Char and Chop Food and Wine Booth Opened at Epcot- How Was the Food?

Epcot International Food and Wine Festival concludes on November 18, 2023. However, the Char & Chop Global Marketplace opened recently as a part of Food and Wine. We stopped by for a few bites from this food booth.

The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival added some more upscale dining with the new booths that opened on September 22. Some people thought this demanded a nice tablecloth and other dining accompaniments.

Walt Disney World previously announced that four new Global Marketplaces opening on Friday, September 22, will feature menu items inspired by the Disney100 celebration. Based on this, these food and beverage locations will be open through the next festival, Epcot’s International Festival of Holidays. So, if you miss the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot, you can catch this booth during the Festival of the Holidays. One of the Epcot International Food and Wine Global Marketplaces that opened on Friday, September 22, was Char & Chop.

Char & Chop Menu for Food and Wine:

• Roasted Porchetta with Lemon-Parsley Salsa Verde and Shaved Fennel Salad- $6.25
• Grilled Impossible™ Spicy Sausage with Herbed Polenta, Puttanesca Sauce and Ricotta- $6
• Meat Assorti: Trio of Shaved Meats with Baby Arugula, Pickled Mustard Seeds, Truffle Oil and Grilled Ciabatta- $6.75
• Krombacher Pilsner (New)- $5.50/$9.50 (6 oz./12 oz.)
• North Coast Laguna Baja Vienna Lager (New)- $5.50/$9.50 (6 oz./12 oz.)
• Motorworks Brewing Midnight Espresso Coffee Porter (New)- $5.50/$9.50 (6 oz./12 oz.)
• GoGi ‘Birdie’ Pinot Noir- $16
• Bloody Mary with Seaside Grown Bloody Mary Mix and Kurvball Barbecue Whiskey- $11

Depending on when you visit this food and beverage booth, you may see cast members preparing the food on the grills near the booth. The smoke off the grill works as a lovely enhancement for this Food and Wine booth. Also, Walt Disney World encourages guests to “Visit this butcher shop-inspired marketplace for a selection of high-end meats and tasty beers and wine.”

We decided to try all the food options at Char & Chop. So, what did we think of them?

Roasted Porchetta with Lemon-Parsley Salsa Verde and Shaved Fennel Salad- $6.25

Though the texture of this Food and Wine item may throw off some guests, we enjoyed it. The fennel salad and lemon-parsley salsa made a nice enhancement to this option. The portion size brings good value.

The porchetta we got as the booth opened on the first day may have been a bit undercooked. However, when checking with other people later who ordered this, they expressed that the porchetta came very well prepared.  Overall, this makes a good option for this year’s Food and Wine and beyond.

Epcot Food and Wine Grilled Impossible™ Spicy Sausage with Herbed Polenta, Puttanesca Sauce and Ricotta- $6.00

Per usual, we tried the vegan item. We enjoy the flavor of well-prepared Impossible products. We tried this two times on opening day. Once the Impossible product was grilled too long. The second time brought better flavor and preparation.

Though the Impossible Sausage works, the star of this dish is the polenta combined with the sauce and ricotta. Though the flavors do not fit traditional ideas for pairing with sausage, we enjoyed the taste provided by the polenta. This surprised us since some members of our group do not usually enjoy polenta or ricotta. In fact, our friends, GooToYou! took the next Food and Wine option and dipped it in the leftover polenta. We recommend this option, especially for plant-based diners.

Meat Assorti: Trio of Shaved Meats with Baby Arugula, Pickled Mustard Seeds, Truffle Oil and Grilled Ciabatta- $6.75

We found this to be the weakest of the three options at Char and Chop. However, it also makes the “safest” option at this booth. Though we suspect the item may change as we get closer to the holiday season, the meats provided offer decent value and flavor. The grilled ciabatta merges nicely with the meats. Nonetheless, we felt the bread could be a bit hard for a festival item.

We would not order this again due to the simplicity of it. The taste works but does not exceed the quality of other items at this booth.

The Char and Chop Food and Wine booth brings some unexpected quality. Remember, you can enjoy the food here until December 30, 2023. As always, eat like you mean it!