The fourth annual Amelia Island Cookout lands Oct. 15-18, bringing more than 30 chefs, pitmasters, mixologists and winemakers to a four-day celebration centered on The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. The event’s signature gathering unfolds under a tent overlooking the ocean, where visiting culinary talent from around the country will cook, pour and mingle with guests throughout the weekend.
The cookout’s signature gathering takes place under an oceanfront tent at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. The four-day event brings together chefs, pitmasters and mixologists from around the country.
This year’s event is officially described as a four-day, island-wide celebration of food, wine, spirits and Southern hospitality, according to ameliaisland.com. The tourism site confirms the event is hosted by The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island and will showcase more than 30 chefs, pitmasters, mixologists, winemakers and other culinary luminaries drawn from across the country.
More Than 20 Experiences On Tap
Organizers are promoting more than 20 curated Ritz-Carlton experiences this year, per the event’s own website, ameliaislandcookout.com. The lineup includes Fishing With Chefs outings, chef demonstrations, After Glow parties and live music, the site notes. A separate rundown of experiences adds cooking demonstrations, food and wine pairings, the Master Chefs Gala Dinner and even a Mystery Destination Lunch to the mix, per the same source.
Chef Okan Kizilbayir, chef de cuisine of Salt at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, serves as the festival’s culinary director, according to ameliaislandcookout.com. The event also includes collaborative dinners, a wine sunset cruise, a cigar and port experience and a Southern-style oyster roast, the same source states.
Spreading Beyond the Resort Grounds
What started as a single-property gathering has grown into something that now stretches well beyond The Ritz-Carlton’s grounds. The cookout extends across Amelia Island and into historic Fernandina Beach, ameliaislandcookout.com notes, a shift that mirrors how the festival has evolved since its debut. Miami Living Magazine reported last year that what began as a single-property event had become a four-day, island-wide celebration, describing the 2025 edition’s grand tasting with live music and wine-pairing dinners in downtown Fernandina Beach.
The festival’s footprint has expanded in scale as well as geography. The 2025 cookout, held Oct. 16-19 and also led by Kizilbayir, included eight curated events. This year’s event features more than 20 curated experiences.
What To Expect Oct. 15-18
With the 2026 dates now just days away, the festival’s combination of oceanfront tasting, Fernandina Beach dinners and specialty experiences like the cigar and port tasting and the Southern-style oyster roast gives attendees a broad menu of ways to engage with the island’s growing food scene. The event’s organizers have not released attendance figures or a complete public schedule confirming which individual experiences remain available, so details on tickets and availability for specific events are best confirmed directly through the festival’s own channels.
