Over 80 cooking demos and beverage seminars, five Grand Tastings, and a newly reimagined American Express x Resy Trade Program Powered by F&W Pro
The most iconic culinary festival in the country, the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, returns June 19-21 for its 43rd year with a line-up of over 60 culinary stars and more than 80 cooking demonstrations, wine seminars, panel discussions, and spirits tastings. The weekend will also feature five Grand Tastings, where attendees can taste food and drinks from 150+ winemakers, chefs, distillers, and hospitality groups, as well as a refreshed trade program from American Express and Resy.
The Food & Wine Classic in Aspen remains one of the rare venues where consumers, professionals, and industry collaborators converge to candidly exchange ideas, rival opinions, and shared visions for the future of food and beverage. Conversations begun in Aspen often continue shaping the industry long after the weekend ends.
“What has always distinguished the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen is the range of people it brings together in conversation,” said Food & Wine Editor in Chief Hunter Lewis. “In partnership with American Express and Resy, we’re reinvigorating the trade program to focus on innovation shaping the hospitality business today, and creating more moments for leaders to explore, gather, network, and break bread.”
The Consumer Experience: Access to the People and Ideas Defining Food Now
Across three days, attendees can enjoy a mix of focused tastings, technique-driven cooking demonstrations, and conversations that explore the future of drinking and dining in America.
This year’s presenters include Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence, Maneet Chauhan, Tiffany Derry, Danny Garcia, Gregory Gourdet, Stephanie Izard, Shota Nakajima, Ayesha Nurdjaja, Phil Rosenthal, Chris Shepherd, Nancy Silverton, Brooke Williamson, Claudette Zepeda, Andrew Zimmern, and more, alongside first-time speakers Arjav Ezekiel, Owen Han, Victoria James, and Lynnette Marrero.
Complete programming is now available online for guests to view. Highlights include:
- 20 cooking demonstrations, including the yet-to-be-announced winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 23, teaching cooking techniques and ingredient mastery. For the first time, every cooking demonstration will offer a tasting for attendees.
- Over 50 wine, cocktail, and beverage seminars, plus Victoria James and Chef SK Kim of COQODAQ, one of New York’s most sought-after reservations, bring the restaurant’s magic to Aspen with Bubble & Crunch: A Champagne & Fried Chicken Marriage Made in Heaven.
- Trend-driven sessions including The Way of Wagyu: Secrets of the World’s Most Coveted Steaks with Tyler Florence, and Steak-Out with Bobby Flay; Cooking the Borderlands: Vibrant Recipes from the U.S.-Mexico Border with Claudette Zepeda on her forthcoming book; a masterclass in katsu sandos with chef Shota Nakajima and sandwich-pro Owen Han; and Rip, Dip, and Dunk: Homemade Flatbreads and the World’s Best Dinner Party Dips with Ayesha Nurdjaja. In addition, LA hot spot Max & Helen’s will host a demo featuring Nancy Silverton, Phil Rosenthal, Lily Rosenthal-Royal, and Mason Royal.
- New for 2026, Alpine Escapes allows passholders to register for small group activities throughout Aspen, including yoga, a soundbath experience, hiking and meditation.
- The iconic Grand Tasting Pavilion opens for five sessions throughout the weekend, showcasing over 150 producers and culinary brands, including the 2025 Food & Wine Best New Chefs area, featuring direct access to some of the industry’s most exciting emerging talent in American restaurants.
- New this year, Food & Wine brings its longest-standing accolade—Best New Chefs—to the stage with a first-ever branded program led by 1990 F&W Best New Chef Nancy Silverton, featuring a demo revisiting dishes from her award year.
- Food & Wine: The Wine Bar, a pop-up activation curated by Food & Wine editors showcasing their favorite products, drinks, chefs, and recipes.
The American Express x Resy Trade Program Powered by F&W Pro
Running concurrently to the consumer experience, the 36th annual Trade Program enters a new era in 2026, as the American Express x Resy Trade Program powered by F&W Pro. This year, American Express, Resy and Food & Wine will present a newly redesigned trade program developed by and for the trade. Trade attendees will spend three days convening with restaurateurs, chefs, wine pros, operators, hoteliers, investors, and hospitality brand leaders for behind-the-scenes discussions and unforgettable moments that only happen at Aspen. For more details, visit classic.foodandwine.com/trade-
Hosted at the Aspen Art Museum, the reimagined program centers on pivotal questions facing owners, operators, and industry pros, and introduces curated culinary experiences, small group advisory sessions, and hands-on workshops across branding, finance, leadership, sustainability, and technology. Thought leadership panels will examine cultural relevance, long-term profitability, and how to build businesses that endure.
American Express and Resy are the 2026 presenting sponsors of the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. Additional sponsors include: Lexus and S.Pellegrino.
For more information about festival programming, ticketing, participating talent, and travel details, visit classic.foodandwine.com.
About Food & Wine:
Food & Wine, the ultimate culinary authority, celebrates the global epicurean experience through its magazine, website, social platforms, newsletters, podcasts, premium events such as the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, and accolades like its annual Best New Chef awards. With rigorously tested recipes and the most trusted restaurant, drinks, culinary travel, and home coverage, the brand inspires and empowers people to discover, create, and devour the best in food and drink—every day and everywhere. Food & Wine is part of the People Inc. publishing family.
About F&W Pro:
F&W Pro, from the editors of Food & Wine, offers professional news and insights from some of the best minds in the hospitality industry, providing an insider’s take on the latest in restaurant, bar, grocery, and beverage trends, and profiles of the people shaping the art of hospitality.
About American Express:
American Express (NYSE: AXP) is a global payments and premium lifestyle brand powered by technology. Our colleagues around the world back our customers with differentiated products, services, and experiences that enrich lives and build business success.
Founded in 1850 and headquartered in New York, American Express’ brand is built on trust, security, service, and a rich history of delivering innovation and Membership value for our customers. We seek to provide the world’s best customer experience every day to a broad range of consumers, small and medium-sized businesses, and large corporations, and we build and manage relationships with millions of merchants across our global network.
For more information about American Express, visit americanexpress.com, americanexpress.com/en-us/
About Resy:
Resy is a digital dining platform that powers restaurants around the world and provides reservation booking for passionate diners. With the powerful backing of American Express, Resy has created best-in-class software that elevates dining experiences and connects restaurants to a vast network of highly engaged diners. Resy is a destination for restaurant discovery, exclusive access, original content, and chef-driven culinary events. The amazing world of restaurants is just a few taps away in the Resy app and at Resy.com.
Media Contacts:
Lori Lefevre Wells for the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen:
Photo credit: C2 Photography/FOOD & WINE
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