By Donna Cornelius
Tickets are now on sale for the first-ever Birmingham FOOD+Culture Festival, set for Oct.12-15.
The festival will feature five signature events over four days, including more than 10 dinners, an amplified farmers market experience and more than 50 featured chefs, mixologists, brewers, pit masters and such. The fun will be spread out over venues around the city, primarily at Pepper Place and Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark.
Launched with a reveal party in October 2022, the inaugural FOOD+Culture Fest will bring together food lovers, chefs, farmers, food makers, artisans and storytellers – from Birmingham and beyond – to share the community’s unique flavors and cultural vibrancy.
The cornerstone event of the weekend is FOOD+Fire: The Great Southern Tailgate, presented by Southern Living. On the menu for this event are pit masters and chefs from restaurants known for their barbecue or live-fire cooking, including Acre, Saw’s BBQ, Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, Ovenbird, Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, Archibald and Woodrow’s BBQ, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, Buxton Hall Barbecue, Hero Doughnuts & Buns and Gus’s Hot Dogs.
“Birmingham deserves a world class food festival, and we’re thrilled to be a part of this one,” said Sid Evans, editor-in-chief of Southern Living, which is headquartered in Birmingham. “We’re also excited to celebrate two things our hometown is known for – tailgate culture and live-fire cooking.”
Another special happening is a luncheon called FOOD+Flair: Changing the Menu. It will be presented by the Birmingham chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an organization for women in food, beverage and hospitality. The host/emcee is Toni Tipton-Martin, a food and nutrition journalist who’s the author of several cookbooks. The editor-in-chief for Cook’s Country, she received the Julia Child Award in 2021 and two James Beard awards. Top Chef winner Kelsey Barnard Clark of Dothan also will appear at the luncheon.
Here’s a rundown of the special events that will be high points of the festival:
FOOD+Flair: Changing the Menu (Oct. 12): a seated, multi-course luncheon at The Haven celebrating an all-star lineup of women chefs; $85.
FOOD+Frank (Oct. 12): the presentation of the inaugural Frank Stitt Award for Industry Excellence, which this year goes to the iconic chef himself and in the future will honor other recipients; at the Birmingham Museum of Art; $75.
FOOD+Heritage (Oct. 13): 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; $150.
FOOD+Farmers (Oct. 14): an amplified farmer’s market at Pepper Place, including a book fair featuring cookbook authors and food-focused reads, several chef demos, participating chefs from the festival setting up stations and giving out samples, and an emphasis on healthy eating and healthy living. No tickets are needed, and the event is free to the public.
FOOD+Fire: The Great Southern Tailgate (Oct. 14): presented by Southern Living; a walk-around tasting event at Sloss Furnaces celebrating the barbecue community, live-fire cooking and Southern tailgate culture. Highlights include live music, a Southern Living demo stage, regional and local breweries and giant screens to watch live college football; $75.
FOOD+Funk Brunch (Oct. 15): biscuits, brass and Bloody Marys, featuring pastry chefs, bakers, mixologists and New Orleans’ Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band; special guests include Birmingham’s Martie Duncan, cookbook author and Food Network Star finalist, and Chadwick Boyd, a food and lifestyle expert; $75.
FOOD+Friends (Oct. 12-15): public dinners around Birmingham, featuring surprise pop-up menus from visiting guest chefs in participating restaurants, celebrating comradery in the culinary industry; unticketed
Music, Too
While all of the signature events feature “FOOD+” in the title, food isn’t the only thing that will make the festival sing. FOOD+Fire will feature musical guests including Arlo McKinley, a talented singer-songwriter who was discovered by and signed to John Prine’s Indie Record Label; the Sensational Barnes Brothers, a Memphis-based gospel and soul band; and New Orleans’ own J and The Causeways, an R&B/soul ensemble featuring heavy backbeats and a soaring horn section.
On Sunday at FOOD+Funk, the Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass Band will bring the funk at the Sloss Furnaces Water Tower.
“Along with the amazing curated culinary elements of the festival, we found it important to recognize that music is a bridge that connects all cultures,” said Keri Lane, FOOD+Culture festival production director. “We’re excited to create an event that not only celebrates our city’s culinary talent but also offers programming and live music for everyone to enjoy at some of Birmingham’s most unique, incredible venues.”
In the spirit of celebrating Birmingham’s robust restaurant scene, FOOD+Friends pop-up dinners will take place leading up to and during the weekend’s festivities. These dining experiences are not ticketed and will be held in participating restaurants around the city, allowing all of Birmingham to get a taste of FOOD+Culture festivities. Guests may attend these dinners by making a reservation or walking in (depending on the restaurant) on the evening of the restaurant’s participation, which will be announced soon.
For more information and to buy tickets for the events, visit bhamfoodplus.com.
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