What’s New in Walt Disney World Dining

New restaurants, new chefs and more dining news at Walt Disney World Resort:

New Dining Program Added

Disney Guests Get Behind-the-Scenes Peek Into Walt Disney World Animal Programs During New Lunch

Walt Disney World guests can get up-close-and-personal with a dolphin trainer, veterinarian or animal curator during a new "Lunch with Walt Disney World Animal Programs."

Each Tuesday (beginning November 1), a Disney animal specialist shares stories, passions and their background over an authentic South African luncheon in the wine room at Jiko - The Cooking Place at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. The noon - 2pm experience features personalities such as Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Animal Curator Joe Kalla -- who spent much of his career at the San Diego zoo, traveled to Africa to study baboons and learned Swahili to communicate with villagers.

Chef Anette Grecchi Gray serves up a traditional South African feast with menu items that include whole wheat lavosh flat bread with Moroccan Chermoula, organic field greens, followed by maize crusted and pan-roasted halibut, and oven-roasted tenderloin with sweet potato and potato gratin. For dessert: Pomegranate macerated fruit salad with homemade yogurt.

The cost is $65 per person with a wine pairing option offered for an additional $15. For more information, contact (407) WDW-DINE.

New Restaurants

Artist Palate at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa – This new restaurant, decorated like a converted artist’s loft, expands “fast-casual” dining to Walt Disney World guests.

“Fast-casual is the hottest segment in the restaurant industry,” said Michael Pythoud, executive chef of Walt Disney World Resort. “It’s fresher and healthier than traditional fast food, and a great value.” Fast-casual means that food usually is cooked to order in a counter service restaurant -- more choices but quality service in a comfortable, more upscale environment, with the convenience of traditional fast food.

The trend is attributed to cost- and health-conscious diners who have a limited time for meals and who want to customize their dining experience. The emphasis is on quality, freshness and value, said Pythoud.

Artist Palate is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the menu includes everything from French toast casserole in the mornings to flatbread pizzas and made-to-go sandwiches, as well as gourmet items indigenous to the New York region. “Family-size” entrées are packaged to go for guests to enjoy in their rooms (most Saratoga Springs rooms have small kitchens).

The adjacent Turf Club lounge offers martinis, single malt scotches and hand-crafted ales. Signature drinks at the On the Rocks pool bar include a Colada Slide, Spring Splash Margarita or Downstream Daiquiri.

Todd English’s bluezoo – Celebrity Chef Todd English opened his Florida outpost at Walt Disney World Dolphin, a sophisticated dining room swathed in blues with playful, iridescent bubbles suspended from the lights and swordfish and snapper “dancing” on a circular rotisserie.

Fish is center stage, from the fresh clams and oysters (seven varieties) to specialties like Cantonese lobster and whole fried crispy sea bass. A side of shake & bake fries is the house specialty.

The name is from English’s 7-year-old son, who said an IMAX film about undersea creatures was like a “blue zoo.” Noted designer Jeffrey Beers, who also designed Jiko-The Cooking Place at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, is the architect.

Earl of Sandwich – John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich; his son, the Honorable Orlando Montagu, and Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl have joined forces to open the first Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney Marketplace.

The Montagus are direct descendants of the fourth Earl of Sandwich, the man who is credited with inventing the sandwich in 1762. The new casual restaurant features hot and cold sandwiches, salads and fresh-baked cookies, brownies, scones and turnovers.

The restaurant is open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and light supper.

Everything Pop Shopping and Dining – Recipes you grew up eating, from peanut butter fluff sandwiches to buttermilk-soaked, deep-fried chicken, are on the menu at Everything Pop Shopping and Dining, the spacious food and retail court at Disney’s Pop Century Resort.

Chef Dee Foundoukis drew on five decades of familiar American fare to create a trip down memory lane for diners: warm cinnamon buns, oversized sloppy joes, slow-cooked pot roast, hot and savory beef stew with buttered noodles. Even TV-tray dinners with molded tin compartments.

Chef Foundoukis has updated recipes from the last 50 years for today’s guest, but the robust flavors are still there. The food court’s five areas encompass everything from a bakery to ethnic foods, with easy-to-read menu boards -- no printed menus, but color photos of each dish. Guests are free to select from any of the cooking stations, then pay before they are seated in the 600-seat dining room.

Encores

Epcot International Food and Wine Festival -- After nine successful years and millions of delectable food and wine samplings, the six-week-long Epcot International Food and Wine Festival returns September 1 through November 13, 2005.

In recent years, the popular festival around World Showcase Lagoon has grown dramatically, attracting a diverse audience -- from wine connoisseurs and gourmands to wine neophytes. In addition, the wine fest's nightly Eat to the Beat! concert series will feature an even more diverse lineup of performers this year including classic rock, oldies and country.

More than 100 wineries offer tastings, and savory cuisine is featured from more than 20 regions of the world at international marketplaces. Back this year are culinary demonstrations, dinners and tasting events.

Meet Jens Dahlmann, the new chef at Flying Fish Cafe at Disney's BoardWalk -- Chef Dahlmann comes to Walt Disney World Resort from Café L'Europe in Palm Beach, Fla., where he was executive chef de cuisine. Dahlmann also was sous chef at Le Cirque 2000 in New York City from 1998-2001, and was classically trained in Germany.

Chef's Table at Victoria & Albert's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa -- The coveted Chef's Table is eight years old, and recently got a makeover: a bigger table that seats up to 10, Frette linens, Riedel crystal and Christofle silver.

Diners get a front-row seat for the slicing and dicing in Chef Scott Hunnel's well-orchestrated kitchen. With up to 13 courses, the experience offers small tastes, often decadent, of everything from Almaz Persicus golden osetra caviar to Kobe beef with seared Hudson Valley foie gras, or crispy Virginia black bass with asparagus risotto and English peas. The exquisite dishes are paired with wine and spirits for a memorable experience.

Victoria & Albert's is Central Florida's only AAA Five-Diamond restaurant.

Starring Rolls gets a menu makeover -- This little gem, tucked away behind The Hollywood Brown Derby at Disney's Hollywood Studios, has gone upscale -- roasting coffee beans and serving a menu of sandwiches, salads and the sweets of Pastry Chef Isaac Tamada. The best seller is the "mini-indulgence platter," with small bites of Tamada's favorites all on one plate.

House-made sandwiches, including beef tenderloin, turkey on focaccia, vegetarian on flatbread and smoked salmon on a bagel are featured, along with the legendary Cobb salad served at the adjacent Brown Derby restaurant.

Menu items at the counter-service location are from 99 cents for mini-pastries to $8.99 for the tenderloin sandwich platter.

Kosher expands -- Kosher meals have been available at Walt Disney World Resort with a 24-hour notice, but now kosher food is always found at these quick-service locations: Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe in Magic Kingdom; World Premiere Food Court at Disney's All-Star Movies Resort, Intermission Food Court at Disney's All-Star Music Resort, End Zone Food Court at Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, Everything Pop Shopping and Dining at Disney's Pop Century Resort, ABC Commissary at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Riverside Mill Food Court at Disney's Port Orleans Resort, and Pizzafari at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The World of Wine & Spirits

More sommeliers than ever – Walt Disney World Resort now has nearly 300 sommeliers, more than any other company in the world, according to the International Court of Master Sommeliers, the governing board for certification.

John Blazon, manager of Beverage Standards for Walt Disney World Resort, recently received his Master Sommelier Diploma from the Court of Master Sommeliers. There are only 61 masters in the U.S., and 115 in the world. The master diploma is the highest level of proficiency and knowledge and the ultimate professional credential worldwide, according to the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Disney also has a sommelier currently at the “advanced level” working towards the master sommelier rank -- Bridget Sherren from Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot.

Spirits on the Rise -- With an upswing in the sale of specialty drinks, Disney offers cast members a "Disney Spirits Diploma" after a two-day seminar and final exam on the history, production methods, ingredients, recipe development, food pairing and more.

The idea is the first of its kind for a major company, according to John Blazon, manager of beverage standards. He worked with noted Master Sommelier Doug Frost to design and instruct the course.

The wine list at Artist Point at Disney's Wilderness Lodge is now exclusively from the Pacific Northwest -- Oregon, Washington, Idaho and British Columbia. Some boutique wines are available in limited quantities, and you'll find stellar selections from popular pinot noirs from Oregon to a rare Inniskillin Vidal Icewine from British Columbia.

Artist Point is one of two Walt Disney World restaurants with exclusive wine lists -- the other is Jiko-The Cooking Place at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, which serves only South African wines. The restaurant recently was awarded AAA Four-Diamond status.