2018 Epcot Festival of the Holidays
This year, the 2018 Epcot Festival of the Holidays is bigger and better than ever. Some exciting new narrators were added to the Candlelight Processional lineup. There is exciting holiday entertainment throughout World Showcase, and it is the final year of Illuminations: Reflection of Earth Featuring a Holiday Finale. Of course, one of the best parts of the Festival of the Holidays is the food. Epcot and food go hand in hand, so that is what we will cover today.
Walt Disney World is a foodie’s paradise – especially at Epcot, which is working its way towards exciting year-round festivals. Situated between the Food and Wine Festival and the Festival of the Arts, the 2018 Epcot Festival of the Holidays has added more food booths than ever. These booths are called Holiday Kitchens, and they do not disappoint.
The only thing I found disappointing at this year’s festival was my interaction with the festival chef who came out to speak with me. In the past, each festival chef has been extremely helpful about providing me with a list of ingredients for all foods that could possible meat the needs of my paleo diet, as well as keto, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and allergy-friendly options.
The chef started out to be extremely helpful, going through the ingredients in the first few dishes I was inquiring about. Then to save time, he offered to forward me an email with all the ingredients. Since we were 30 minutes away from the food booths opening, and I wanted to know what was safe for me to eat, he said he would do it within 15 minutes when he got back to his computer (after first offering to do it from his phone before changing his mind). The chef also offered to email as many of the festival recipes as he had access to without my asking. I thanked him graciously for that as I was looking forward to making some of the dishes at home that I could not eat at the festival.
Unfortunately, I never did receive the email from the chef. I had to avoid many of the dishes that I would have liked to try since I did not know what was in them, or how to omit certain aspects of the dish to make it gluten-friendly. My follow-up emails to the chef were extremely disappointing as he directed me to “Contact Us” on the Disney World website. His response – they do not send out information that can be posted on blogs. When I reiterated that I needed some of that info for my food options, he apologized, but, again, was extremely unhelpful. I always said I would only praise Disney chefs on this website, and never call out any that were disappointing, so I will not post his name.
On to the food options at the 2018 Epcot Festival of the Holidays.
2018 Epcot Festival of the Holidays
This year there are 15 Holiday Kitchens at the 2018 Epcot Festival of the Holidays. Some of them have multiple gluten-friendly options. There are also some dishes that can meet a gluten-free diet by eliminating one or more ingredients from the dish. I have listed next to each dish its designation (GF=gluten-friendly, V=vegetarian).
At the Feast of 3 Kings, you have four designated GF selections and can choose from the following options, including the Coquito – a tropical eggnog with a Bacardi Gold Dark Rum floater (delicious):
- Pastelón – Sofrito-marinated Beef with Sweet Plantains and Olives (GF)
- Queso Fresco-stuffed Arepa topped with Shrimp, Crushed Avocado Aji and Tomato Sauce (GF)
- Arepas topped with Melted Queso Fresco (GF/V)
- Tres Leches Rice Pudding with Pumpkin Seeds (GF)
- Green and White Sugar Cookie (V)
The Pastelón was extremely tasty, but it does contain maltodextrin and yeast extract for those who look to avoid such ingredients. The main ingredients in the dish are beef and sweet plantains.
Due to the avoidance of shellfish, we went with the melted queso fresco-topped arepa. You get two small arepas making this an easy dish to share. Due to the main ingredients of corn flour and hominy, the arepas are not keto or paleo-friendly. However, they are excellent if you want a GF option that your children will love.
The Tres Leches rice pudding was extremely small but large on taste. The addition of pumpkin seeds gave a nice crunch to a typically creamy dessert. I would have liked more rice pudding in the dish. Of course, anyone avoiding sugar should steer clear of this item.
Although none of the cookies are gluten-free, they are part of a holiday cookie stroll. After you visit the various food booths and purchase the 5 holiday cookies and get your passport stamped at each location, you will then receive a complimentary completer cookie and glass of milk at Holiday Sweets and Treats. You can also find a GF peppermint sundae at this booth, along with two cookie selections. Holiday Sweets and Treats also offers a GF Peppermint Sundae.
Some of the international food booths are not run by Disney, so you would have to meet with each of the chefs there to get nutritional information. I did not have time for that on this trip, sorry to say. For that reason, I am not reviewing Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen in Mexico, Shanghai Holiday Kitchen in China, Tuscany Holiday Kitchen in Italy, Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen in Japan, Les Marche De Noel in France, or Sapphire Holiday Kitchen in Morocco. It was clear from looking at the description of the dishes that none would meet any GF dietary needs.
I did visit the L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen celebrating the festival of Hanukkah. I was lucky enough to catch the first few minutes of the Hanukkah Storyteller. If you are looking for a gluten-friendly, paleo and keto approved dish, you can opt for the Pastrami on Rye without the Rye. I did get the Potato Knish, Chicken and Matzo Ball Soup, and Black and White Cookie for others in my party to try. As you can see, we ordered all dishes as they came, including the Blue Cosmo cocktail which was surprisingly strong. Here are our thoughts:
- Pastrami on Rye – the portion of pastrami was excellent and very tasty. Again, I do not have the exact ingredients for this dish. The house-made pickles were delicious.
- Potato Knish – served with herb sour cream, which was very good. The inside of the knish was extremely bland, and the dough was so thick you could not even eat the bottom of it. Also – the better option to represent Hanukkah in the first place would have been potato latkes served with sides of applesauce and sour cream.
- Chicken and Matzo Ball Soup – although not a traditional Hanukkah dish, the small portion of soup was well seasoned and very tasty.
- Black and White Cookie – while this was a fun choice for the holiday cookie stroll, it has nothing to do with Hanukkah. I do wish they would have offered Sufganiyot – jelly-filled donuts – the traditional Hanukkah dessert.
The Bavarian Holiday Kitchen in Germany does not have any paleo, keto, of GF options. However, if you are a vegetarian, you can enjoy the Cheese Fondue in a Bread Bowl or the Peppermint Sugar Cookie. At the Yukon Holiday Kitchen in Canada, you might be able to omit the maple whiskey glaze to make the Seared Salmon gluten-friendly. Again, since I was not provided with the proper information, I hesitate to recommend this, nor was I able to try it.
At the American Holiday Table in The American Adventure, you will find some tasty options:
- Slow-roasted Turkey – the turkey and green beans are fine for anyone on a paleo or keto diet. The mashed potatoes do not contain gluten, but they do contain dairy. If you omit the stuffing and gravy, shown in the photo on the side, you should be fine. Of course, the cranberry sauce does contain sugar.
- Hand-carved Smoked Ham – served with green beans and sweet potato casserole (GF). This dish was amazing. Unfortunately, I could not tell you what is in the sweet potato casserole as the chef stopped giving me the information I required that he promised to send me. I have no idea if I consumed sugar in that dish.
- Both the Chocolate Pecan Tart and Green and White Sugar Cookie at this both are vegetarian options.
The Fife & Drum Tavern offers up a Holiday Apple Pie Sundae, and you can get a Pumpkin Spice Funnel Cake at the Funnel Cake Booth.
In addition to the food booths at the 2018 Epcot Festival of the Holidays, the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe in Norway is offering a Traditional Holiday Rice Cream. The Refreshment Outpost has a Warm Caramel Stuffed Salted Pretzel. Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie offers a Buch de Noel au Chocolate. L’Artisan Des Glaces features a gingerbread ice cream with gingerbread pieces. We did try their Pumpkin Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich – which was AMAZING! It is not a holiday dish, so to speak, but rather a seasonal offering. Even my friend who does not like pumpkin devoured her half of the macaron.
Hopefully, at next year’s event, I will be able to gather better information for you all. There were some amazing options this year, so make sure to check out then 2018 Epcot Festival of the Holidays.