I have said it several times around here, but the Fayetteville Roots Festival has the best culinary programing of any festival in the state. That is saying a lot for something that also is one of the best music festivals as well.
This year, after years of begging on my part, they will also offer a culinary only pass for the August 22-26th festival that is primarily in Fayetteville. It is something that is absolutely needed to grow the culinary side in quality and quantity of events. So the best festival should only get better from here.
The culinary pass offers tickets to the biggest culinary sections of the festival. There are several free to the public components as well such as the farmer’s market cooking competition. Culinary pass events this year include: Roots @ The Record, Friends of the Festival Party & Culinary Event at Pratt Place Featuring Del McCoury Band, ROOTS FOOD & SPRITS Pass, and TriCycle Farms Jamboree
Along with announcing the culinary pass, the official lineup of chefs participating this year is out. It is full of award winning chefs from around the country and the state.
Guest from out of state include:
Edward Lee (MilkWood, 610 Magnolia (Louisville, KY) & SUCCOTASH (D.C.)), Tandy Wilson (City House Nashville, TN), Merlin Verrier (Next Door, The Kitchen Bistro), Shaun O’Neale , Asha Gomez (Atlanta, GA), Digby Stridiron (St. Croix, V.I.), Crescent Dragonwagon (New York, NY), Phoebe Lawless (Scratch Baking Durham, NC), Anton Abrezov (St. Petersburg, Russia), Chef Jennifer Booker (Atlanta, GA), Reed Faitak (Austin Daily Press Austin, TX) and Nico Albert (MixCo Bar Tulsa, OK).
The lineup of out of state talent has grown every year for the past three years. It is really a testament to the quality of the festival to continue to see top name chefs take notice and come to NWA. Of course Roots has always done a great job of showcasing local talent, this year includes a record number of local chefs (and one previous local who recently moved). It is obviously NWA heavy, but they still pull top talent from other parts of the state.
Matthew McClure – The Hive (Bentonville, AR)
Chef Jennifer Booker– (Atlanta, GA)
Nico Albert – MixCo Bar (Tulsa, OK)
Jason Paul- Heirloom (Rogers, AR)
Matthew Bell – South on Main (Little Rock, AR)
William Lyle – The Summit (Tulsa, OK)
Casey Copeland – The Avenue (Hot Springs, AR)
Michael Robertshaw – Persephonē on Wheels (Rogers, AR)
John Lupton – Wood Stone Pizza (Fayetteville, AR)
William McCormick – Eleven at Crystal Bridges (Bentonville, AR)
Matthew Cooper – The Preacher’s Son (Bentonville, AR)
Patrick Lane – Arsaga’s at the Depot(Fayetteville, AR)
Rob Nelson – Tusk & Trotter American Brasserie, Bentonville Butcher & Pint (Bentonville, AR)
Justus Moll – River Grille Steakhouse (Bentonville, AR)
Darwin Beyer – Meiji Japanese Cuisine (Fayetteville, AR)
Luke Wetzel – Oven and Tap (Bentonville, AR)
Chrissy Sanderson – Mockingbird Kitchen (Fayetteville, AR)
Joshua Walters – MOD NWA(Bentonville, AR)
Travis McConnell – Pressroom (Bentonville, AR)
Anne Carroll – The Farmer’s Table Cafe (Fayetteville, AR)
Kurt Plankenhorn – 28 Springs (Siloam Springs, AR)
Rafael Rios – Yeyo’s El Alma de Mexico (Bentonville, AR)
Maudie Schmidt – Cafe Rue Orleans (Fayetteville, AR)
Sean Sterling – Saiwok Vietnamese Street Food(Rogers, AR)
Matthew Barclay – Bordinos Restaurant and Wine Bar (Fayetteville, AR)
Cody Johnson – Apple Blossom Brewing Company (Fayetteville, AR)
Heather Artripe – Ozark Natural Foods (Fayetteville, AR)
Mike Wilson – South In Your Mouth (Fayetteville, AR)
Culinary pass tickets are available now, but don’t expect them to last long. Culinary tickets are $199. Music tickets are already sold out.
