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Justin Cherry of Half Crown Bakehouse in Charleston, South Carolina, returns to Fire, Flour & Fork this year. Check him out at the events "Pie a la Mode," "Sampling the Centuries" and "Food U."
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"Smoke on the Water," one of FFF's signature events, moves to Historic Tredegar this year, overlooking the James River. Guests can experience barbecue dishes from around the globe from Dutch & Co. Smohk, Tuffy Stone’s Cool Smoke/Sharper Palate, ZZQ, Redemption BBQ, Oak & Apple, Fatty Smokes, Sandston Smokehouse, and more.
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Pies, ice cream, coffee and cocktails are brought together under one roof for "Pie a la Mode." Check out Shyndigz, Milkglass Pies, Scoop and Stella's, plus a bake-off, pie walk and adult culinary spelling bee.
The annual Fire, Flour & Fork festival returns to Richmond Thursday, Oct. 31, to Sunday, Nov. 3, celebrating the culinary world with a gauntlet of experiences that range from intimate multicourse dinners at area restaurants to behind-the-scenes farm tours and tasting demos with James Beard Award-winning chefs and authors, Eater Young Guns, and Richmond’s own culinary all-stars. This year’s theme, “Celebrating Living Links to Land, Legacy and Larder,” will highlight Virginia’s food firsts and their originators.
Following is a look at the approaching festival by the numbers.
6 Years
Fire, Flour & Fork hosted its inaugural festival in 2014.
4 Days
The festival spans 4 days, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3, with over 30 events.
102 Participants
More than 100 chefs, speakers and authors will take part in Fire, Flour & Fork.
5 Signature Events
There are five signature events at FFF, including:
"Food U"
A three-session event on Sunday, Nov. 3, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, "Food U" features a $1.25 "school lunch throwdown," plus a Q&A with Dan Giusti, former head chef of the Michelin-starred Noma in Copenhagen and founder of Brigaid, a program to improve school lunches at public schools through offering training course to school chefs. There will also be a panel discussion and book signing with chef/restaurateur and regular “Chopped” judge Maneet Chauhan as well as demos and Virginia’s Finest tasting areas with local purveyors.
"Pie a la Mode: Slices of Life from Bakers, Baristas and Ice Cream Makers"
On Nov. 1 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, guests can sample treats from local bakers, baristas and ice cream makers including Proper Pie Co. and Gelati Celesti. Homemakers will also compete and be judged by experts in the field, and this year marks the addition of coffee-infused cocktails, beer and dessert wines. Tickets are $50 for adults, who may be accompanied by two children under the age of 13 for free.
FFF's annual barbecue event, "Smoke on the Water" takes place Nov. 3 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Historic Tredegar, with almost 20 participants including ZZQ, Autumn Olive Farms and 2M Smokehouse from San Antonio, along with the first-ever Duke’s Mayo side-dish competition. “This year's setting at Tredegar Iron Works will be especially beautiful and perfect for a fall night,” says Kevin Clay of Big Spoon Co., a member of the FFF organizing committee. Tickets are $85.
19 Dinners
Area restaurants will host 19 dinners, some of which include:
“Invasion of the Bay Snatchers Dinner"
This dinner highlights sustainable species of oysters in the James River and Chesapeake Bay ecosystems with Chef Dale Reitzer of Acacia Mid-town, the VCU Rice Rivers Center and the Virginia Oyster Shell Recycling Program.
When: Nov. 1 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Acacia Mid-town
Cost: $90
"The Triple E Dinner: From Europe to Estadio at East Coast Provisions"
James Beard Award semifinalist Chef Alex Lira returns to Richmond for a tapas dinner from his restaurant Estadio in Charleston, South Carolina.
When: Nov. 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: East Coast Provisions
Cost: $125
13 Sold-out Events
There are more than a dozen sold-out events as of this writing, including “The Mix Metzger and Maydan,” featuring chef-owners Gerald Addison and Chris Morgan of D.C.'s Maydan, ranked the second best restaurant in the country in 2018 by Bon Appetit; "L'Opossum Presents: Who's Your Daddy?" where Chef David Shannon welcomes Chef Patrick O’Connell of the three Michelin-starred Inn at Little Washington, Noah Sandoval of Chicago’s Oriole and others to embark on a seven-course tasting menu and pop-up bar experience; and "The (Scott's) Addition of Classic Arabian Cuisine" dinner at Longoven with Moeen Abuzaid of New York City’s Broken English pop-up.
300 Years of Food History
Sampling the Centuries, one of the the largest events of the weekend, spans 300 years of food history in Virginia. Over 20 chefs, including Ryan Collins of Charlottesville’s Little Star, indigenous foods instructor Dave Smoke-McCluskey, founder of James Hemings Foundation Ashbell McElveen, Devin Rose of Adrift in White Stone and Joy Crump of Foode in Fredericksburg will create historically influenced small plates and desserts paired with cocktails, wine and beer.
1 Podcast
This year marks the first time a national podcast will be recorded live at the festival. The creator and founder of "Sporkful" — ranked the No. 1 food podcast in America — Dan Pashman will dive into Virginia wine with Matthieu Finot of King Family Vineyards and Josh Kadrich, founder of the vegan cheese company UnMoo.
No. 3
In 2018, FFF was ranked the No. 3 food festival in the country by USA Today and garnered attention from Bon Appetit this April.
Richmond magazine Associate Publisher Susan Winiecki is a co-founder of Fire, Flour & Fork. Proceeds benefit a variety of local nonprofits.
