Come sample the varied and unique flavors found across the city at the inaugural Birmingham Food+Culture Festival.

On Oct. 12-15, Birmingham is inviting the world to see what local residents have known for years: The Magic City is a culinary mecca, with many renowned chefs, bakers and mixologists.

“Birmingham has such a robust and highly acclaimed food and beverage scene, with award-winning chefs and restaurants making a name for themselves. But a lot of people outside the Southeast who haven’t been to Birmingham don’t realize what we have to offer,” said Food+Culture Program Director Rebecca Lemelin Gann.

“Birmingham is also made up of so many rich and diverse cultures – all of which have brought their own foods to the city. We want to celebrate all these different cultures and how they have come together to make the food scene great,” Gann said.

Featuring nearly 90 local, regional and national chefs, pitmasters, mixologists and brewers, the Birmingham Food+Culture Festival will be held at venues across the city, including The Market at Pepper Place and Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark. Along with five marquee events highlighting Birmingham’s varied culinary landscape, there will be 10 pop-up dinners and an amplified farmer’s market.

Through this event, food lovers, chefs, farmers, artisans and storytellers from all walks of life will join at the city’s table for an unforgettable experience, Gann said.

“We will have a lot of events that are fun and lively,” she said. “But each event will also celebrate Birmingham’s rich history and diverse culture, and their significance as they relate to the food scene.”

The highlight of the weekend will be Food+Fire, the Great Southern Tailgate, which will showcase pitmasters and chefs known for their barbecue and/or live-fire cooking. Presented by Southern Living, the event at Sloss Furnaces on Saturday afternoon will give visitors the chance to sample barbecue from restaurants like Acre, Saw’s BBQ, Ovenbird, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q and many others.

Food+Heritage, a seated dinner in the streets of Pepper Place on Friday, Oct. 13, is another not-to-be-missed event.

“Each year, we will celebrate a different culture and how it has influenced our community and our culinary landscape,” said Food+Culture Production Director Keri Lane. “This year, we’re celebrating Black cuisine with guest chefs from around the Southeast in honor of the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the civil rights movement in Birmingham.”

Here is a look at the complete event lineup during the four-day festival:

• Food+Flair: Changing the Menu (Thursday, Oct. 12) – A seated luncheon celebrating an all-star lineup of women chefs.

• Food+Frank (Oct. 12) – The first-ever presentation of the Frank Stitt Award for Industry Excellence.

• Food+Heritage (Friday, Oct. 13) – A dinner showcasing Black cuisine and the local and regional chefs who prepare it.

• Food+Farmers (Saturday, Oct. 14) – An amplified farmer’s market at Pepper Place, including storytellers and a book fair featuring cookbook authors.

• Food+Fire: The Great Southern Tailgate (Oct. 14) – A walk-around tasting event at Sloss Furnaces celebrating the barbecue community and tailgate culture, both of which are part of Southern tradition. Along with live music, a Southern Living demo stage and various craft beers from local and regional breweries, there will be giant screens throughout the park airing live football.

• Food+Funk Brunch (Sunday, Oct. 15) – Biscuits, brass and bloodies. The “funky” brunch includes special offerings from pastry chefs, bakers and mixologists, along with the sounds of Grammy-award winning Rebirth Brass Band from New Orleans.

• Food+Friends Dinner Series (throughout the week and weekend) – Public dinners featuring surprise pop-up menus prepared by guest chefs in participating Birmingham restaurants. Guests can make reservations on the restaurant’s website or walk in for those restaurants that do not require reservations.

A “reveal party” unveiling plans for the Birmingham Food+Culture Festival, held last fall, drew food lovers from across the region. (contributed)

Established by local community leaders, Food+Culture is a nonprofit aimed at celebrating Birmingham’s dynamic culinary industry through events that highlight the various flavors and cultures found here.

“I’ve always been a cheerleader for Birmingham, as I truly believe it is the ‘Magic City,’ and the Food+Culture Festival will allow us to share some of the culinary traditions and talent here with locals and visitors alike,” said Cathy Sloss Jones, Sloss Real Estate CEO and president, in a press release introducing the festival.

“Not only is Food+Culture bringing the potential for tremendous economic impact, but also we hope to establish a sense of camaraderie around food, creating opportunities for community growth and a vibrant food economy,” Sloss Jones said.

The festival launched last October with a “reveal” party at Pepper Place. Since then, hundreds of hours have gone into turning Food+Culture’s vision for the festival into reality, said Lane.

“It took a team to get something like this off the ground,” she said. “City leaders and our Food+Culture board have been a vital part of the vision and have really stepped up to make this happen.”

For more information or to purchase tickets for the various events, visit bhamfoodplus.com. The site also has a list of restaurants participating in the Food+Friends dinner series.