Time to visit two of my most favorite booths — Canada and Ireland!
If you’d like to see full coverage of each Marketplace available at the 2012 Epcot Food and Wine Festival, check out our Epcot Food and Wine Festival Booth Pages! Just click on any booth or country name and you’ll see detailed information, menus, photos, and prices.
Here we gooo!
Canada
I was super excited when I found out that Canada would be offering one of my favorite Le Cellier dishes of all time – the “Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce!
I was worried that it would be overdone, but not only was it perfectly cooked, there was actually plenty of truffle butter sauce! And that’s saying a lot, because I love it so much that I always order extra!
The much-loved Chicken Chipotle Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta is back for 2012, with the addition of a sweet-savory onion jam made with Minus 8 gourmet vinegar. This is just as amazing as ever. But beware: it has a little kick to it!
Finally, that famous Cheddar Cheese Soup is also back this year! This one remains a winner, though it can be heavy in this Florida heat!
And we sampled the Apple Ice Wine this year. Apples? Ice Wine? What’s not to love? Remember, though, this is super sweet, and it’s served in a teeny tiny cup since ice wine is usually served in smaller portions than regular wine due to its sweetness and concentration.
You can see more pictures, the full menu, and prices on our Canada Booth Page!
Ireland
I cannot pass the Ireland booth without getting Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Bailey’s Ganache. It’s still just as amazing this year as it has been the past several years. A must-do for any chocolate lover.
Also, the alcohol content and flavor isn’t strong, so no worries if you’re not necessarily a Bailey’s fan.
The Fisherman’s Pie is back in Ireland this year as well, and it’s still a winner for any seafood fan!
We tried the Kerrygold Cheese Selection again this year, and it’s still a decent option. The bread is quite hard, and the cheeses this year (Aged-Irish Cheddar, Dubliner, and Cashel Blue with Apple) are good choices, though the Dubliner and Cheddar are very similar.
You can see more pictures, the full menu, and prices on our Ireland Booth Page!
Tell us what YOU’RE loving at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival in the comments below!
And feel free to check out more food pictures on our Epcot Food and Wine Festival booth pages. You’ll find lots more pictures, plus complete menus and pricing for every item available in the 2012 Marketplace Booths!
Also, if you’re headed to the Festival, check out our DFB Mini-Guide to the 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival e-Book for a full schedule of events, touring strategies, tips and tricks, and a full section on the World Showcase booths this year!
Cherry says
I can’t wait to try these. Although I’ve heard mixed reviews about the filet (one reviewer’s plate looked like it had no truffle butter sauce at all). AJ were you able to ask for a specific doneness or are they all medium/medium well? Love the lava cake (although it looks more cooked than it normally is) but I have to get it without the bailey’s ganache. Alcohol allergy. 🙁
AJ says
Cherry — They didn’t ask me how I wanted the meat cooked, but it was done medium. Very good.
Kate Kosche says
I think the irish cheeses might pair nicely with the canadian apple ice wine, especially the Cashel blue. I might have to get the wine and then take it over to try with the cheeses. Unfortunately they’re on the opposite sides of the lake. Might need 2…
Jessica C. says
I just got back from WDW on Monday. I visit regularly but I had never been to Food & Wine. I LOVED Florida’s corn arepa paired with the Key Limen wine. Hawaii’s pork slider and mai tai was also delish! So refreshing in the hot Florida sun!
Galloping Gourmand says
The soup then sausage and ice wine followed by the lava cake is the best three cource meal as you’ll have at Food and Wine. (I’d switch the sausage and fillet, but I can’t have that much mushroom.)
Lizzie says
That lava cake needs a little more lava!
marcellina says
I had the filet with truffle butter sauce and all I can say is WOW! I’m not even a big meat eater but after the first bite I decided I am going to try to get a ressie at Le Cellier on our next trip. My husband has to try this and he wasn’t with me this time to sample the filet.
I also got my old favorite, the fisherman’s pie and the cheese plate from Ireland. Great as always!
You’re totally right about the cheddar cheese soup.. it’s delish but it was TOO HOT to eat it! I skipped it unfortunately.
AJ says
Kate — Great idea!! And the Irish and Canada booths are relatively close together, so the cheeses will definitely make it over to the ice wine! 😉
Jessica C. — So glad you made it to the festival! I thought the Key Limen Wine was awesome!
GG — Sigh — sounds wonderful! I may have to step out to Epcot today and have that!
Lizzie — Agreed! 😉
Marci — Yeah; it’s been hot and heavy in Orlando this week! That soup might be over the top (but still so good!).
Michelle B. says
AJ, how did you manage to get 2 pictures of the lava cake? I have it devoured before I take 2 steps! Also how was the polenta at Canada this year? I remember it was good last year, great the year before that, and very mediocre the previous year.
EvelynB says
Just to add to your report – we went today and had the filet; both steaks were perfectly cooked and overall excellent. Hearty portion of butter and mushrooms on each. Definitely exceeded my expectations. We’re Le Cellier regulars and we both thought the filet from the booth was ‘on par’ with the filet served in the restaurant. We opted for apple ice wine, which was served room temp/hot (before the rain this afternoon) Had to have it replaced with the neige bubble after making a trip back to the booth. Not great, but things happen & they resolved… if warm wine is the worst thing than doing pretty good. 🙂
Heather says
Two of my favorite booths, too! The first thing I ran to on the soft opening day was the filet, and it was just as good as I hoped! I may have gone back several times during the trip. 😉 It was just too hot to get to the soup, though my mom got it and loved it, as always. The chocolate cake from Ireland was another I got several times, just as good as always! My mom got the Fisherman’s Pie and loved it, so a few days later, I decided to try it. The version we got was too mushy, and my mom said it looked nothing like the one she got, and didn’t taste as good, either. Maybe I’ll try it another year and hope to get a better version.
Gorjus says
Two trips to the Canada booth. Ice Wine: I don’t find the apple ice wine to be even close to ice wine, so I’m going with a no. The Niege Bubbly isn’t really an ice wine, but it makes a REALLY nice sparkling wine. Bonus: I was shocked at the high quality of the Syrah. With all due respect to their Ice Wine industry, the rest of Canada’s wines have always been lacking. This Syrah had great flavor, didn’t feel watery, could be consumed alone but also went real well with both the Canadian Filet and Coq au Vin from France. Well done Canada. Chipotle Sausage is always good and goes best with the Niege or a Riesling from another country. As for the Filet Mignon, your photo looks like nothing I’ve seen at two visits. I can assume the truffle sauce is there somewhere, but have yet to see it. My first filet was well done, but not overly well. The second visit, it was medium well. Everyone raves about it and it went well with the Syrah from Canada and the Pinot Noir from New Zealand.
Gorjus says
Ireland: As much as I absolutely love all the foods at this booth, I must say that they have out priced themselves in relation to the ratio between food and price. I can no longer justify it. However, the Fishermans’ Pie, the cake, & the cheeses are always to die for. Wonderful tastes, just much too expensive for what you get.