More than 3,000 people moved through the Grand Tasting Pavilion at last year’s festival. This October the pavilion returns to the Marina Riverside Center — which means that if you are staying in a Marina villa, the Caribbean’s most ambitious culinary weekend is a walk from your front door rather than a drive across the resort.
The 4th Annual Casa de Campo® Food & Wine Festival runs Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October 2026. It is the resort’s largest food event of the year, and it lands deliberately in the shoulder season, in the weeks before high-season villa rates begin to climb. Here is what is confirmed, what is not, and what both mean if you are booking around it.
What Is Confirmed for 9–10 October
Two days, two venues:
- Friday 9 October — Day One at the Grand Tasting Pavilion, Marina Riverside Center. Live cooking demonstrations, curated tastings and sessions with visiting winemakers.
- Saturday 10 October — Day Two at the Grand Tasting Pavilion, followed by Dinner Under the Stars at Minitas Beach Club.
Dinner Under the Stars is the scarce ticket of the weekend: a single open-air seating on the sand with a multi-course menu and paired wines. Last year’s edition drew more than 3,000 attendees and over 30 exhibitors across the two days.
Univision’s Raúl de Molina returns as host, and the festival is presented in partnership with Invited.
The 2026 Chef Lineup
Four international names are confirmed, cooking alongside Dominican chefs presenting regional menus:
- Michael Mina — founder of the Mina Group, known for a contemporary American repertoire built on a long portfolio of high-end restaurants.
- Hubert Keller — the French-born, Michelin-starred chef of Fleur de Lys fame, returning for his fourth consecutive year at Casa de Campo.
- Joe Isidori — chef, restaurateur and founder of Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, back for a second year with elevated comfort cooking.
- Adam Pawlak — the Top Chef finalist behind the Egg & Flour pasta bars, headlining Dinner Under the Stars at Minitas.
Olivier Bur, the Swiss-born chef who runs Casarré in Santo Domingo, has also been named to the lineup — the only Dominican-based chef on the headline list.
The resort has been rebuilding its culinary leadership behind the scenes to match. In March 2026 it appointed Pedro Arceyut as Director of Food & Beverage, Osamu Román as Culinary Director, and Marcela Pizarro as General Manager of Altos de Chavón.
What Has Not Been Announced: Ticket Prices
This is worth stating plainly, because several sites are quoting figures that are a year out of date.
As of publication, Casa de Campo has not released 2026 ticket pricing. The numbers circulating online — US$125 for a day pass, US$200 for the gala dinner and US$3,599 for a full festival package — are the 2025 prices. Do not build a 2026 budget on them. Tickets are sold through the resort’s official ticketing partner, and current tiers should be confirmed there before you commit to travel dates.
One cost is confirmed. The resort access fee, in force since 1 February 2026, is US$30 per adult per night and US$15 per child aged 4–12 for villa guests using resort amenities. That sits on top of any festival ticket, and it is the line item most visitors forget to budget for. We break it down in full in our access fee guide.
What This Means for Your Villa Booking
The Grand Tasting Pavilion’s location is the practical detail that should shape where you stay. Both days of the pavilion are at the Marina Riverside Center, so a marina-front villa puts the festival within walking distance — no cart, no driver, no negotiating the resort’s internal roads after a wine tasting.
Minitas Beach Club, where Saturday’s dinner is held, sits on the opposite side of the resort from the Marina. A golf cart is the standard way between the two, and most villas in our portfolio include one.
On timing: October is shoulder season at Casa de Campo, so villa rates sit well below the December-to-April peak. The festival weekend itself is the exception — availability tightens quickly around those two dates, and the villas closest to the Marina go first. If you are considering the weekend, it is worth checking what is currently available rather than assuming October is quiet.
Related Reading
- Casa de Campo Marina: The Complete 2026 Guide
- Casa de Campo Restaurants: The Complete Dining Guide
- Casa de Campo Access Fee Explained
Booking a villa for the festival weekend? Talk to us — we know which properties put you closest to the Marina.