Look, we’re not dogging on the Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival; it’s an annual staple and a welcome addition to what we’ll call the town’s fest circuit — Main Street Arts, Oktober, and Lone Star Film being the other three. But, as much as we enjoy “Burgers, Brews, + Blues” and “Rise and Dine” — long part of the culinary festival’s lineup of experiences — the event, as a whole, was primed for a refresh.
This year, FWFWF is looking outside county lines to bring some fresh culinary perspectives to Cowtown. In what they’re calling “reimagined festival events,” FWFWF is teaming with other regional food festivals in Dallas, Austin, and Houston to create a more geographically diverse lineup of chefs — the likes of which, according to a press release, we’ve never seen.
Each city will bring their own curated team of chefs to show off their distinct regional cuisines in the “Taste of Texas Row,” which will serve as a main component of a new Saturday night event, Fork + Fire. Bringing some of the state’s top culinary talent under one roof, you’ll get to see, smell, and taste what these other Michelin Star-achieving towns have to offer and compare it to our own city’s grub. (Fort Worth’s Michelin Star count, we’ll note, remains zero after two years of the world-famous restaurant guide arriving in Texas, and we’re as weirded out as you.)
Looking outside the major metropolitan areas, the Fork + Fire event will also include a showcase of statewide, off-the-beaten-path hidden gems — aptly titled “Hidden Gems” — and “The Fireside,” where “chefs turn out smoke-kissed dishes over open flames.”
The same Thursday and Friday events from last year’s fest, Tacos + Tequila and Main Event (the showcase event), remain on this year’s schedule — not that we’re crying about it. But Sunday brings yet another change with The Big Brunch. According to a press release, “the relaxed, wide-open Sunday finale [will feature] sweet and savory brunch offerings alongside FWFWF’s signature live-fire cooking area.”
“Each year, our goal is to create experiences that feel meaningful, memorable, and deeply connected to our culinary community,” Julie Eastman, Executive Director of the Fort Worth Food + Wine Foundation, said in a press release. “This refreshed festival format allows us to bring even more to the table—more room for chefs to shine, more opportunities for guests to explore, and new ways for us to share what makes food culture in Fort Worth so special.”
The 2026 Fort Worth Food and Wine Fest will kick off Thursday, April 9 at Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork, and will wrap things up that Sunday, April 12. Each event requires separate tickets, which you can purchase here.
Dining and Cooking