The Inaugural SAVOR Festival Brings Celebrities, Golf, and Incredible Food to Omni PGA Frisco Resort

The inaugural lifestyle festival, SAVOR, took place at Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa this past weekend. It’d been hyped up for its celebrity chef appearances at grand foodie events, celebrity golf invitational with actors like Dennis Quaid and Kurt Russell, and even live music performances by Midland and D. Vincent Williams. After attending Friday night’s Fork & Fire and Saturday’s Best of Texas Grand Tasting, we can confirm that this is one of the best new food festivals in North Texas.

The four-day event was curated by James Beard-nominated culinary icon Chef Beau MacMillan and acclaimed Emmy Award-winning event producer Scott Savlov. It featured an all-star cast of celebrity chefs from the Food Network, like Aarón Sánchez and Kwame Onwuachi, as well as local celeb chefs John Tesar and Dean Fearing.

The festival kicked off with the intimate (only 100 guests attended) Masters of Taste Dinner on Thursday evening featuring bites from Chef Joe Riojas of Trick Rider, James Beard Award-nominated nominee Elizabeth Blau and Chef Kim Canteenwalla (Crown Block), James Beard Award-nominated Chef Antonia Lofaso, and dessert from Chopped: Sweets winner Chef Leen Nunn.

It was Friday’s Fork & Fire Grand Tasting that guests were able to explore so many big-name chefs’ stations indoors and outdoors. World-renowned mixologist Jillian Vose of Hazel and Apple in Charleston handed out the signature cocktails, while food highlights included a grilled pork belly with noodles and chili crunch from Stephanie Izard (the first female chef to win Bravo’s Top Chef), Hamachi Guisado Yellowtail from Chef Onwuachi, and gochujang glazed sticky ribs from Food Network star Kevin Lee. Dallas chefs like Greg Katz (Green Point), Nick Badovinus (Neighborhood Services), and Matt Balke (Encina) also served favorite bites during the evening. The night ended with an incredible drone show presented by Lexus.

The next morning, golf lovers traveled from all over to compete in the SAVOR Celebrity Golf Invitational on the renowned Fields Ranch West golf course. Celebs Dennis Quaid, Kurt Russell, Nischelle Turner, Aimee Garcia, Ross Butler, Oliver Hudson, and more participated in the event.

On Saturday night, the Best of Texas Grand Tasting brought together some of the best chefs in Texas, including local chefs like Dean Fearing (Fearing’s), John Tesar (Knife), Andrea Shackelford (Harvest), Bruno Davaillon (Le PasSage), Stephen Rogers (Gemma), and more. We particularly enjoyed the beef cheek taco from Chef Tesar, the lamb sausage from Chef Rich Vana of The Heritage Table, and the smoked beef rib from Chef Joe Riojas’ Trick Rider. “The Modern Mixologist,” Tony Abou-Ganim, also paired two delicious craft cocktails made with Tito’s vodka.

Guests all oohed and ahhed as Chef Leen Nunn and Chef Gelyn Wildelski of Omni PGA topped a small Dr Pepper can filled with a delicious mixture of chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, Dr Pepper jelly, Bada Bing cherries, Dr Pepper ganache, and Cherry Cola Pop Rocks with an edible bubble cloud. The night came to a close after an energetic performace by Midland.

The next morning, guests gathered outdoors for one last foodie event — the Margaritas & Mariachis Celebrity Brunch. Guests enjoyed bites from the region’s best Tex-Mex chefs (including Aarón Sánchez and Beau MacMillan), Aperol spritzes and more cocktails, mariachis, and a DJ set to close out the festival.

If you didn’t make it to the inaugural SAVOR Festival at Omni PGA Frisco, make sure to mark it on your calendar now for 2026. It’s not to miss.