Fairchild Tropical Garden’s 17th Annual International Mango Festival kicks off tomorrow. As in past years, you’ll be able to buy mango trees, learn about mango cultivars and taste some of the garden’s best mangoes.
The last time I went to the festival two years ago I found the cooking demos to be the best part, in part because you could comfortably sit in an air-conditioned room and get a taste of the chefs’ mango creations (read some tips for attending here). Below is the line-up of cooking demos for this year. These will take place at the Visitor Center Ballroom.
Saturday, July 11
10:00 a.m. - Chef Brian Collaro, Whole Foods Market
Mexican style spiced mango salad and Indian mango coconut chicken
11:00 a.m. – Chef Cindy Hutson, Ortanique
West Indian curried crab cakes with mango papaya salsa
12:00 p.m. – Chef Sean Brasel, Meat Market
Pan-roasted duck served with coconut encrusted sweet-and-sour mango with hearts of palm and mango caviar
1:00 p.m. – Chef Sean Bernal, The Oceanaire
Mango tarte tatin
2:00 p.m. – Chef Wilson, The Art of Food
Mango ceviche and cold mango soup
Sunday, July 12
10:00 a.m. – Chef Derek Hernandez, Whole Foods Market
Mango agua fresca
11:00 a.m. – Chef Johnson, LAN Pan Asian
Tropical fruit ceviche
12:00 p.m. – Chef Billo Jolly
Mango chutney
1:00 p.m. – Chef Crissy Dumaine, Gardners
Mangospacho
2:00 p.m. – Chef Chris Bulgarin, Delicious Catering Services
Red stripe drunken mahi mahi with mango glaze, and mango fruit salad with mango vinaigrette
There’s also a mango tasting of the garden’s top 10 mango varieties on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Cost is $1 per person. This is followed by a free mango sampling from 12:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.
On Sunday, there will be a tasting tent as well but I suspect paying $1 for the top ten varieties may be your best bet if you really want to taste the mangoes.
The festival runs Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12 from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Admission is free for members and children under 5; $20 for adults; $15 for seniors and $10 for children ages 6-17.
Fairchild Tropical Garden
10901 Old Cutler Road Coral Gables
305.667.1651
Map
[...] morning, D and I spent our morning at Fairchild Tropical Garden’s 17th Annual International Mango Festival. This year I resolved to splurge on the mango brunch to see what it was all about. We then walked [...]