Birmingham Welcomes Back Its Nationally Acclaimed Food and Culture Festival

The highly-anticipated FOOD+Culture Festival returns to Birmingham, Alabama, this fall, boasting an impressive lineup of chefs and events celebrating the city’s culinary history and rich cultural heritage. Early-bird tickets go on sale July 10 for the second annual festival, which promises to dish out an even bigger and better program than previously.

Tantalizing Schedule of Events

In what USA Today heralded as the “third-best festival nationwide” after its 2023 debut, the FOOD+Culture Festival is gearing up to enthrall attendees with over 100 chefs, cooks, and mixologists and as many as 10 collaborative dinners. The events are spread over four days commencing on September 19 and are set to take place at various locales around Birmingham, including the Pepper Place district and Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark.

A Taste of Industry Excellence and Culinary Diversity

For a taste of Birmingham’s distinctive culinary landscape, attendees can look out for the following highlights:

FOOD+Frank

Birmingham’s food icon, Frank Stitt, will be honoring Glenn Roberts who revolutionized the use of Southern grains at his Anson Mills in Alabama with the Frank Stitt Award for Industry Excellence during a cocktail reception.

FOOD+Heritage

Featuring a multi-course seated dinner under the stars, FOOD+Heritage salutes the remarkable culinary contributions of Birmingham’s Greek immigrants and their families by showcasing their influence on the city’s food scene over the past century.

FOOD+Market Mix

Market Mix puts a spotlight on female chefs, farmers, storytellers, and authors at one of the nation’s time-honored pop-up farmers’ markets. It will take place at the Saturday morning Market at Pepper Place.

FOOD+Fire

This walk-around tasting experience includes an array of barbecued foods and live fire cooking, and pays tribute to the tradition of Southern fall tailgate culture at the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark.

FOOD+Funk

Festival-goers can feed their passion for grits at the Grits and Grooves brunch, featuring live music from the renowned Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans.

FOOD+Friends Dinner Series

Gourmet connoisseurs can embark on a gastronomic treasure hunt as guest chefs prepare surprise menus at restaurants around the city in a festive celebration of industry camaraderie.

From Local to Global

The FOOD+Culture Festival’s maiden venture saw food lovers from as far away as Canada and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts attend, making it a national and even continental affair. The festival is ground in a non-profit ethos intent on shedding light on Birmingham’s unique foodways. Organized by a collaborative of local entities such as Sloss Real Estate and the Market at Pepper Place, this year’s festival is envisaged to captivate a wider audience whilst furthering an appreciation for Birmingham’s food history and diverse culinary talent.