Photographer / Sean Molin
Indianapolis foodies have an exciting October ahead because Epicurean Indy is back — and there’s even more to see and eat at this year’s festival.
This year’s event will take place outdoors on McCarty Street and Virginia Avenue in Indy’s popular downtown neighborhood, Fletcher Place. Mark your calendars for Oct. 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and come enjoy a diverse selection of culinary tastes from around the world.
The festival is moving from the Stutz Building to an outdoor location to accommodate an expanded lineup of food vendors and local artisans. For those who didn’t attend last year, Epicurean Indy’s goal is to highlight various foods and chefs from around the world, bringing international flavors to Indy residents — and they do not disappoint.
“Our festival is about highlighting diversity and immigrant chefs in Indiana, along with artists, musicians and other locals in an effort to celebrate diversity,” says the Epicurean Indy Team. “We want to use our platform to highlight and involve small businesses so that people can show off their culture.”
The festival will debut its second year after a successful first year that brought 1,900 people in just three hours. With more expected this year, attendees can look forward to expanded food options, local artists, cultural diversity and representation, as well as selected artisanal products, jewelry makers, interactive booths, portraiture and other art options. The festival is free to attend and family-friendly.
Epicurean is excited to welcome back several fan favorites, including The Little India Restaurant, Fernando’s, Salamat and J’adore Pastry. The team is still adding vendors, but new additions will include Wisanggeni Pawon and Macizo.
“We really strive to put small businesses and immigrants in front of a big audience as much as possible,” the Epicurean Indy Team says. “We want to help develop their business and add to the ever-evolving landscape that is the Indianapolis food scene. Plus, we want to raise awareness and showcase foods that people may not have been exposed to before.”
One of the primary goals of the festival involves bringing in cultural food vendors that are underrepresented in the Indy food scene. Visitors can expect to try snacks from a variety of cultures, such as Burma, Guyana, the Philippines, Morocco, Puerto Rico, Austria and Lebanon, among others. Most dishes will be medium-sized snacks and priced between $8 and $15 so visitors can sample multiple flavors from different cultures.
“We are really hoping for a celebration of community,” the Epicurean Indy Team says. “It’s one of the reasons we’ve been in Indianapolis for as long as we have. It’s important that we celebrate and emphasize what we do here and what other creatives are doing. People can expect to see lots of new things this year.”
Epicurean has close relationships with the Immigrant Welcome Center, International Center, Flags for Good and Exodus to help raise awareness for issues such as immigration and inclusion, and to further the vision of Epicurean Indy. Two James Beard-recognized chefs will also be coming in from Cincinnati and Columbus during the festival to help support the mission.
Epicurean Indy has also been shining a light on women chefs this year through a series of all-woman dinners. The first two were hosted at Corridor and Macizo, and the next will be held at Borage. The Epicurean team is largely composed of women, and they hope this event will help bring awareness to the impact women have had in the culinary industry.
“A lot of women aren’t the face of the culinary program, but they really drive the industry, so we like to highlight women who excel in hospitality or back of house, in the kitchen or in beverage,” the Epicurean Indy Team says. “We want their contributions to be seen.”
Visitors can also take part in the fundraising dinner hosted in conjunction with the James Beard Foundation on Oct. 3. Keep an eye on Epicurean’s Instagram page for an official announcement of the event, chef lineup and ticket sales.
In addition to the festival, Epicurean Indy hosts a variety of events throughout the year to continually highlight their mission. In particular, they offer the Five Chefs, Five Countries dinner that showcases five chefs from five different countries with five courses. They will also be hosting a women’s dinner series that will highlight female chefs. Stay tuned on their Instagram to find out more about upcoming events.
