21 Food & Beverage Events for October and Beyond

Fall event season is in full swing, so here are 21 food and beverage events to get you going. This month there are annual blockbuster events like San Sebastian Gastronomika, New York City Wine & Food Festival, and Life Is Beautiful in Las Vegas. There are also some brand new events to check out including the Bourbon Social in Kentucky, Taste Talks' first foray into Chicago, and Indie Chefs Week in SoCal.

Mark your calendars:

Latin Flavors, American Kitchens
When: October 1 — October 3, 2014
Where: San Antonio, TX
What: This annual leadership symposium brings together chefs and experts on Latin cuisine for three days at the Culinary Institute of America's San Antonio campus. The keynote lecture and demo will be on the topic of "Peru in Focus: An Explosion of Creativity," while other demos will cover fermentation in Latin cuisine, quick service, Brazilian bar culture, and plenty more.

Photo: Flickr/CIA Strategic Initiatives

World Series of Barbecue
When: October 2 — October 5, 2014
Where: Kansas City, MO
What: The 35th annual World Series of Barbecue will bring over 550 teams to compete in four categories. There will also be a barbecue-related trade expo, demos, and live music. Take note, barbecue fans: the World Series is a competition and not a tasting event, but there's plenty of food on hand.

Photo: Facebook

Taste Talks Chicago
When: October 3 — October 5, 2014
Where: Chicago, IL
What: After two successful runs in Brooklyn, Taste Talks is taking its format of demos, panel discussions, meals, and tasting events to Chicago. Like its Brooklyn counterpart, Taste Talks Chicago will be presented by Mario Batali. Chicago chef Paul Kahan is on board as curator, and participating chefs include Amanda Cohen, Rick Bayless, Marc Vetri, and Danny Bowien.

Photo: Hillary Dixler/Eater

San Sebastian Gastronimika
When: October 5 — October 8, 2014
Where: San Sebastian, Spain
What: The theme for this year's Gastronomika is Italy, and the list of participating chefs is as star-studded as ever. Massimo Bottura, Moreno Cedroni, Carlo Cracco, Juan Mari Arzak, Elena Arzak, Joan Roca, Jordi Roca, and Andoni Luis Aduriz are all on the docket.

Photo: Facebook

Identità New York
When: October 9 — October 12, 2014
Where: New York City
What: This is the annual event that pairs star American chefs with top-notch Italian chefs for demos and discussion at Eataly. The US-based chefs this year are Daniel Humm, April Bloomfield, Michael Anthony, Lidia Bastianich, Daniel Burns, Mario Batali, and Michael Anthony, and the Italy-based chefs are Rosanna Marziale, Davide Scabin, Carlo Cracco, Massimo Bottura, Vitantonio Lombardo, Luciano Monosilio, and Lorenzo Cogo.

Photo: Hillary Dixler/Eater

The New Yorker Festival
When: October 10 — October 12, 2014
Where: New York City
What: The 15th annual New Yorker Festival has plenty of food-related activities. There'll be a panel discussion on wine fraud (where "non-counterfeit wine will be served"), a walk through Chinatown led by food writing legend Calvin Trillin, plus a conversation with Trillin and Russ & Daughters owners Mark Russ Federman, Niki Russ Federman, and Josh Russ Tupper.

Photo: Donald Bowers/Stringer/Getty

The Bourbon Social
When: October 10 — October 12, 2014
Where: Lexington, KY
What: As its name suggests, this brand new festival is all about bourbon. There'll be seminars from booze world heavyweights like Jim Meehan, a tasting event with over 20 bourbons, a cocktail reception, a mixologist competition, a private Pappy Van Winkle tasting, and more. There's also a charity component: the event will benefit the Makenna Foundation.

Photo: Facebook

Indie Chefs Week
When: October 16 — October 18, 2014
Where: Costa Mesa, CA
What: Chef Ned Elliot (Foreign + Domestic, Austin) has partnered with Yahoo Food to bring this series of pop-up events to Southern California. Over twenty chefs from around the country — including Tim Maslow, Craig Thornton, and David Santos — will take their turn in Taco Maria's kitchen, culminating in a 20-course tasting menu prepared by all the chefs together.

Photo: Facebook

New York City Wine & Food Festival

When: October 16 — October 19
, 2014
Where: New York City

What: This event always draws a host of famous chefs and TV types, and this year the roster includes Ted Allen, Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, Mario Batali, Dan Barber, John Besh, and Michelle Bernstein. There will be a Hot Dog Happy Hour and the annual burger competition, Burger Bash. As in years previous, the program also includes a slew of small dinners, panels, talks, and tastings. Also presenting at this year's NYCWFF: Paula Deen.

Photo: Facebook

Roots 2014
When: October 19 — October 20, 2014
Where: Milan, OH
What: The full title of this year's Roots conference is Roots 2014: Connect and Unite Through Food and it will take place at the Culinary Vegetable Institute. Host Farmer Lee Jones is bringing together speakers like José Andrés, Maxime Bilet, Kevin Sousa, and Glenn Roberts from Anson Mills to talk about a diverse range of topics like taboo foods and "Why Millennials Matter."

Photo: Facebook

AllergyEats Food Allergy Conference

When: October 21, 2014
Where: New York City
What: Aimed at members of the restaurant industry and food service professionals, the AllergyEats conference will explore various issues surrounding the ever-expanding world of food allergies. Topics for discussion will include "The Financials Around Food Allergies," "Restaurants That Get It Right," and "Modifying Recipes for the Food-Allergic Diner."

Photo: Facebook

Alton Brown Live! The Edible Inevitable Tour
When: Beginning October 21, 2014
Where: Various
What: This is the glorious return of Alton Brown's hit live tour. Last time around the show included songs, profanity, live culinary experiments, and a cow statue. Who knows what this next round of touring will bring.

Photo: David Allen/Eater

Chef Fest at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
When: October 22 — October 25, 2014
Where: Hawaii
What: Want to do yoga in Hawaii with Marco Canora and Amanda Freitag? Then this is the festival for you. Along with various tasting events, receptions and demos, there's also a stand-up paddle-boarding session with Seamus Mullen.

Photo: Facebook

Southern Foodways Symposium
When: October 23 — October 26, 2014
Where: Oxford, MS
What: This year's Southern Foodways Symposium sold out in a record three minutes. The theme for the 17th annual conference is "Who is Welcome at the Welcome Table?" which will be explored in panels, talks, films, and an oratorio.

Photo: Bonjwing Lee

Life Is Beautiful Festival
When: October 24 — October 26, 2014
Where: Las Vegas, NV
What: This event "brings amazing music, world class food, iconic public speakers and phenomenal art together." Expect big name chefs like Scott Conant, Rick Moonen, Marc Forgione, Nancy Silverton, Spike Mendelsohn, José Andrés, and more. Life Is Beautiful also boasts a stellar list of live performances from musicians including Kanye West, Outkast, The Roots, Arctic Monkeys, Skrillex, Lionel Richie, and The Flaming Lips.

Photo: Facebook

Taste of Atlanta
When: October 24 — October 26, 2014
Where: Atlanta, GA
What: Samples from over 90 Atlanta-area restaurants, seminars and demos on four live stages, and plenty of booze are in store for attendees at this year's Taste of Atlanta. There are also a bunch of competetions on the docket including a Meat Brawl, a Sandwich Smackdown, a Taco Takedown, and a Fried Chicken Face-Off.

Photo: Official

Semana Mesa SP
When: November 3 — November 5, 2014

Where: Sao Paulo, Brazil
What: For its eleventh year, Semana Mesa SP will explore the connections between the family, the farmer, and the kitchen. The international lineup of international chefs includes Alex Atala, Claude Troisgros, Rodrigo Oliveira, and many more.

Photo: Eater

Capital Food Fight
When: November 11, 2014
Where: Washington, DC
What: Capital Food Fight is the annual competition/rager that benefits DC Central Kitchen. In its 11th year, the event will have some 75 tastes from local restaurants. The title competition will be hosted by José Andrés, Anthony Bourdain, and Carla Hall and judged by Daniel Boulud, Christina Tosi, David Guas, and Ted Allen.

Photo: R. Lopez/Eater DC

Music to Your Mouth
When: November 18 — November 23, 2014

Where: Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina

What: This years celebration of all things Lowcountry will have an oyster roast, a 5K (that ends with a Bloody Mary), and a wine and cheese tasting on an antique yacht. There will also be dinner cooked by five James Beard award-winning chefs, cooking classes with writer John T. Edge, and a heavy-hitting chef lineup including John Currence, Ashley Christensen, Jeremiah Bacon, Anne Quatrano, and Chris Hastings.

Photo: Bonjwing Lee/Eater

Jubilee
When: December 5 — December 7, 2014
Where: Charleston, SC
What: Garden & Gun is bringing its Jubilee festival back to Charleston for a second year. This year's program has highlights like an afternoon quail hunt and an oyster roast, plus book signings, tastings, and a Field Feast hosted by Ashley Christensen, Mike Lata, and John Fleer.

Photo: Official Site

Twelve Days of Christmas
When: December 5 — December 20, 2014
Where: Napa Valley, CA
What: With another holiday season comes another crop of big name chefs descending on the Restaurant at Meadowood. This year's lineup has some international star power with Matthew Orlando and Kobe Desramaults joining a list of chefs that also includes  Grant Achatz, Ignacio Mattos, Corey Lee, and others.

Photo: Bonjwing Lee