The Santa Barbara Culinary Experience returns in early May, serving up more than 75 events from May 11 to 17. Given the range of price points (free to $200+) and activities, from farm tours and fancy dinners to cooking classes and zipline taco lunches, it’s truly a choose-your-own-adventure format.
The big shebang is the Grand Tasting on Saturday, May 16, with dozens of wineries and restaurants serving on the grounds of the Presidio. (Buy those tickets here.) But there are many other smaller events throughout the week, many of which will sell out in advance. Indeed, more than a dozen events are already sold out, and there are another half-dozen approaching that status right now.
Here’s a quick day-by-day rundown of two highlights from each day that still have tickets.
- May 11: Cheese the Day! cheese and wine pairing on the Kimpton Canary Hotel’s rooftop and The Turquoise Fish, a lingcod class at Dom’s Taverna
- May 12: Specialty Latte Crafting, a custom coffee syrup class at Little King Coffee & The Farmer + The Cook + The Winemaker, the annual dinner at bouchon.
- May 13: Farm Tour and Flower Picking at Harris Gaviota Farm and From the Tap to the Table, a showcase of Singaporean hawker foods at Lama Sama.
- May 14: Sky Net + Adventure Taco Lunch, pairing zip lines and Tacos El Bacha in Buellton and Beer and Ice Cream Tasting at Naughty Oak in Orcutt.
- May 15: Lavender Bliss Martini Class and Lunch at Jane in Goleta and Meet the Farmer Tour and Tasting at Folded Hills.
- May 16: Candied Lemon Zest & Sherbert at Domecíl Studio in Victoria Court and Farmland Flavors Pasture to Picnic at Mission Santa Inés.
- May 17: Butter Garden Party at Dart in the Funk Zone and Red Oak Master Grilling Class at the Hitching Post II in Buellton.
And that’s really just a peek at what you can experience. See the full lineup here.
