Christina Tapia
The Fort Worth Food + Wine Foundation (FWFWF) has never been content with simply throwing a party. Sure, their gatherings sparkle with good wine, inventive food, and plenty of conviviality, but beneath it all runs a mission: investing in the city’s hospitality community, one scholarship, grant, and chef stipend at a time. This fall, the Foundation is back with a lineup that blends marquee events with a new educational series — proof that Fort Worth’s culinary scene isn’t just growing, it’s maturing.
Since its founding, the nonprofit has funneled more than $610,000 back into the community, funding student scholarships, classroom grants, emergency relief, and stipends for working chefs. Earlier this year, it launched the Kirkpatrick Visionary Award, honoring co-founder Russell Kirkpatrick by backing bold new projects in food and drink.
“Our events are celebrations,” says executive director Julie Eastman, “but at their heart they’re about investing in students, chefs, and entrepreneurs whose creativity and leadership shape the future of our industry.”
That sense of purpose threads through the season ahead, where four very different gatherings capture the Foundation’s dual identity as both party-thrower and community builder.
The season begins Sept. 29 with Industry Insights, a new bi-monthly lunch-and-learn meant for people in the trenches of restaurants and bars. The first session, led by Lydia Traina of The Elements Group, tackles artificial intelligence — not in the abstract, but in ways that can actually help a small restaurant or wine bar run smarter.
Details:
- September 29, 2025 | 12–1 PM | The Magnolia (1101 W Magnolia Ave, Fort Worth)
- Registration: Free for industry professionals (limited spaces)
October 19 brings Shooting with the Chefs, a day at Defender Outdoors Clay Sports Ranch where Fort Worth’s culinary leaders trade chef coats for safety vests and shotguns. It’s half competition, half camaraderie, and the lunch afterward is as lively as the shooting itself.
Details:
- October 19, 2025 | 9 AM–2 PM | Defender Outdoors Clay Sports Ranch (8270 Aledo Rd, Fort Worth)
- Registration: $600 per team of four; $30 spectator (includes lunch and entertainment)
Four days later, on Oct. 23, The Napa Valley Wine Experience makes its debut at The Ostreum. Thirty-six wineries will pour, many represented by the winemakers themselves, while earlier in the day those same vintners will sit down with local sommeliers for a private seminar — a rare chance for Fort Worth’s beverage scene to learn directly from Napa’s best.
Details:
- October 23, 2025 | 6–8:30 PM | The Ostreum (108 South Fwy #130, Fort Worth)
- Tickets: $159 per person
The season closes Nov. 13 with Night Market, the Foundation’s most exuberant gathering, when Panther Island Pavilion turns into an international street fair. The Shack fills with lights, music drifts across the Trinity, and the air is thick with spice and smoke from vendors cooking dishes inspired by cities from Mumbai to Mexico City.
Details:
- November 13, 2025 | 5:30–9 PM | The Shack at Panther Island Pavilion (395 Purcey St, Fort Worth)
- Early Entrance (5:30 PM): $89 | General Admission (6:30 PM): $65
For Fort Worth diners, the season offers an abundance of flavor. For the people cooking, pouring, and dreaming up what’s next, it offers something rarer — a reminder that this city believes in them.
Tickets for all fall events are available now at fwfwf.org.
