Full Schedule Announced for October 14-15
One of the area’s favorite fall food festivals – Taste of the Beach – returns to Pensacola Beach on Friday, Oct. 14, with a VIP Dinner and continues Saturday, Oct. 15, with an outdoor festival staged around the Gulfside Pavilion on Casino Beach.
Hosted by the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce, Taste of the Beach spotlights Pensacola Beach’s unique restaurants and coastal cuisine, focusing on fresh, local seafood.
“We are so thankful to finally be able to bring back this event, we know so many people look forward to it every fall,” said Meg Peltier, President and CEO of the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce. “Taste of the Beach showcases our island’s talented chefs and gives everyone a chance to taste so many creative, coastal delights from Pensacola Beach’s finest restaurants.”
FRIDAY NIGHT OCTOBER 14
The 13th Annual Taste of the Beach kicks off Friday night, Oct. 14, with a special, island-elegant, progressive VIP Dinner experience. Diners will indulge in a four-course meal with complimentary wine pairings. A private trolley will whisk diners away to four of the island’s premier restaurants for a true coastal flavor experience.
The 2022 VIP Dinner will showcase the following restaurants:
1. Appetizer – Jumbo Lump Crab Cake- prepared and presented by Chef Jere Doyle at Crabs We Got ‘Em.
2. Soup/Salad – Cream of Celeriac Soup with Pancetta and Herbs and Crab Salad with Crushed Golden Potato and Yuzu dressing – prepared and presented by Chef Richard Assaf at Hilton H20.
3. Entree – Snapper Couvillion – prepared and presented by Chef Dennis Moore at Flounder’s Chowder House.
4. Dessert – Pensacola Beach Bread Pudding and “Millionaire” coffee drink. Your host is General Manager Juston Takacs at Casino Beach Bar & Grille.
The evening begins at the Pensacola Beach Visitor Information Center where guests can enjoy a complimentary champagne toast before boarding a trolley to head to the first restaurant.
There are five departure times from the Visitor Information Center: 4:45 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:15 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.
Guests are asked to arrive to the VIC at least 15 minutes prior to their departure ticket time. Each course lasts approximately 45 minutes, and then guests will depart to the next restaurant. Only a select number of tickets are available per departure time, so please don’t wait to purchase! Due to limited trolley space, if you miss your departure time you will not be able to board a later trolley.
VIP Dinner tickets are $100 each. Adults 21 and older only. The 2022 Taste of the Beach VIP Dinner features a set menu that includes seafood. Those with seafood or shellfish sensitivities or allergies should refrain from attending as there will be no substitutions.
For more information about the VIP Dinner menu, trolley times and ticket purchasing, please visit the Chamber’s website here: TasteofPensacolaBeach.com.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 15
Saturday’s free outdoor festival takes place October 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the white-sand shoreline of Pensacola Beach for a daylong celebration of all things Southern, seafood, savory and sweet. We’re talking feet in the sand, crashing waves, sunshine, and shrimp. So if you’re a Gulf Coast seafood junkie, you’re not going to want to miss it.
The festival opens at 10 a.m. at Casino Beach when 18 Pensacola Beach restaurants, stationed in booths surrounding the Gulfside Pavilion and overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, begin serving their signature dishes for $8 each.
The menu changes every year, but you’ll find plenty of seafood options as well as landlubber fare such as sliders, sandwiches and sweets. And yes, beer, wine and frozen alcoholic concoctions will also be available for purchase.
At 10 a.m., Dancingly Yours – a Pensacola Beach children’s dance troupe – will perform from the Gulfside Pavilion stage.
At 10:30 a.m. Chef John Flaningam of Crabs We Got ‘Em will demonstrate how to properly filet fish in front of the Gulfside Pavilion.
At 11 a.m. the “Crab’s Little Chefs Cooking Class” will begin. Chef Jere Doyle from Crabs We Got ‘Em will teach a select group of students how to make and enjoy crab cakes. Tickets are $10 per student, with limited tickets available.
Starting at 11:30 a.m., a second “Crab’s Little Chefs Cooking Class” will begin. Chef Doyle will teach a select group of students how to make and eat Ice Cream Sundaes. Tickets are $10 per student, with limited tickets available.
At noon the Best Signature Dish competition begins. Every restaurant participating in Saturday’s daylong event can enter their dish. A panel of judges will sample each dish and crown a 2022 winner at approximately 12:30 p.m.
At 1 p.m., ready, set, go! Let the hermit crab racing begin! The crab races will take place in front of the Gulfside Pavilion.
From 2 to 4 p.m., festivalgoers can listen to the live music of local party-rock band, Horseshoe Kitty, while enjoying the waterfront view and coastal flavors.
Guests are encouraged to stroll around the grounds, enjoying the signature dishes, beer, wine and frozen drinks. The festival closes at 4 p.m.
Taste of the Beach—it’s a foodie paradise wrapped in a beach paradise and garnished with live entertainment, demonstrations and drinks. Don’t miss out this October!
About Taste of the Beach
Taste of the Beach is one of several festivals and events presented by the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce, Inc. The Pensacola Beach Chamber is a not-for-profit corporation committed to promoting, advancing and stimulating civic, business, commercial interests and the general welfare on Pensacola Beach. Sponsorship opportunities are available upon request.
