Chefs from Hooters to Harvard joined our second annual Flavor Foray in Austin June 10-12. Plus we had f&b leaders and chefs from Hyatt, Kimpton, Marriott, Google, Bloomin’ Brands, Legends, Blaze Pizza, Nordstrom’s, and Landry’s. We saddled up for a fast-paced journey to meet the creative chefs, makers and bakers, millers and distillers, urban farmers and wine makers who are driving culinary innovation in this live music and tech capital.

Nannette Bedway’s photo album will guide you through our adventure from our opening kick ass lunch at Loro where Asia meets Texas BBQ to our tour of the library of the future where the Cookbook Café even has a bar. Emmer & Rye’s chef Tim Welch, conducted a very scientific class on fermenting. Kevin Taylor, executive chef, ATX Cocina, took us through the process of nixtamalization to make fresh masa. Chef/owner Sonya Cote literally brought farm to table at the magical urban farm Eden East. Chef Brian Moses, Olive & June, shared his secrets for tender octopus. Chef Atticus Garant took us on an amazing behind the scenes kitchen tour at the brand new Fairmont Hotel where we tasted divine scrambled eggs topped with shaved truffles and smoked brisket as good as any that requires waiting in long lines.

A drive out to Texas hill country took us to Treaty Oak Distillery, where we met miller James Brown of Barton Springs Mill and tasted breads made with his freshly milled flours by mesquite missionary Sandeep Gyawali, now the bread czar for Whole Foods. At Apis and Pizzeria Sorellina, chef/owner Taylor Hall expounded on bee keeping and treated us to the best pizzas this side of Italy made from Barton Springs Mill flours. Across the road, we got an up close lesson on regenerative farming. After a short drive to Driftwood, we visited Desert Door Distillers to taste Sotol, a spirit similar to mescal made from Sotol, also known as desert spoon cactus. At the Driftwood tasting room of Fall Creek Vineyards, we were treated to Texas wines and a feral pig butchering demo by chef Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due followed by an amazing choucroute garni. Kimpton’s George Morrone and Stephen Bonin treated us to a late night dessert tasting at Geraldine’s at the Hotel Kimpton Van Zandt.

The next day it was on to the greener than green Austin Central Library and its Cookbook Café where the recipes come from the library’s cookbook collection. For a grand finale, we tasted award-winning craft beers accompanied by amazing pizzas at Pinthouse Pizza and brewpub.

No one left hungry.

Thanks to the sponsors who made it all possible: Bigelow, Arc-Cardinal, More Than Gourmet, Impossible Foods, Smithfield, Idaho Potato Commission, National Pork Board, Nestle Waters Acqua Panna and San Pellegrino.

For more on Deep in the Heart of Austin and Flavor Forays, check out the video below.

Photos courtesy of Nannette Bedway Studio.