Franklin’s Hot Luck in Austin rolls out new events, star chefs on Memorial Day weekend

Aaron Franklin’s Hot Luck Fest returns to Austin Memorial Day weekend with a star-packed roster of chefs and several new pieces of festival programming. Tickets went on sale Tuesday morning. 

Friday night's event, which is the first of the weekend events open to individual ticket holders, is a whole new look for the fest. Fair Market will host Hot Luck Supper Club, a night honoring the wood-paneling, whiskey and broasted chicken of the Midwestern staple.  

Chefs Marc-Olivier Frappier (Vin Mon Lapin in Montreal), Mashama Bailey (The Grey in Savannah and Diner Bar in Austin), Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard (Dame in NYC) and Misti Norris (Petra and The Beast in Dallas) are just a few of the big names that will be putting a modern spin on a classic American milieu. 

Individual tickets for Supper Club cost $195. Whole Enchilada pass holders ($595) get access to this and every other event during the weekend, including the Thursday night taco party at Mohawk, which will feature food from Austin’s Taco Mafia.

There will be a daytime event on Saturday for the first time, with Mason Hereford of New Orleans restaurant Turkey and the Wolf serving up some of his psychedelic sandwiches at Franklin’s Uptown Sports Club. The event is open to the public. 

That afternoon event gives way to Al Fuego at Wild Onion Ranch. Arguably the best food event in Texas, Al Fuego features dozens of North America’s best chefs cooking over open flames in a bucolic setting. The list this year includes Mexican chefs Chuy Villareal (Cara de Vaca) and Chava Orozco (Mi Compa Chava), Adam Perry Lang (APL in Los Angeles), David Murphy and Kayla Abe (Shuggie’s in San Francisco), Fiore Tedesco (L’Oca d’Oro), Michael Fojtasek (Maie Day), Aaron Bludorn (Bludorn in Houston) and many more. Individual tickets are available for $275. 

The festivities return to Wild Onion Ranch Sunday afternoon for another first-time event, as Camp Sunnyside serves up brunch to cure what ails you. The talent pool there includes North Carolina’s Ashley Christensen (Poole’s), Gabriel Rucker (Canard in Portland), Chris Bianco (Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix and Los Angeles), Tracy Malechek and Arjav Ezekiel (Birdie’s), Evan LeRoy (LeRoy and Lewis), and more. Individual tickets are also available for $175 

The Whole Enchilada Ticket Package, which includes access to all events, costs $595. Passes for those 13-20-years old cost $200, and $100 for those 12 and under. A family package, which includes Whole Enchilada passes for two adults and two kids, costs $1,095. 

A portion of Hot Luck ticket sales supports the Southern Smoke Foundation and its mission to offer aid to workers in the hospitality industry.