Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival 2020
It is not always easy to choose a favorite among the Epcot festivals. Each has so much to offer. Of course, the topiaries, butterfly garden, and blooming flowers are a significant reason to visit Epcot in the spring. This year, the 2020 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival was cut short, only a few weeks into its run, by a global pandemic.
2020 will certainly be a year for the history books. Disney fans lamented missing out on their favorite foods, beverages, and, for passholders, festival magnets.
Luckily, Paleo Disney made it there in time to review the food offerings to report on paleo, keto, and gluten-free delights. Thank you to the wonderful chefs who took the time to speak with me. Once again, I was delighted to meet with Chef Robbie of Disney, and Chef Ernesto in Mexico to discuss his Jardin de Fiestas booth (one of my favorites).
As always, suppliers and products can change, so remember to speak with a chef if you have any questions. The inherent risk of cross-contamination makes festival booths risky for those with food allergies.
2020 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival Food Booths
The 2020 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival food booths were sorely lacking on gluten-friendly desserts this year compared to last year’s offerings. Gone is the chocolate macaron (a festival highlight) from France, and the berry buttermilk cake from last year is no longer GF this year. Everyone complained it was dry (it was), but they would have been better off re-working the recipe instead of making it a gluten dish.
I really hope Disney steps it up next year with more gluten-free desserts at the festivals.
Here are the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival 2020 food booth reviews:
Bauernmarkt
- Potato Pancakes – with house-made apple sauce or with caramelized ham, onions, and herb sour cream, surprisingly, although not marked, they use gluten-free pancake mix to make this dish, along with “just eggs” and not real eggs, there is also potato starch and soy in these dishes
Citrus Blossom
- Lobster Tail – with Meyer lemon emulsion and grilled lemon, contains dairy in the butter
- Crispy Citrus Chicken – with orange aioli and baby greens, gluten-friendly corn panko crumbs, buttermilk, egg, and soy in the flour
Florida Fresh
- Carne Quisada – with black bean cake and cilantro-lime sour cream, this is a gluten-friendly dish; however, it all contains dairy, and there is soy in the carne, no corn or sugar at all
- Spicy Blackened Shrimp and Cheddar Cheese Grits – with brown gravy and local sweet corn relish, omit the gravy to make it gluten-friendly, dairy and corn in the grits, no soy or sugar in the dish
Flavor Full Kitchen
- Grilled Baby Vegetables – with hummus cream and red pepper coulis, the dish is gluten-friendly, the hummus and coulis contain soy, there is no sugar, dairy, or corn
- Seared Salmon – with farro risotto and micro herbs, the grilled salmon is gluten-friendly, there is no soy, corn, dairy, or sugar in the dish (I miss the roasted beets from last year – the chef said there were too many beets to roast)
- Strawberry Mousse – with chocolate crisp pearls, this dish contains gluten, dairy, sugar, nuts, peanuts, corn (avoid for all paleo, keto, and GF diets)
Honey Bee-stro
- Roasted Cauliflower – with buckwheat honey carrot puree, wild rice pilaf, asparagus, honey-blistered grapes, sunflower brittle, and coriander flowers, there is soy in the dressing, heavy cream, and sugar
Jardin de Fiestas
- Chilaquiles con Pollo – chipotle-braised chicken and tortillas served with salsa Ranchero, Monterey jack cheese, crema Mexicana, and guajillo cheese, this gluten-friendly dish does use corn tortillas
- Quesadilla al Pastor – flour tortilla with Monterey jack cheese, pork pastor topped with grille pineapple, salsa verde, red onion, and cilantro – not GF, but a worthy cheat
- Choriqueso Torta – bolillo roll filled with chorizo and Monterey jack cheese, avocado mousse, and jalapenos, this is not a gluten-friendly dish as is, but you can omit the roll and get it on a plate, as in the photo below, there is no corn, sugar, or soy in the dish
La Isla Fresca
- Lamb Curry – with sweet plantains and rice, this dish is gluten-friendly, contains no added soy, corn, or sugar, but it does contain canola and nuts
- Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer – with steamed rice and coconut-lime sauce, another gluten-friendly dish, there is soy in the sauce
- Tropical Mousse Cup – definitely not paleo, keto, or GF, and not as good as last years cake version (not worth the cheat)
- Tropical Freeze with Parrot Bay Mango Rum – my one drink again this year – it really is so good (but too small)
Magnolia Terrace
- Southern Seafood Boil – shrimp, mussels, crawfish, potatoes, corn, and andouille sausage, omit the broth to make this dish gluten-free (the broth contains beer)
- Grilled Oysters – with Cajun butter, the butter contains dairy, there is no soy, sugar, or corn in this dish – oh, and they were amazing!
Northern Bloom
- Seared Scallops – with French green beans, butter potatoes, brown butter vinaigrette, and applewood-smoked bacon, if you are dairy-free or do not eat soy, omit the sauce, there is no corn or sugar in this dish (see last year’s review for the photo)
- Beef Tenderloin Tips – mushroom bordelaise sauce with shipped potatoes and garden vegetables, omit the sauce to make it gluten and dairy-free, there is no corn or sugar
Refreshment Outpost
- Pineapple Skewer – this naturally gluten-friendly dish contains vanilla syrup (water, sugar)
Trowel & Trellis
- Grilled Street Corn on the Cob – with savory garlic spread – gluten-friendly
- Chocolate Pudding Terrarium – with avocado cream, matcha crumble, and baby herbs, the recipe changed a little this year, and not for the better – a favorite of ours last year, most of it went in the trash this time
Lotus House, Primavera Kitchen, Hanami, Taste of Marrakesh, and Fleur de Lys were all booths that did not offer the ability to have a gluten-friendly dish.
Sadly, the biggest disappointment this year was the loss of the chocolate macaron at Fleur de Lys in France – one of the shining stars from last year’s festival. Hopefully, they will bring it back in the future. I also wish they would make the Canard Confit duck dish gluten-friendly in the future.
Hopefully, we will be able to enjoy many of the 2020 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival booths again soon.