In the world of U.S. food festivals, a handful of buzzy events carry instant recognition for globetrotting gourmands: Aspen, South Beach, Pebble Beach. These gatherings set the standard for who gets to wait in line for pops of wagyu tartare on mother-of-pearl spoons.

But a new festival in Ojai is taking a different approach—focusing on small-scale, high-quality experiences rather than culinary cattle calls. Now in its second year, Ojai Food + Wine, set for the weekend of March 13–16, is betting that luxury tastes better without elbowing through an inebriated crowd for a few truffle shavings.

My experience at food festivals has been mixed. Even the most “exclusive” events can feel like a haute-cuisine assembly line. I appreciate that Ojai Food + Wine is aiming to keep things deliberately manageable.

Big Flavors, Small Crowds

“The maximum you’ll see at our largest events is a couple hundred people,” says Ben Kephart, general manager of Ojai Valley Inn. “Many of our seminars and tastings will have just a few dozen attendees. You’re not standing in a packed tent waiting for a bite—you’re having a conversation with the chef or winemaker.”

Exclusivity like that doesn’t come cheap. Ojai Food + Wine packages start at $3,250 for access to main events like the Grand Tasting and dinners with chefs such as Nancy Silverton and Andrew Zimmern. A gold credential ($6,500) adds deluxe lunches, upgraded seminars, and after-hours parties. For $10,000, an all-access platinum pass comes with VIP entry and rare tastings all weekend—because if you’re there, you might as well become besties with Alice Waters and Grant Achatz, right?

At any price, it sounds like a lovely getaway. The Farmhouse at Ojai Valley Inn, a state-of-the-art culinary center built at the resort in 2019, lends the backdrop to events like a Burgundy for Breakfast seminar with Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey (because who doesn’t want to start their day with premier cru?), a Best New Chefs Alumni Dinner featuring seven past recipients of Food & Wine’s annual award, and a collaboration between California’s top pitmasters at a West Coast Barbecue lunch.

“This is a weekend that feels like friends and family with exceptionally good taste,” Kephart says.

A Few Festival Highlights

The indulgence starts on Friday morning with concurrent seminars ranging from a Kistler Vineyards Chardonnay tasting to Italian cheese pairings with Eataly’s experts. That afternoon brings wine tastings with boutique producers like Jonata, before an evening with collaborative dinners like the “Taste of the Twin Cities” with Zimmern and Gavin Kaysen.

Saturday’s highlights include a caviar master class paired with Louis Roederer Champagne, Matt Horn’s West Coast Barbecue experience, and an evening at Ci Siamo. On Sunday there’s a Laurent-Perrier Champagne tasting and pastry demonstrations by Sherry Yard.

Looking ahead, Ojai Food + Wine is in no rush to become the biggest food festival in California. “We really set out to be the best food and wine event in California,” Kephart says. “That means staying true to not being the most well attended, necessarily, but just being the favorite.”

It’s a refreshing idea: exclusivity, authenticity, and world-class talent—without the hoards.

“We don’t need to be the flashiest,” says Kephart. “We just want to be the one that chefs, winemakers, and guests talk about long after it’s over.”