Field Guide Festival Brings Together Austin’s Food Community for Farm-Fresh Feasts and Conversations
Three-day festival explores local food systems through chef-farmer collaborations, panels and sustainable fare
From April 25–27, Field Guide Festival returned for its fourth year, offering Austinites a closer look—and taste—at the relationship between local farmers, chefs and the land itself. Through a full weekend of dining events, symposiums and family-friendly festivities, the festival emphasized its mission to strengthen community ties through food.
The weekend kicked off Friday evening with the Land to Larder Dinner at Boggy Creek Farm, a historic working farm nestled in East Austin. For the first time ever, a dinner was hosted directly in the middle of the vegetable fields.
The dinner featured dishes from Chef Ana Torrealba de la Vega of El Naranjo, Chef Ian Thurwachter of Intero, Chef Janie Ramirez of Dai Due and Chefs Daniel A. Martínez Faccio and Aurora Torrado Arroyo of Mercado Sin Nombre. Each course was designed in collaboration with local farmers, highlighting seasonal ingredients sourced from Central Texas.
“Tonight, we get to hear the stories about where these foods come from while you’re eating them,” said Trisha Bates, co-founder of Field Guide Fest.
Conversations on sustainability and our food systems
The conversation continued the next day at the Field Guide Symposium at Fiesta Gardens, where farmers, chefs, agricultural experts and sustainability advocates led five panel discussions on food systems, farming practices, and community impact. Attendees sampled wine and spirits from local makers and light bites from Local Foods during the conversations.
Speakers included Kevin Fink of Emmer & Rye Hospitality, Stacy and Robert Nantz of Nantz Land and Cattle, Drew Steans of Pristine Produce, Aubrey Noelke and Sam Moffett of Local Pastures, Larry Franklin of Black Lives Veggies, Lisa Barden of Keep Austin Fed, Edwin Marty from the City of Austin, and Melody McClary of Fourteen Acres Farm at Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
A celebration of local farmers and chefs
The festival culminated Sunday with the main event: Field Guide Festival at Fiesta Gardens. The day featured live-fire cooking, a taco omakase experience, a pizza happy hour, and a pop-up farmers market curated by Sustainable Food Center. More than 55 chefs and farmers collaborated to create seasonal dishes at the festival, which also included kid-friendly activities and live music.
Proceeds from the weekend benefited the Central Texas Food Bank, which distributes groceries through a network of approximately 300 partner agencies and mobile food pantries, serving about 90,000 neighbors in need each week.
By weaving storytelling, hands-on experiences and seasonal cuisine into every corner of the weekend, Field Guide Festival once again underscored the interconnectedness of farmers, chefs and the Central Texas community.