Park & Palate will be cookin' in Klyde Warren Park on Oct. 5 and Oct. 26.
The recurring food and wine festival brings chefs, barbecue pitmasters and sommeliers into the Dallas park. The intent of the fest is to "showcase the city's nationally recognized culinary scene," according to a press release, and bring like-minded foodies together twice in October. Proceeds from ticket sales go back to the park.
"With the help of our generous Park & Palate chairs, sponsors and talented chefs, we are excited to expand this event and raise funds to ensure continued Park programming free of charge to every socioeconomic group and generation in our community," Klyde Warren Park President Kit Sawers says in a statement.
The event on Oct. 5 is Dinner in the Park, curated by Dallas chef Kent Rathbun and sommelier Drew Hendricks. It costs about $3,500 per table — a big expense, but one that is intended to be a significant fundraiser for the park. Last year, 700 people attended a three-course dinner on the lawn. To feed that many people, Rathbun and his 25-chef team set up a satellite kitchen behind the Klyde Warren Park stage.
The Oct. 26 is a bigger event, with 2,300 people attending in 2018. About 40 D-FW chefs are expected to serve bites from their tables, food-festival style, at the Grand Taste. Chef John Tesar, of Knife steakhouse in Dallas, and chef Jason Czaja, of Shinsei and Lovers Seafood and Market, are two of the chefs named so far.
During the Oct. 26 Grand Taste, Texas beer and barbecue will be served. The barbecue component became a prominent part of the festival in 2018, and the beer garden is new as of this year.
"Dallas has some of the best barbecue pitmasters and craft brewers in the state," says Missy Wyszynski. "It's a natural evolution to showcase their talents with Park & Palate's addition of the barbecue alley and beer garden."
The full list of pitmasters is not yet released, but Tim Hutchins of Hutchins BBQ, Dwight Harvey of Off the Bone Barbecue, and Tim McLaughlin and Jeff Bergus of Lockhart Smokehouse have signed up to participate.
Other events, like cookbook signings, lawn games and live music, are expected at the Oct. 26 event. The Grand Taste takes place from 12:30 to 4 p.m. and costs $75 for a general admission ticket or $125 for VIP. VIP ticketholders get in 30 minutes early and will find free self-parking and a bar serving free drinks.
Dallas has seen a boom in food festivals over the past decade. Rathbun, who has been involved in Park & Palate since its inception in 2015, believes the event "has the potential to become one of the country's most popular food and wine festivals, right in the heart of Dallas." The park is about a half-mile walk from one of his newer restaurants, Imoto in Victory Park.
The events are put on by chairs Brooke Hortenstine and Missy Wyszynski, who are Dallas residents. Members of the Sewell family serve as honorary chairs.
