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The inaugural Big Sky Food & Wine festival took place from Thursday to Saturday at the Big Sky Events Arena.
The festival included culinary demonstrations, food and beverage tastings, live music from singers Britteny Spencer and Haffway and chef-led dinners. The event welcomed more than 650 attendees each day, per John Speers, executive vice president of hospitality operations at Lone Mountain Land Company, which owns and operates the festival.
Six Montana chefs lended their culinary prowess to the event, including local Paradise Valley celebrity chef Eduardo Garcia, who co-founded Montana Mex and has hosted the television series “Big Sky Kitchen with Eduardo Garcia” since 2022.
Bozeman chefs Cesare Lanfranconi from Tutti Bene and Jarrett Wrisley from SHAN also participated in tastings and dinners during the festivals.
“What made this weekend truly special was seeing Montana talent share the stage with some of the most respected names in the culinary world,” Speers said.
On the festival’s main culinary stage, chef Ming Tsai hosted live cooking demonstrations with some of the 30 Michelin-starred featured chefs.
Tsai hosts and produces the longest-running PBS cooking show, “Simply Ming,” which began in 2003. Tsai previously hosted two different Food Network shows: “East Meets West with Ming Tsai” and “Ming’s Quest.” He has won an Emmy and a James Beard Award and authored five cookbooks.
“I am so excited to serve as Host Chef of the first annual Big Sky Food & Wine Festival,” said Tsai in a press release from the festival. “Combining some of the country’s best chefs serving their Michelin Star- and James Beard Award-winning dishes, sommeliers and mixologists pouring in the Grand Tasting Tents and at intimate dinners, underneath the most beautiful mountains and delivered with local hospitality, it’s going to be an epic inaugural year.”
Tsai is the chef-partner of Baba at the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky.
The festival saw a surprise appearance by José Andrés, a world-renowned chef, which Speers called “an incredible honor for both the festival and our guests.”
Throughout the festival, VIP pass holders could experience sample select spirits, wines and cocktails at The Reserve Wine Lounge and Please Don’t Tell Speakeasy.
Those without VIP passes could sip on handcrafted Montana spirit cocktails at the Montana mixology tent.
Each day of the festival had a grand tasting event, which let attendees sample signature dishes from the chefs.
“It was designed to be immersive, allowing people to discover new flavors and make personal connections with the chefs and winemakers behind them,” Speers said.
Dining and Cooking