A 21st Birthday To Remember — The Woodlands’ Wine & Food Week Builds Anticipation For the Big Events To Come

The Woodlands’ Wine & Food Week turned 21 this year. And instead of quietly coming of age, it threw a full-on celebration worthy of the milestone.

“This year marked our 21st annual celebration. We’re raising a glass to the journey we began over two decades ago,” Wine & Food Week co-founder Constance McDerby says. “Back then, my husband and partner Clifton and I had a dream to create the region’s first multi-day wine and food event. I can say with full hearts and full glasses that it has exceeded anything we imagined.”

This year’s theme centered around “Crushing It.” And indeed, they are. Not just grapes, but expectations, boundaries and every milestone they once thought was a finish line.

Attendees sipped from a selection of hundreds of wines, including Antinori Tiganello, Silver Oak, Col Solare Cabernet and a Ceretto Barolo. They also sampled dishes from standout Woodlands, Fredericksburg and Houston restaurants.

Wine & Food Week Crushes Its 21st Year

The knives were out and the heat was on as 38 chefs competed to claim the crown of “Chef of Chefs” during the high-stakes culinary showdown at The Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting & Chef Showcase, part of Wine & Food Week in The Woodlands.

Chef Edgar Morales of Del Frisco dazzled the judges with sweet twice baked tamale cakes. He served them with a creamed tomatillo sauce inspired by his Mexican roots. Morales walked away with the top honor and a $5,000 prize.

Chef Richard Huber of Swift & Company earned second place and a $750 cash prize. His winning dish featured grilled baby octopus with corn velouté, lemon verbena crème fraîche, scallion ash and huitlacoche tuile. He marinated the octopus in black garlic and chili crisp. He finished the dish with finger lime, green onion flowers and dried piquín powder.

The People’s Choice Award for best dessert went to Kady Miller of Alchemy Bake Lab. Oreo-like cookies, apple pie snickerdoodles and glitter cake balls in bite-size flavors were crowd favorites. Miniature brown butter Rice Krispy cakes also drew plenty of praise.

A panel of culinary judges rated each chef’s dish on a variety of factors. The judges included Chronicle restaurant critic Bao Ong, food journalist Mai Pham, TV host and Houston Restaurant Foundation president Katie Stone, the Culinary Institute LeNotre’s program director chef Stephanie Lamour, Good Taste with Tanji host and executive producer Tanji Patton, Chef Carlos Ramos, Chef David Skinner, Bravado Spice Company CEO Jeremiah Tallerine and restaurateur Kevin Lee.

New Events and Fan Favorites

“Crushing it with Cocktails” debuted this year as a new Thursday night event.

Musaafer‘s Afzal Kaba won the Best in Glass award and the People’s Choice award in the event’s inaugural year. He created the Harvey Milk Punch using Hanson’s Vodka and a Joel Gott sauvignon blanc.

This spirited event spotlighted mixology masters from Houston and The Woodlands. Participants included Danny Velazquez, beverage director at The Blind Finch; Carla Espinoza, partner at I Know the Owner; Sebastien Escobar, beverage director at Monarca Modern Cocina Kitchen; Kiana Carillo from Plume and Kaba of Musaafer.

Friday’s “Sips, Suds and Savor” featured a new fan favorite — a grape stomping competition, courtesy of Bernhardt Winery. Each Tuesday leading up to the event, one trivia winner earned a spot in the competition. Of the four grape stompers, Hynetha Cline produced the most juice and won a free weekend stay at the winery.

In its 21st year, Wine & Food Week supported several charitable organizations. These included New Danville, The Woodlands Arts Council, Second Chances and The Montgomery County Food Bank. Food & Vine Time Productions has raised more than $2 million for local charities over the years.

If you missed this year’s Wine & Food Week, there’s more delicious fun on the horizon. Up next is the Platinum Wine Vault set for September 19 at Bayway Cadillac. The H-E-B Wine Walk follows on October 2. Expect premium pours, thoughtful pairings and plenty of buzz.

For more information about Food & Vine Time Productions’ upcoming events, go here.