The Taste of Montpelier Food Festival is unlike any food festival you've been to before. Forget about those stuffy events with $100 tickets off in the middle of a hot field. Join us in the heart of Montpelier's downtown to get a true taste of what we're all about. Fun, approachable, delicious.
The main event is The Great Taste, Saturday, September 10, 1-4pm on State Street from Main to Elm. Enjoy signature dishes from Montpelier's eclectic restaurants, Vermont food truck favorites, tastes from artisans showcasing exciting Vermont food products, a cocktail garden hosted by award-winning distillers Barr Hill, and more. Add on world-class street performers, and it's an event not to be missed.
New to this year’s festival, we are joined by incredible chefs at the Demo Tent on State Street, and at the Farmer’s Market, where you can learn how to make (and sample!) their fabulous food. You’ll even get some recipes to bring home!
After shopping for your weekly produce at the Farmer’s Market, visit Vince Muraco of The Hippie Chickpea at the Montpelier Alive Chef Demo table, and learn how to make simple and delicious dishes like Tabouli salad and roasted beets with Vermont Creamery goat cheese, honey, and pistachios.
Chef Justin Dain from Oakes & Evelyn will make their signature gnocchi featuring local 1000 Stone Farm mushrooms, swiss chard & parmesan cheese. Following Oakes and Evelyn’s demo is the Junior Iron Chef Vermont's middle school team, demonstrating and serving Three Sisters Stew, a traditional Abenaki fall harvest dish that celebrates the historical significance of companion planting corn, beans, and squash. Jr. Iron Chef VT is a statewide culinary competition organized by Vermont Afterschool and Vermont FEED (Food Education Everyday).
We are particularly excited about learning to make an authentic thai green papaya salad with local favorite chefs from Wilaiwan's at the demo table at 2:30pm! A rare opportunity to learn from one of our town's most popular cooks! Free samples served with sticky rice to follow. At 3pm, swing by the cocktail garden to learn how to build a Bee's Knees (and make honey syrup) with one of Barr Hill’s mixologists! Then return to the State Street demo table to chat with Martin Philip, award-winning baker and author and Baking Ambassador at the King Arthur Baking Company. Bring your baking questions, or bring your baked goods for troubleshooting and feedback. Martin’s critically acclaimed book, Breaking Bread: A Baker’s Journey Home in 75 Recipes (HarperCollins, 2017), is a Wall Street Journal best seller, was chosen as the best cookbook of 2018 by the New York Book Industry Guild, and won the 2018 Vermont Book Award.
For more information about all the amazing weekend events, visit www.montpelieralive.com/taste.
Thank you to our event sponsors: Presenting Sponsor Hunger Mountain Co-op; Platinum Sponsors VSECU, Vermont Creamery, and Barr Hill; Gold Sponsors Community National Bank and Vermont Mutual; Event Supporters AARP, Lake Champlain Chocolates, Cabot, Three Penny Taproom, and Fidium Fiber; and Media Sponsors Seven Days and WCAX.
