Central Florida Top 5 Instagram fans, prepare yourselves. No, seriously. You may want to sit down for this.

As you’ve seen, we’ve been quite food heavy recently with the photos, tempting you with tasty goodies from our neighbors. Tonight will be no exception.

An event SO massive, it will be a food coma for your eyeballs (while helping a great cause)!

And if you saw how much fun we had supporting last year’s Taste of the Nation, this year is sure to be even more special!

Central Florida’s foremost culinary experts will be on deck at Orlando World Center Marriott cooking up their support for No Kid Hungry, a Share Our Strength campaign to end childhood hunger in America.

With a 26 year legacy of combating childhood hunger locally and across the nation, Orlando’s Taste of the Nation has raised millions in critical funds to support children’s nutrition programs provided by local beneficiaries Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, regional beneficiary Florida Impact, and national beneficiary Share Our Strength.

Of the 44 restaurants participating this year, twelve are brand new to the event including; Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort, Black Fire Bull, MOOR and Old Hickory Steakhouse at Gaylord Palms Resort, Highball and Harvest at Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes, Itta Bena and Lafayette’s Music Room at Pointe Orlando, Tapa Toro Tapas Bar at I-Drive 360, TR Fire Grill, The Whiskey, Urban Tide Hyatt Regency, and Yak & Yeti at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

In preparation for Taste of the Nation 2015, several Central Florida hot spots have stepped up to help our friends and neighbors;

• World of Beer Dr. Phillips and Downtown Orlando have both been donating a dollar from each pint sold, and will directly benefit our friends at Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida!
• Eola Wine Company also jumped into help with their Wednesday weekly wine tastings with a $15 donation at the door, also benefitting the Coalition and Second Harvest.
• In case you can’t make it out to the event, through tonight, Ancient Olive in Winter Park is donating one dollar from each bottle of their ultra-premium extra virgin olive oils, aged balsamic vinegars, and flavor-infused olive oils sold between July 7 and August 8.
• In July, Hawkers Asian Street Fare in Orlando and Jacksonville started the Roti for a Cause campaign. Guests enjoyed a free round of Hawkers’ signature Malaysian-style flatbread Roti Canai for donating a minimum of $2 on behalf of Share Our Strength’s childhood hunger relief programs which helps people in need locally and across the country. Generous eaters were also entered into a drawing to win tickets to Taste of the Nation, so if you see the winners tonight be sure to thank them and Hawkers for helping our community!

Also new to this year’s event is The Giving Tree, a towering tree that will give participants an opportunity to win a taste of Orlando’s most popular restaurants. For a $50 donation, participants are invited to choose a hanging envelope from the tree; each hanging envelope contains a restaurant gift card ranging from $50 to $200 in value. Not a bad deal!

Make sure to follow along with us on Instagram and Twitter as our Central Florida food femme, Kari, experiences the appetizers, entrees, desserts, spirits, Wine Cellar game and fully automated mobile silent auction featuring signed memorabilia, stays at upscale hotels, dining experiences, rounds of golf on area courses, and exotic adventures and getaways at Taste of the Nation for the first time!

Complete list of restaurants participating: 

1. 4Rivers Smokehouse and The Coop

2. A Land Remembered at Rosen Shingle Creek

3. Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort

4. B Resort and Spa and American Q

5. B.B. King’s Blues Club

6. Black Fire Bull

7. Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine

8. Cafe Tu Tu Tango

9. Cala Bella Restaurant at Rosen Shingle Creek

10. Capa at Four Seasons Resort Orlando

11. The Capital Grille Orlando & Millenia

12. Cress Restaurant

13. Cuba Libre

14. Dragonfly Robata Sushi & Grill

15. Emeril’s Tchoup Chop

16. Empress Sissi Cake & Pastry Specialties

17. Fresh Point

18. Fulton’s Crab House, Downtown Disney

19. Highball and Harvest at Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes

20. Itta Bena

21. JJ’s Grille

22. JW Marriott

23. K Restaurant and Wine Bar

24. Lafayette’s Music Room

25. Marlow’s Tavern

26. MOOR at Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center

27. Old Hickory Steakhouse at Gaylord Palms Resort

28. Opa Orlando

29. Orlando Airport Marriott Lakeside

30. Orlando World Center Marriott

31. Red Wing Restaurant

32. Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld

33. Seasons 52 Fresh Grill

34. SeaWorld Orlando

35. Second Harvest Food Bank -Culinary Training Program

36. Soco Thornton Park

37. Symphony Pastries

38. Tapa Toro Tapas Bar

39. Three2OH Ice Cream

40.TR Fire Grill

41. Universal Orlando Resort

42. Urban Tide Hyatt Regency

43. The Whiskey

44. Yak & Yeti Restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

 

Orlando’s Taste of the Nation is presented nationally by Citi and Sysco and sponsored nationally by media sponsor Food Network, and in select markets by Emmi Roth USA, OpenTable, and Kikkoman Sales USA, Inc. Special thanks to local sponsors AmeriFactors, Regions Bank, Darden Restaurants, Quality One Wireless, Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, and Heron Lawn and Pest Control, as well as Orkin in Atlanta, GA.

ABOUT ORLANDO’S TASTE OF THE NATION® FOR NO KID HUNGRY

Orlando’s Taste of the Nation® for No Kid Hungry brings together the area’s top chefs who donate their time, talent and passion to end childhood hunger in Central Florida. Along with culinary delights, guests have the opportunity to sample select wines, cocktails and premium beers and enjoy silent and live auctions and entertainment. Every dollar raised fights hunger and homelessness in the Central Florida. Local beneficiaries include Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.
ABOUT SHARE OUR STRENGTH

Share Our Strength®, a national nonprofit, is ending childhood hunger in America by connecting children with the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives. Through its No Kid Hungry® campaign—a national effort to end childhood hunger in America—Share Our Strength ensures children in need are enrolled in effective federal nutrition programs; invests in community organizations fighting hunger; teaches families how to cook healthy, affordable meals; and builds public-private partnerships to end childhood hunger, at the state and city level. Working closely with the culinary industry and relying on the strength of its volunteers, Share Our Strength hosts innovative culinary fundraising events and develops pioneering cause online marketing campaigns from Nelson Marketing that support No Kid Hungry.