Epcot festivals are always fun, with exciting activities and delicious foods. For people with food allergies and special diets, these booths can be difficult to navigate. Luckily, the wonderful chefs at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts 2022 are here to help.
As always, I took some time to meet up with one of my favorite chefs, the wonderful Chef Donald, to go over the menu items for numerous different food allergies. We discussed gluten, dairy, corn, soy, sugar, shellfish, coconut, canola oil, paleo, keto, low fodmap, apples (apple cider vinegar), mushrooms, lemon, tomato, oregano, rice, onions, and garlic when going over the ingredient lists. If an item cannot be prepared gluten-friendly it was left off my list.
As you can see in my list above, it is considerably longer than ever before. That is due to some food sensitivity testing my daughter and I underwent before this festival. Note: we did not start our elimination until after trying these items. I figured that would give me plenty of time to add some things back in before the next festival!
Please also note that the ingredients I list below are not a complete representation of everything in the dish. Always ask for your specific allergens.
As I suspected, there were many more items to enjoy than what is listed. Because suppliers can change rapidly, double-check at the booth. It only takes a minute for them to call a chef. Remember, there is an inherent risk of cross-contamination at the food booths.
Also, the CMs have been doing a great job of contacting the chefs whenever someone comes up with dietary needs. They also ask if it is an allergy or a preference. The advanced training in this way has shown a wonderful commitment by Disney to help guests enjoy a safe experience.
They do allow modifying of dishes whenever possible. As long as it is something they can do, they will. It is harder at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts 2022, but as you see below, it is doable on the following items.
AGAIN – ALWAYS REMEMBER TO HAVE THEM DOUBLE CHECK AT THE BOOTH IF THE ITEM IN QUESTION IS STILL SAFE!
EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS 2022 FOOD BOOTHS
As of my discussion with Chef Donald, a whopping 20 items can be gluten-friendly with modifications! The list below is in the order of the festival passport.
POP EATS:
No food items at this booth are gluten-friendly. Although the tomato soup was for a few days, that was only due to a flour shortage. The Tomato Soup Can Bloody Mary can be GF if you omit the croutons. It does contain anchovies, onions, sugar, corn, and soy.
DECONSTRUCTED DISH:
Deconstructed BLT – One of our favorite dishes each year. Bring some GF bread with you to soak up the egg. The onion bread pudding below typically comes on the plate with the dish, as shown in the photo below. You can get it on the side for someone else in your party to enjoy.
Omit the Brioche (it is really Onion Bread Pudding containing both gluten and dairy); (omit Watercress Espuma for DF); Tomato Jam contains canola oil and tomatoes; there is also a lemon Dijon aioli.
Deconstructed Key Lime Pie – I absolutely loved this dessert!
Omit the Graham Cracker Cake for GF; this dish cannot be made dairy-free; it also contains sugar and eggs.
DECO DELIGHTS:
Sadly, pass this booth by if you avoid gluten.
REFRESHMENT PORT:
While no foods here are GF, the chef did point out that the Blood Orange Cosmo (vodka) contains no added sugar for those who are interested.
GOURMET LANDSCAPES:
Blood Orange-braised Beet Carpaccio – We thought this was a good dish, and the truffle did not overpower.
Omit Crostini for GF; there are also pumpkin seeds in this dish; the beets contain garlic, shallots, blood orange, herbs de Provence; the mushrooms contain sugar and truffle oil; the golden beets contain shallots and garlic; there is a French Mustard Vinaigrette.
Roasted Bone Marrow – Here is another item that would do better if you bring some GF bread with you. I enjoyed it, my daughter did not.
Omit Crostini for GF; it also contains salt, pepper, olive oil, shallots, mushrooms, canola; the onion jam contains red wine vinegar and sugar.
Wild Mushroom Risotto – Another good option each year when you leave off the sauce.
Omit Zinfandel Reduction to make it GF; there is no way to make this DF; the truffle risotto contains lots of butter, mushrooms, and mascarpone; the truffle oil has sunflower oil.
L’ART DE LA CUISINE FRANCAISE:
Keep walking – nothing GF to eat. That Frozen French Martini sounds tempting. The regular one they serve inside the restaurant is my favorite Epcot drink. I miss last year’s macarons.
VIBRANTE & VIVIDO:
As a side note, if you have anyone with you who eats gluten, tell them to get the empanada – it is one of the best food items at the festival.
Spicy Ajiaco Soup (GF) – Here is the first item on our list that is marked gluten-friendly. It lives up to its “spicy” name, so make sure you grab a drink to go with it. We loved it!
Omit crème fraiche for dairy-free; the chicken stock contains corn protein, sugar, onion, garlic, dried chilis; there are potatoes, corn, and avocado.
Passion Fruit Mousse (GF) – This dessert is seriously good but cannot be modified.
It contains dairy, egg, soy, and corn.
Coconut and Passion Fruit Smoothie
This non-alcoholic drink comes in a souvenir cup and contains dairy, corn syrup, and sugar.
TANGIERINE CAFÉ:
Both Kabobs are the same gluten-friendly ones from the Festival of the Holidays. Please see that review for more information.
Carrots Three Way – Although not marked in the passport, this dish is both GF and DF. The carrots are a bit spicy, and the portion is huge – great to share. Contains soy, onion, garlic, sugar, and ginger; miso dressing contains shallots, garlic, canola, sugar; there is tomato in the berbere.
GOSHIKI:
Sushi Donut – Omit Eel Sauce for gluten-friendly per their binder.
THE ARTIST’S TABLE:
Pan-seared Scallops – These scallops were good.
Omit Black Tuille for GF; soy lecithin in the foam – you can omit; dairy is in everything except the scallops – so if you are dairy-free, ask for the scallops by themselves.
Sipping Chocolate Flight – Be for-warned – this is like drinking hot melted chocolate. I am a chocoholic and carried it around for an hour while trying other items and could not get more than half of each little cup down. (Probable better with alcohol!)
There is dairy and soy lecithin.
L’ARTE DI MANGIARE:
Keep walking – nothing gluten-friendly – and VERY expensive for small portions!
PASTORAL PALATE:
Wild Boar Cassoulet – Neither of us cared much for this dish. The taste of the boar is strong.
Omit breadcrumbs for GF; contains corn, dairy, tomato, sherry vinegar, canola, herbs de Provence, chives; the sausage by itself is GF and DF.
THE PAINTED PANDA:
I have never found anything GF at this booth.
REFRESHMENT OUTPOST:
Plant-based Bratwurst (DF) – same plant-based item as last year.
Omit roll for GF; uses Beyond Meat, containing coconut oil, sunflower oil, apple fiber, citrus extract, rice protein, pea protein, faba bean protein, and other ingredients.
EL ARTISTA HAMBRIENTO:
I emailed the wonderful Chef Ernesto in Mexico and discovered that all three items here are gluten-friendly. They do a really great job of providing healthy GF options, that can often be modified to DF. The Taco de Chocolate is a welcome repeat from last year. Sadly, the other two items, which are new, are not favorites for us. There was so little meat on the Carne Asada that it did not warrant the cost. These were definitely not shareable items. The citrus juices below are orange and lime.
Huarache Verde (GF and DF) – We did not enjoy this dish. By the time we got to the table, it was already getting soggy and hard to pick up.
Contains cilantro, corn masa, black beans, salt, pepper, onion, chives, citrus juices, annatto paste, pineapple, and apple cider vinegar.
Carne Asada (GF) – Sadly, the three little slices of meat (yummy as they were) were not enough to have us recommend this dish. Our beans were also extremely runny.
Omit grilled queso fresco for dairy-free; the top sirloin contains guajillo sauce marinade, garlic, onion, citrus, and ancho peppers; the ranchero sauce contains tomato, peppers, onions, salt, pepper, garlic, and cilantro; the queso fresco is seared without oil; the green onions are cooked with canola oil.
Taco de Chocolate (GF) – One of our favorite items last year, we did not try it this year.
Contains dairy, strawberry, mango, and melon.
THE CRAFTSMAN’S COURTYARD:
Hands down, my favorite booth this year. They scored a 2 out of 3 – I did not like the Pate at all. However, the Mussels and Trout were fantastic. The portion size of the Mussels makes it one of the best bargains of the Epcot International Festival of the Arts 2022. All three items can be GF by omitting the brioche.
Pate de Campagne – Not a fan of this dish.
Omit Brioche for GF; contains pork, pistachios, onion, garlic, chicken liver, cream, bacon, truffle; the red onion marmalade contains red wine and balsamic vinegars, onion, canola; the pickled mustard seed contains sugar and rice wine vinegar; there is soy, lemon, and apple cider vinegar in the vegan mayo used for the radish cream.
Cast Iron-roasted P.E.I. Mussels – One of my favorite items – the mussels were so tender.
Omit Bread for GF; contains tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, parsley, basil, and thyme.
Cast Iron-seared Steelhead Trout – I loved this dish. I have heard that some people were told they could only have the trout by itself, probably because there are croutons premixed in the parsley salad, so double check when you are there.
Omit Bread for GF; the trout is grilled with canola oil; the lemon Dijon aioli contains garlic, onion, salt, lemon, cayenne, and there is soy in the mayo; the parsley salad has Greek olives, shallots, tomato, and capers. There may be croutons in the parsley salad, so you will need to omit that if that is the case.
EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS DÉCOR
I want to share some fun pictures from around the park. One of the best parts of the Epcot International Festival of the Arts 2022 is the décor. make sure to enjoy the activities, photo ops, and entertainment.
Before I go, a final note about Dole Whips. The mango, pineapple, and lime flavors contain no added apple. They do, however, contain coconut. The cherry flavor also contains apple. They also have sugar and citric acid.