Two of Central Texas’ biggest celebrations of food and the people who bring it to our tables take place in the coming weeks in Austin.
Hot Luck, the festival co-founded by barbecue legend Aaron Franklin, will welcome chefs from across the country over Memorial Day weekend; and Field Guide Festival, which pairs local farms and chefs, will roll out its fifth year of programming in late April.
We offer a snapshot of some of the forthcoming events’ highlights and check in with the festivals’ founders below.
Hot Luck (May 24-27)
Aaron Franklin and his partners created Hot Luck in 2017 as something of an extended family-and-friends cookout. Built around big bites, all-are-welcome vibes and a weekend of music programming, Hot Luck positioned itself as the anti-food-fest festival. Yes, there were big name chefs, but the idea was more about meeting your next favorite chef than trying to grab a selfie with a familiar face from the Food Network.
You’re almost guaranteed to see certain names at Hot Luck (chefs Renee Erickson of Seattle and Ashley Christnsen of Raleigh who have cooked at almost every iteration of the festival will be on hand once again this year), but you’re also likely to be turned onto a new name, like Valerie Chang of Maty’s in Miami, who wowed attendees with a ceviche mixto with grouper, surf clam, pickled shrimp and agua de chile at last year’s Al Fuego event.
Aaron Franklin designed and welded the grill used at Uptown Sports Club.
Franklin was told of the Peruvian chef through Hot Luck veteran, Philadelphia chef Amanda Shulman of Her Place Supper Club, when he was consulting with Hot Luck alumni about who might make a good fit.
“That’s always kind of always been the goal of Hot Luck in the first place is you have these old schoolers and you have the young up-and-comers who haven’t really done festivals before or are early on in their career, and it’s almost like a mentoring thing,” Franklin said. “Hot Luck was set up in the beginning to be a family thing, where eventually I could branch out.”
That sense of collegiality and collaboration has spawned friendships built around cooking and hanging out together. Franklin says he will see chefs meet for the first time at a cooking event or just over drinks during one of the chef parties at his Uptown Sports Club and months later he will see on Instagram that the two newfound friends are doing a pop-up event together.
“I think that’s how a lot of organic things start out: I just wanted to throw a party for awesome chefs to show off the whole culinary scene and give guests a chance to come hang out with their favorite chef they’d never heard of,” Franklin said. “It’s about people who are really trying and are really committed to their businesses and chef-ing hard, if you will. But they’re also really kind, and there’s a certain level of family and community with that. And to see that really blossom over the years as Hot Luck’s gotten bigger has been awesome. It has become what I hoped it would become times a hundred. It is by far the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”
Hot Luck event highlights
Hattie Rogers chews on a rib during Hot Luck Fest. The festival, which was originally created by Aaron Franklin and James Moody, seeks to “honor the soul, sweat and DIY diversity of the food and music world.”
Giddy Up at Franklin Barbecue (May 22)
The opening welcome party is limited to those with Whole Enchilada passes ($595 for adults) and will feature food from Ana Castro (Acamaya in New Orleans), Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp (My Loup in Philadelphia), Geoff Davis (Burdell in Philadelphia), Lawrence “LT” Smith (Chilte in Phoenix), Nate Barfield (Hot Stuff in New Orleans) and Franklin himself.
Nite Moves at Assembly Hall (May 23)
A night of nostalgia and playful riffs on classics goes down at newcomer venue Assembly Hall, with food from more than a dozen chefs, including Arlin Smith and Andrew Taylor (Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland, Maine), Bob Somsith (Lao’d Bar), Jeremy Sewall (Row 34 in Boston), Jordan Rubin (Mr. Tuna in Portland, Maine), Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel (Birdie’s) and Yoshi Okai (Otoko). Individual tickets can be purchased for $195.
Al Fuego at Jester King Brewery (May 24)
The centerpiece event, arguably the best night of food in Austin every year, moves to Jester King Brewery in Dripping Springs this year, where ample parking means no more shuttle buses. The live-fire cooking event will feature about two dozen chefs, including Aaron Bludorn (Bludorn in Houston), Amanda Turner (The Fiery Talon and Olamaie), Anthony Pratto and Xose Velasco (Discada), Ashleigh Shanti (Good Hot Fish in Asheville, N.C.), Edgar Rico (Nixta Taqueria), Evan LeRoy (LeRoy and Lewis), Justin Yu (Theodore Rex in Houston), Kyle Knall (Birch), Leina Horii & Brian Lea (Kisser in Nashville, Tenn.), Michael Fojtasek (Olamaie), and Todd Duplechan (Lenoir). Individual tickets are available for $250.
Camp Sunnyside at Fair Market (May 25)
The last day of recovery is fittingly brunch themed, with food from Ashley Christensen (Poole’s in Raleigh); Beto Robledo (Cuantos Tacos); Diego Galicia and Rico Torres (Mixtli in San Antonio); Fermín Núñez (Suerte and Este); Fiore Tedesco (L’Oca d’Oro); Kevin Fink (Emmer & Rye), Mariela Camacho (Comadre Panaderia), Mason Hereford (Turkey and The Wolf in New Orleans), Renee Erickson (The Whale Wins in Seattle), Sarah McIntosh (épicerie), and more. Individual tickets are available for $195.
For Whole Enchilada passes ($595), which offer entry to all food events and several nights of music programming around town, along with individual event tickets and a full roster of chefs, visit hotluckfest.com.
Field Guide Fest (April 25-27)
Suerte chef Casey Chambers (left) and Central Texas Food Bank’s Hannah Beall at Field Guide Festival.
Trisha Bates and Lindsey Sokol created the Field Guide Festival in 2021 as a way to educate people about local farmers’ practices, their soil, their philosophies, and how they get their product from the ground to your plate. The culinary celebration also spotlight the chefs around Central Texas who put their money where their mouth is, those who make a practice of sourcing seasonally and locally, and not just using those words as marketing bait.
The unique festival, now in its fifth year, presents an afternoon of educational symposiums on the first day of its weekend programming, and follows it with a day of tastings where local farmers and chefs are paired.
Unlike most festivals, where guests snag a quick bite and shuffle off to the next tasting or glass of wine, Field Guide hopes to elucidate how what is on the plate got there, and the two-day event celebrates the farmers who go largely unnoticed by even the most conscientious of the dining public.
“Field Guide is intentionally different. It asks attendees to slow down, to engage, and to be curious. We encourage guests to talk with the chefs and farmers, ask questions about what’s on their plate, and understand the care and intention behind every ingredient. It’s not uncommon for guests to be surprised when they learn that none of our food comes from national distributors—we take pride in sourcing everything directly from local farms,” Bates and Sokol told the American-Statesman via email. “There’s something powerful about shaking hands with the person who grew what you’re about to eat. We’ve seen how that kind of connection can truly change the way people think about food.”
The festival’s inaugural year platformed two dozen chefs and farmers, and that number has almost tripled in Field Guide’s fifth year.
The all-star roster of talent includes some of the biggest names in the Austin culinary world and equally important but less heralded farmers from the area. The collection of pairings at the Sunday tasting includes Amanda Turner (Olamaie) and Samuel and Carolynn Moffett (Shirttail Creek Farm); Chelsea Fadda (Pecan Square Cafe) and Erin Gomez (Solana Farms); Edgar Rico (Nixta Taqueria) and Prisilla Benitez and Hayley Wood (Hot Spell Farm); Alexa Mejia (Emmer & Rye) and William Nikkel (Trosi Farm); Kevin Cannon (Barley Swine) and Phil Green (River Field Farm); Rick Lopez (La Condesa) and Joe & Kasey Diffie (Joe’s Microgreens); Abby Love (Abby Jane Bakeshop) + Tracy & Jack Geyer (Boggy Creek Farm); and many more.
“But beyond the numbers, the heart of Field Guide has grown into something bigger. It’s no longer just a festival—it’s a community gathering, a celebration of the people who grow and cook our food, and a place where meaningful connections happen,” Bates and Sokol wrote.
Tickets for adults start at $140 for the Sunday tasting event with chefs and farmers. The $300 VIP tickets allow access to the Saturday afternoon symposium chats, along with early access, unique culinary experiences and more on Sunday. The Young Foodie ticket for Sunday fest access costs $70 and kids 12 and under get free access to the Sunday event. For more on tickets and lineup, visit fieldguidefest.com.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin’s Hot Luck Fest, Field Guide Festival celebrate community, food