Pebble Beach Food and Wine Anniversary Festival

From April 9 to 12, 2026, Pebble Beach Resorts in California hosts the 15th edition of Pebble Beach Food & Wine - one of the most established culinary festivals on the West Coast. Over the years it has grown into a four-day event that draws over 150 chefs and 150 winemakers to the 17-Mile Drive, with the Monterey Peninsula as the setting.

The 15th anniversary edition is shaping up to be the largest yet. The lineup spans household names from the American restaurant scene alongside a younger generation of chefs who have been reshaping how the country eats over the last decade.

Photo Credit: sunpro.build

For people who follow the restaurant industry, the festival offers something that's genuinely hard to find elsewhere - direct access to chefs who are otherwise behind the pass or booked solid for months. You can attend a seminar in the morning, taste their food at noon, and sit at a dinner table with them in the evening. The 2026 lineup includes:

Jonathan Waxman (Barbuto, NYC) - one of the architects of California cuisine, marking a significant career milestone this year

Stephanie Izard (Girl & the Goat) - her Chicago restaurant has been packed since the day it opened; here she brings that cooking to the coast

Geoffrey Zakarian, Michael Symon, Antonia Lofaso, and Nyesha Arrington - leading hands-on demonstrations and intimate dinners across the four days

Kwame Onwuachi (Tatiana) and Maneet Chauhan - two chefs who have been consistently pushing the boundaries of what fusion cooking looks like in America right now

With more than 50 events across four days, the schedule covers a wide range - from focused wine seminars with a handful of attendees to large open tastings with hundreds of guests.

Thursday, April 9 - Opening Night

The festival opens with the Opening Night Reception at The Inn at Spanish Bay, hosted by Jonathan Waxman. The evening brings together over 90 wine estates and tastings from 20+ chefs - a broad first look at what the weekend has to offer. For those who want to start the festival on the golf course, the Pebble Beach Food & Wine Golf Invitational runs the same day, combining a round on the resort's famous links with wine poured between holes.

Friday & Saturday, April 10–11 - Wine Seminars and Dinners

The daytime schedule is built around specialized wine seminars, including vertical tastings from producers like Harlan Estate, Champagne Louis Roederer, and Old Rip Van Winkle - bottles that rarely show up in the same room, let alone in a tasting flight. In the evenings, the "Foundation Table" dinner series puts guests at the same table as the chefs - a more relaxed format than a tasting event, and for many attendees the highlight of the weekend.

Saturday, April 11 - The Main Tasting Pavilion

The largest single event of the festival takes place on the Special Events Field. 40+ chefs set up on the pavilion and serve throughout the afternoon, with live music running in the background and views of the Monterey coastline on all sides. This is where most of the weekend's crowd gathers, and where the festival shows its full scale.

Sunday, April 12 - Farewell Brunch

The weekend closes with a series of Farewell Brunches and final tastings. A quieter end to a busy four days - a chance to revisit a wine you tried earlier, have a longer conversation with a chef, and wrap up before heading out.

Pebble Beach Food & Wine is organized by the Pebble Beach Company Foundation, which channels proceeds into youth programs across Monterey County. The foundation has been active since 1975 and has raised over $20 million for the local community over that time. It's worth knowing when you buy a ticket.

Tickets are sold as individual event passes or full weekend packages. The 15th anniversary is drawing more attention than usual, and popular dinners and seminars tend to sell out well ahead of the event. The full schedule and ticket options are at pebblebeachfoodandwine.com.

If you work in the restaurant industry, follow it closely, or simply take food and wine seriously - this is one of the more worthwhile long weekends you can plan in April. Four days on the Monterey coast, with the people who are actually making the food worth writing about.