I was invited to attend the 1st ever Bavarian Inn Spirits & Culinary Creations Fest in Frankenmuth, MI! Although I received my ticket at no cost, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
Last weekend I was invited to attend the Bavarian Inn Spirits & Culinary Fest. I wanted to share my thoughts and review on the event so you have a reference for future dates. My friend and I attended the 4 hour event at the Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth, MI on June 15, 2024.
What is The Bavarian Inn Spirits & Culinary Creations Fest?
This culinary fest is a dining experience of the Bavarian Inn, that featured local and nationwide drink brands, food sampling, chef demonstrations, and live music.
What to expect
First of all I have to say, downtown Frankenmuth is absolutely gorgeous is the Spring/Summer. All of the flowers were in bloom and I was really impressed with the drive through downtown and the pretty grounds at the lodge. I usually only go to Frankenmuth during the cooler months/winter time. So I thought it was pretty!
Location of the event
To be honest, I didn’t know exactly where the event was taking place. I assumed I would see a festival tent- and just know where to go. But in all fairness I usually only ever do the main strip so didn’t realize the Bavarian Inn Lodge was different from the Bavarian Inn restaurant in the center of town. So after asking a few people (and workers). We were told to cross the Holz-Brücke Wooden Bridge and that it would most likely “be taking place over there”.
So we kept walking. I did enjoy the walk over the bridge and the views of the river. We finally saw a small sign on the Bavarian Inn Lodge’s entrance. So I would have appreciated a little more signage.
The actual event was inside of the lodge’s conference area/banquet room. I was fully expecting an outside event. Which kind of bummed me out since it was a beautiful day. I thought it would be held under a large festival tent outside.
Upon Arrival & Check-in
There was a check-in table where very friendly staff were checking people in. We received a little blue bag and our drink tickets. We got 10 tickets each which I thought was pretty generous. The ladies pointed us in the direction of the event to go up the stairs for the main sampling or you could attend a class in one of their conference rooms. So- we made it just in time for some bourbon tastings.
Chef Demos/ Classes
There was a list of classes/ demonstrations that you could sit it on that took place in one of there conference rooms. Each class was offered at a few different time frames which was nice.
- Bourbon Tastings
- Spaetzel Making
- Sushi Roll Making
Bourbon Sampling
My friend and I decided to sit in on the bourbon tasting (which neither of us are huge fans of) but was pleased with learning some history and knowledge on different bourbons and about the liquor itself. Actually sitting, smelling, and tasting gave me a new appreciation of the spirit. It was a 15 minute session- so hammer down. If you enjoy bourbon, you would like this part. We got to sample Maker’s Mark, Old Forester, and two different bottles of Elijah Craig.
Spaetzel Making
The head chef of the Bavarian Inn Lodge led a spaetzel making demonstration where they gave us a recipe card with their recipe to be able to make it at home. The Chef gave us his tips, tricks, and secret ingredients he likes to put in his spaetzel. Then we all got to have a plate of the buttery German noodles.
Culinary Experience
Next we headed upstairs to the main room where the rest of the event was taking place. They had a large backdrop with their logo for the perfect photo op.
The entire room was full of tables of food and TONS of liquor sampling booths. The food was all samplings of the Bavarian Inn owned restaurants/ shops. There was fried chicken, schnitzel, sausages, pizza, a nacho station, charcuterie, soft pretzels, pasta made in a parmesan wheel, desserts and more.
Of course I was in heaven with soft pretzels and beer cheese and some fabulous cheesy fried potato puffs (for real though the best). And my friend Claire was enjoying the chocolate fountain with an array of desserts to dip in the warm melted chocolate.
There was definitely a nice variety of foods to please everyone.
Sprit Tasting
I was actually shocked as to how many liquor tables there were. Everything from rums, tequilas, vodka, bourbon, some wines, and some beer stations. We were pleased to try some new liquors and learn about them as well. If you know me, you know that I love me a good margarita– so I definitely was enjoying the tequila sampling!
I even had a German margarita that was made with German beer and a fabulous mule with bourbon as well. We were pleased to see many Michigan based distilleries, wineries, and breweries attend the event along with spirits from around the world.
Cost of the Event
The general admission ticket ran around $105 and the VIP tickets which granted you earlier access was around $170. I was able to offer my readers a 20% off coupon from the US FAMILY GUIDE.
So if you are thinking of checking this event out next year- check out my posts on social media or message me for a coupon if I get invited to attend again!
I did find the cost of the tickets a little high. I think $75 would be a fair price. Although you can barely get lunch for $100 anymore at a restaurant lol. But you definitely got a lot of samples and food for the cost.
Pros & Cons
My favorite aspects of the event:
- A great variety of foods to taste
- Fun to learn how to make spaetzel
- Enjoying learning about and sampling bourbon
- A huge variety of liquors to taste
- Frankenmuth was gorgeous with flowers blooming everywhere
- A great day out for something a little different for foodies and drink lovers
What I thought could be improved:
- Would have enjoyed an indoor/outdoor event to kind of break up the scenery a bit. For a 4 hour event- it might be nice to have the opportunity to sit outside and eat, be an able to come back in, etc.
- Maybe some vendors to be able to shop/purchase items that you sampled.
- A little more “live music” would have been nice. There was just one musician playing a guitar out in the hallway.
- Some more advertisement/ signage to help visitors get to where they were trying to go.
- Maybe a few more rooms with different classes/demonstrations would have been nice.
- Cost of the ticket
- We sampled all the spirits out of plastic ramekin cups. I thought that we should have all been given the nice bourbon glass that had the events logo on it to be able to use throughout the event and take home as a souvenir for the day.
Conclusion
If you are looking for fun events in Frankemuth or just Michigan events, and love trying different foods and drinks, this event is for you! I only live about an hour away so didn’t mind the drive. If you plan to indulge or continue drinking- of course you could grab a room and make a getaway out of it. We checked out the River front shops afterwards and really did enjoy our entire afternoon in Frankenmuth!
