It’s 2021 and time for the Food and Wine Festival- see what the options are for Gluten Free Food and Wine Eats + What you can enjoy that’s soy and dairy free too!
It’s springtime at Epcot and it’s time for one of the most popular festivals known to the world showcase! Flower and Garden!
There’s a lot more that you can do here besides food (thankfully!) but with the record that Disney has with allergies one common question is what can I have at the festivals?
And rightfully so- it’s no fun to be left out 💕
We’re going to cover some allergy friendly options- but before we do, a few things to know!
1- it’s ALL from a shared kitchen and cross contamination is here.
2- no allergen binders. You need to speak with a chef. It varies based on the day, but they can either call a chef on the phone or request they come over. I personally have the best experience when they call them over and we talk in person.
3- things change daily. Even on opening day several booths were not open. Think of this as a snack or a treat and not a meal- none of this is guaranteed!
Let’s start with the top safe items and then go booth by booth what can be modified.
As always- all pictures are gluten free (if I find an item that can be modified I’ll share that in writing – sorry no pictures)
What is the Flower and Garden Festival?
You can participate in most of the activities and sites with the price of your regular ticket.
The food however, is an additional expense. Portions are decent sized. Not quite a sample size but certainly not the size that Disney normally serves up for lunch and dinner in their restaurant. (although some can be rather small)
If we are walking around and enjoying the sites, we can easily eat 2-4 orders per person (depending on how much we share!) and a few drinks. The food entrees at the specialty booths run between 8-15 dollars, so the cost would be similar to what you would spend on a character meal is you got 4 items and a few drink or dessert offerings!
There’s also other festivals and they have allergy friendly options like Festival of the Arts and Food and Wine
New this year- the Garden Graze
YAY! Finally a scavenger hunt that most people can participate in!
Simply grab your passport, purchase the 5 listed items, get a prize at the end!
It is plant based, and many of the items can be modified to be safe to eat.
Is there a risk of Cross Contamination?
Generally, Disney World does a pretty dang good job about avoiding CC, it’s why we talk so much about the options, from character meals to quick serve options.
But for several of the festival booths, it’s going to be hard to avoid cross-contamination. Mostly because many of those stands have very small kitchens and they can have different allergens in the same area.
Also- some of the people working the booths may not be allergy-literate, and this will cause them to not understand your concerns about cross-contamination. Which I’ve had several times at the festivals, many of these people work here part time and haven’t been trained in food allergy procedures.
Always ask to see an allergy binder or speak to the head manager.
Also- try to go in the week, and if you need to go on a weekend, go early around luch rather than later. The more people there are at Epcot, the harder it is to get clear answers and good service! There are quite a few options you can choose from at Epcot that aren’t from the festival too!
This year, for the first time ever, I spoke with a Chef on the phone about my allergy concerns. this was a new one for me, but it went well- I just asked about ingredients and modifications and was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was without having to wait for a chef to come over from the kitchen. BUT you can request to speak to a chef in person (at least that’s what I was told) and it can be easier to do this if you have items you already know that you want to ask about- do it all at once!
Are all the booths owned by Disney ?
An important distinction here! Some booths are NOT owned by Disney and you will have to talk to them directly to see what they offer.
Here’s a list of independently owned booths:
Morocco
Japan
France
China
Mexico
Top 8 Free (should be safe for most people- may need modifying)
FlavorFull Kitchen- Grilled baby veggies safe ****soy oil (needs modification)
Pineapple promenade- Dole Whip
Pineapple promenade-Frozen desert violet lemonade
Refreshment Outpost- Pineapple Skewer
Trowel and trellis- Grilled Corn (with modification)
Trowel and trellis- Terrarium **** possible treenut
Arendelle Aqua Lemonade- ** has corn and blue dye (not red)
Allergy Friendly Options by Booth
FlavorFull Kitchen Booth
Grilled Baby Vegetables with Hummus Cream and Red Pepper Coulis- plant based and gluten free -cooked in soy oil. Remove Sauce to make top 8 free
Seared Verlasso® Salmon with Farro Risotto and Micro-herbs- Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free. Remove Farro Risotto (soy based and possible gluten- was supposed to be dairy free) Honestly, removing the salmon would make this a great plant based option. The toppings were delicious!
Strawberry pearls- safe for peanut, treenut, fish shellfish. Pearls are mixed into the mouse so it can’t be modified.
Pineapple promenade booth
Dole Whip! Top 8 friendly. This is also where you get the reward for completing the Garden Graze. This is a Lime Mango Dole Whip that is top 8 friendly!
The Buttermilk Cake here is NOT gluten free, even though there was one last year that was with the same exact name.
Violet Lemonade is here too!!!
Trowel and Trellis Booth
Grilled Street Corn- Gluten free and plant based without modification. Leave off the spread to make it soy free!
Impossible™ Farmhouse Meatball- Gluten, dairy and egg free but has soy
Chocolate Pudding Terrarium- this is top 7 free (need to confirm if there is treenut or not!)
Blooming Blueberry Tea (With blueberries!) was delicious and refreshing in the heat
The Citrus Blossom Booth
Lobster Tail is gluten free! – remove the lemon emulsion for dairy and soy. pn/tn/egg free.
Tuna Tataki Bowl with Spicy Yuzu Glaze- The Crisp is made with black bean flour so it’s gluten free! No red sauce to make it soy and dairy free. (this was my LEAST FAVORITE)
Crispy Citrus Chicken- comes gluten free. Has Dairy and Soy. Friendly for Tn/Pn
Magnolia Terrace Booth
Southern Seafood Boil- it’s cooked in beer BUT they have some boiled only in water. Need to ask them for this to be separate. Friendly for pn/tn/egg/dairy/gluten (dairy and soy remove sausage)
Grilled Oysters- shucked in front of you! Makes risk of CC less. Ask for no butter for soy and dairy. Friendly for pn/tn/egg/dairy/gluten/soy
Pecan Praline- Gluten Friendly! It’s also packaged separately. It is pretty much straight sugar though.
Bauernmarkt- Germany Booth
Potatoe Pancakes- These are plant based and gluten free, made with just egg (so has soy). Friendly for pn/tn/egg/dairy/gluten/fish/shellfish
Hanami- Japan Booth
Frushi is gluten free but has both dairy and soy (dairy can be modified, soy can’t)
Northern Bloom Booth
The scallops are supposed to be gluten free BUT they were out both times I went by, so I’ll have to check allergen ingredients when I go next week!