Award semifinalist David Bancroft of Auburn’s Acre; chef and painter Roscoe Hall of Birmingham; Woodrow Scott of Archibald and Woodrow’s BBQ in Northport; Kristen Hall of Birmingham’s Bandit Patisserie; Rob McDaniel of Birmingham’s Helen restaurant; and many more culinary luminaries.
The 2023 festival kicks off on Thursday with a seated luncheon presented by the Birmingham chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier and showcasing an all-female chef lineup, then an early evening reception centered around the inaugural Frank Stitt Award for Industry Excellence.
Friday’s main event will include a seated dinner in the streets of Pepper Place, celebrating Black culture, cuisine and the influence the community has had on Alabama’s foodways, with guest chefs and presenters from around the Southeast. In future years, this event will evolve by highlighting a different culture each year that has helped shape Birmingham’s food identity.
Saturday starts with an amplified Market at Pepper Place followed by a walk-around tasting event at Sloss Furnaces featuring the barbecue community, live-fire cooking and Southern tailgate culture.
Sunday will end back at Sloss Furnaces with a biscuit, brass and Bloody Mary brunch.
Throughout the week, invited restaurants around the city will host an out-of-town guest chef, offering one-night-only menu items in addition to the restaurant’s full menu. These dinners will be non-ticketed, first-come-first-served based on reservations through the restaurants’ websites. More information about these dinners will be announced in August.
FOOD+Culture is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established by Sloss Real Estate, The Market at Pepper Place, FRED Communication by Design, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Keri Lane Promotions and others.
The 2023 event will be produced with partners and major sponsors, including Southern Living magazine, the Alabama Tourism Department, Protective Life, the Birmingham Museum of Art, Amavida, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, and the Tony & Libba Rane Culinary Science Center at Auburn University.
Sharing Food Traditions and Talent
“I’m a big cheerleader for Birmingham and have always recognized we have some of the best food in the country,” said Cathy Sloss Jones, Sloss Real Estate CEO/president. “FOOD+Culture Festival will allow us to share some of our extraordinary culinary traditions and talent with locals and visitors alike. Not only is FOOD+Culture Fest bringing the potential for tremendous economic impact, but also we hope to establish a sense of camaraderie around food, creating opportunities for community growth and a vibrant food economy.”
Jones is a member of the festival’s board of directors along with Leigh Sloss-Corra, executive director of the Market at Pepper Place and president of the Les Dames d’Escoffier’s Birmingham chapter; attorney John Pickering of Balch & Bingham LLP; Cheryl Slocum, food writer, chef and food editor of Dotdash Meredith Publishing; Chanda Temple, senior project manager from the city of Birmingham Mayor’s Office; and Valerie Thomas, CEO of the VAL Group.
Visit bhamfoodplus.com for more information, updates and details on the 2023 schedule of events, this month’s ticket launch and more. Some special events have limited capacity and are expected to sell out quickly.
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