We attended the wildly popular French Family Meal Traditions special event at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival to check out their vegan options. Here’s what we found.
Epcot Food & Wine Festival French Family Meal Traditions Vegan Review
The French Family Meal Traditions is a supplemental dining experience that is held inside Monsieur Paul in Epcot’s France pavilion on select afternoons during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.
Monsieur Paul is a signature dining restaurant located on the second floor of Les Chefs de France. The entry door is in the rear of the pavilion adjacent to Les A’rtisan de Glaces.
Guests begin lining up at the door well in advance of the event start. Those who arrive early are able to check in first, and as such have first choice of seating selection.
The restaurant’s design is classic French architecture with bright colors and a touch of modern flair. If you’re lucky enough to secure a coveted window seat you’re presented with fabulous views of the Epcot World Showcase promenade.
We made sure to let the restaurant know of our dietary needs in advance.
This luncheon is unlike anything we have ever experienced as far as food and wine pairings go.
We received six courses of food and four wine pairings. And when I say wine pairings I mean full pour (they are going to refill your glass several times when they see it get low) pairings!
French Family Meal Traditions Vegan Offerings
We started our culinary adventure with a welcome cocktail and an amuse bouche.
The amuse bouche was a beet purée with tiny vegetables and herbs. It was the most beautiful in its presentation and a good indicator of what was to come.
The tiny vegetables included a tomato segment, purple sweet potato, cucamelon and carrot ribbon.
Because we arrived early we were able to secure a window seat overlooking the Epcot International Gateway.
Next was the bread service… mini baguettes. These were nice and crusty on the outside with a warm soft center.
The bread service was followed up by the salad course which was paired with a Trimbach Riesling.
The salad was vibrant and full of color. It was assembled with some of the same components in the amuse bouche.
Lightly dressed greens were topped with tomatoes, purple sweet potato, red beets, radishes, cucamelon and citrus segments.
We found it to be light and refreshing with just the right amount of acidity to pair with the Riesling.
The entree was an artfully presented ratatouille paired with a Chateau de Poncie Fleurie.
The ratatouille came with a small pot of plain orzo pasta which seemed rather odd to me but I guess it was served this way so as not to ruin the presentation. I mixed my orzo in with the vegetables after deconstructing it.
The ratatouille itself was comprised of yellow squash, zucchini and eggplant.
It was served on a carrot purée and garnished with pearl onions, green peas, whole cooked carrot and mushrooms.
After the main entree came a palate cleanser.
This one was very odd. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the flavor but it was some kind of fruit purée with another fruity ice on top of it.
Not a fan. This was a one bite and done for me.
The final course was dessert paired with Veuve du Vernay.
Another stunning presentation.
This plate was was composed of a berry purée with an aquafaba meringue topped with two quenelles of sorbet crowned by more meringue.
Fresh strawberries, raspberries, grape segments and mint leaves accentuated the plate.
This was truly one of the most magical dining experiences I’ve ever had at Walt Disney World. If you have the opportunity I highly recommend securing a reservation as soon as dates are released for this special event.
The service was impeccable, the pace of the meal was nice and slow, our table mates were so much fun and the wine was poured generously and in abundance. We ended up paying around $104 per person and it was worth every penny.
Keep your eyes on the Walt Disney World website for upcoming dates and reservations to open.
Looking for a vegan guide to the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival? Find it here: Vegan Options at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival
We also have a master list of every vegan item offered year round in the Epcot theme park here: What’s Vegan in Epcot?
