- December 4, 2025
The 2023 Food & Wine Festival. Courtesy photo
A sushi dish from the 2023 Food & Wine Festival. Hammock Beach resort offered a variety of food and wine for guests to try. Courtesy photo
Memorabilia from the 2024 Food & Wine Festival. Courtesy photo
The 2024 Food & Wine Festival. Hammock Beach resort offered a variety of food and wine for guests to try. Courtesy photo
Food & Beverage Director Woody Mitchell has a vision, a dream, for how he hopes guests will enjoy the Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa's third annual Food & Wine Classic.
He described it like this: a guest walks up to one of the resort's 39 wine tents to try a new wine, where an aficionado regales them with the history and details of the wine. Then, drink in hand, the guest will drift over to one of the 10 food tents, where the scent and sizzling sound of fresh cooked food will lure them in.
"They're smelling all of the food that's being cooked, and then they're staring at the ocean, listening to the waves coming in that one microscopic moment in time," Mitchell said, describing how he hopes each person will experience the two-day event.
This is the experience he hopes every guest at the Food & Wine Classic will have. The third annual event will take place on Sept. 12 and 13, with the first day open for members-only and Sept. 13 open for resort guests and members. Tickets more information are available at hammockbeach.com/play/food-wine-classic/.
The Classic started as a members-only event in June 2023, but, Mitchell said, the resort received a lot of positive feedback about it and decided to make it an annual event.
In 2024, the Classic was moved to after Labor Day weekend with more food and wine tents were added.
"This year, being our third year, we wanted to try to go even bigger," Mitchell said.
This year, there will be over 90 wines from around the world, as well as a tent dedicated specifically to spirits and a beer garden. Executive Chef Patrick O'Connor said that each food dish was inspired by a resort restaurant.
"The dishes might not be exactly out of the restaurant, but they represent what the restaurant does," O'Connor said. "If everybody hits every station, they should be pretty full, especially if they finish up with a beer and some brats'."
The menu is created new every year to keep the experience fresh for guests, he said. Some of the dishes include shrimp ceviche with a Spanish-style gazpacho and a roasted lamb lollipop with some herb couscous.
O'Connor said he's most looking forward to the scallop dish with a crawfish étouffée.
"The best part about the whole thing is that we actually do most of the cooking right in front of everybody," O'Connor said. "We're trying to make it as fresh as possible for the guests as they walk up."
The Food & Wine Classic will also have a golf tournament to kick off the weekend on Sept. 12. The tournament is 18-holes and will have a live DJ and a on-course games, like hitting golf balls into a giant wine glass and longest drive off a wine cork.
"This is a golf tournament designed by food and beverage folks," Mitchell said. "So, this is a fun-loving, high-energy golf tournament."
Mitchell said he hopes every guest enjoys the experience. That is what the entire event is for.
"When you're just sitting back, and you're in awe," he said. "Like, wow, I am here at this property, looking at this amazing golf course, looking at this beautiful hotel on the Atlantic Ocean, listening to the waves, enjoying incredible wine, incredible food, and just loving every conversation I have."
