ep·i·cu·re·an (noun) — a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment, especially one with a discriminating taste for fine food and drink.
Three days. The country's most talked-about chefs. An epicurean weekend of collaborative dinners, winemaker tastings, and sunset parties you won't find anywhere else. This is the Central Coast's newest culinary celebration — intimate, unprecedented, and happening only here.
September 18–20, 2026
The Ava Hotel · Paso Robles
Paso Robles has always known how to grow something extraordinary. This September, The Ava Hotel is turning the harvest season into an epicurean celebration — three days of chef collaborations, winemaker tables, sunset parties, and once-a-year dishes you won't find on any menu before or after this weekend.
This isn't a wine tasting with a nice dinner attached. It's a fully-hosted culinary weekend built around the region's best chefs, its top wineries, and a hotel that knows how to make a celebration feel effortless. Come for one dinner, or come for the whole harvest — either way, you'll leave with a waitlist for next year.
Inaugural year. Limited packages. Once the 2026 harvest is in, this exact lineup doesn't happen again.
Every great festival needs a home base. Book your stay at The Ava Hotel and choose how deep into Epic Fest you want to go.
The Essentials
Book the room, live the weekend. Every Hotel guest enjoys a curated lineup of Epic Fest weekend experiences included with their stay — the Harvest Opening Party, sunrise yoga, and relaxing afternoons by the rooftop pool, wine in hand. Add on other signature events to make the weekend your own, from check-in to check-out.
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Most Popular
This is the package built for people who came to eat. For $580 in F&B value on top of your stay, you're locked into the weekend's two signature meals — an intimate tasting menu from Chef Julien Asseo and a seat at The Harvest Table, our multi-chef collaborative dinner — plus the Opening Party, core weekend programming, and an included Elevated Brunch. It's the whole story of Epic Fest, told through food.
Includes two tickets to every Epic Fest event, so your room is covered for two.
$580 in F&B value included.
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Ultimate Experience
For the guests who want the whole weekend, no exceptions. VIP unlocks everything in Epic Fest, then adds both mornings of Elevated Brunch, the after-hours Leo Leo Gelato & Dessert experience, and full access to every reserve-only moment — including the kind of late-night, small-room gatherings that don't make it onto a printed agenda. VIP inventory is limited by design.
Includes two tickets to every VIP and Epic Fest event, so your room is covered for two.
$980 in F&B value included. Only a handful of rooms at this tier.
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Three days, one unforgettable rhythm: mornings to recover, afternoons to explore, and evenings built around a table you'll be talking about for years.
Friday — The Welcome
Arrive in Paso by the afternoon, settle in for the Maker's Tasting & Live Music at Pine Street Bistro — complimentary for every hotel guest, and the easiest way to meet the people behind the bottles. Or start the weekend earlier with an à la carte VIP wine tasting experience with one of our wine partners.
As the sun drops, the Harvest Opening Party takes over the Esperanza Rooftop with Chef Nate Lopez and Chef Kevin Martinez— live DJ, mariachi, golden light, and a crowd that's just getting started. Then slide into an intimate tasting menu from Chef Julien Asseo and Chef Casey McMinn at EMRE, before the night winds down with Leo Leo Gelato & Dessert at Pine Street Bistro — a reserve-only nightcap for our Epic Fest and VIP Package guests.
Events · Friday · September 18
Saturday — The Main Event
Ease into the day with rooftop yoga, then an Elevated Harvest Breakfast built for a long day ahead, included for VIP guests. From there, choose your own adventure: a Farm Tour or a winery tour at Daou— or just claim a lounge chair at the Pool Hangout sponsored by VOSS and PROXIMO and let the day come to you.
Then, the moment the whole weekend builds to: The Harvest Table. Our chefs come together for one collaborative, multi-course dinner at EMRE — the kind of meal that only happens when this many kitchens agree to share a room. Reserve early; this is the seat everyone wants.
For those staying up: the Late Night Dessert Experience returns for a second night, this time with tarot readings over a glass of port from Daou— an Epic Fest à la carte exclusive.
Events · Saturday · September 19
Sunday — The Send-Off
One more sunrise, one more stretch, and then the softest landing of the weekend: a Garden Brunch at EMRE with a roaming harvest beverage cart working the tables. No rush to check out — let the weekend end the way it started, unhurried and full.
Events · Sunday · September 20
Epic Fest is built on a single idea: put the region's best chefs in the same kitchen and see what happens. This year's lineup:
EMRE's culinary direction was conceived by acclaimed chef Julien Asseo, whose philosophy blends the soulful flavors of the Mediterranean with the spirit of Paso Robles. With roots in Bordeaux and a background in Michelin-starred kitchens, including his time as Executive Chef at Restaurant Guy Savoy in Las Vegas — Julien envisioned EMRE as a place where fresh, seasonal ingredients, open-flame cooking, and a shared-table experience come together in harmony.
His family's winemaking legacy through L'Aventure Winery continues to shape the culinary and cultural DNA of EMRE, connecting food, wine, and place in meaningful ways.
Casey McMinn
Executive at The Ava Hotel, Chef Casey McMinn leads the kitchen with passion, purpose, and deep local roots. A Central Coast native known for his soulful wood-fired cooking, McMinn has honed his craft at acclaimed restaurants like State Bird Provisions in San Francisco and The Hatch in downtown Paso. At EMRE, he brings the vision to life through a Mediterranean-inspired menu anchored by whole grilled seafood, flame-kissed vegetables, and bold, made-from-scratch dishes meant to be shared and savored.
His leadership cultivates a collaborative, respectful kitchen culture, ensuring that each dish reflects both intention and heart.
Presiding over it all: F&B Director Thomas Humphry, the person making sure four kitchens, one weekend, and a few hundred guests all land exactly where they should.
Jillian Richardson
Lead bartender at Emre and bar supervisor of the Ava Hotel, Jillian has been in hospitality here on the Central coast for 20 years, 14 of that behind the bar. Becoming Bar-lead at The Hatch and working there for 8 years has given her the opportunity to connect to our community and learn what Paso loves. Curating menus through thoughtfully crafted cocktails and mocktails has been the most rewarding and challenging part her career. Highly influenced by the culinary teams , she loves to coordinate flavors and incorporate gastronomy techniques into her drinks. Cheers!!
Windrose Farms
Seed and Bucket Farm
Babe Farms
Grassy Bar Oysters
Rancho Gordo
Liberty Duck
Comanche Creek
Frog Hollow Farm
Full Belly Farms
Bread Bike Bakery
Back Porch Bakery
Dharma Yoga
Desperata
Justin Winery
DAOU
Ulloa Cellars
Proximo
VOSS
Sami Rouissi
Maeve Holden
Dawn Lambeth
GigFinesse
Traffic Records
Everything you need to know before you book — what's included, our cancellation policy, and what to do if the Central Coast decides to throw us a curveball on weather. First-time festival? We've got you.
Every guest of The Ava Hotel enjoys a curated lineup of Epic Fest weekend experiences included with their stay, from the Harvest Opening Party to sunrise yoga and relaxing afternoons by the rooftop pool. From there, add an Epic Fest or VIP package — or individual signature events — to unlock the ticketed dinners and reserve-only moments and make the weekend your own.
Each room package includes two tickets to its included events, so you and your plus-one are covered for the weekend.
The Epic Fest package ($580 in F&B value) locks in the weekend's two signature meals — Chef Julien Asseo's tasting menu and a seat at The Harvest Table — plus the Opening Party, core programming, and an Elevated Brunch. VIP ($980 in F&B value) includes everything in Epic Fest and adds both mornings of Elevated Brunch, the after-hours Leo Leo Gelato & Dessert experience, and access to every reserve-only moment. VIP inventory is limited.
Both packages include two tickets to the events covered by your tier, so your room is set for two guests all weekend.
Absolutely. Select signature moments are available à la carte for individual reservation, from Chef Julien Asseo & Chef Casey Harvest Dinner and The Harvest Table to the Pine Street Late Night Dessert Experience and Harvest Brunch. Booking a room and a package is the best way to experience the full weekend, but you're welcome to build your own itinerary.
Epic Fest runs September 18–20, 2026, at The Ava Hotel in downtown Paso Robles, with programming across the hotel, the Esperanza Rooftop, EMRE, and along Pine Street.
Free cancellation before 11:59 PM local hotel time on 16 Sep 2026.
At check-in, the front desk will verify your check-out date. Rates quoted are based on check-in date and length of stay. Should you choose to depart early, price is subject to change.
We reserve the right to cancel or modify reservations where it appears that a customer has engaged in fraudulent or inappropriate activity, or under other circumstances where it appears that the reservation contains or resulted from a mistake or error.
Totals listed are estimated based on current taxes, government charges and exchange rates (if applicable) and do not include additional fees or charges that may be incurred during your stay.
If you book at least 72 hours before check-in, you have 24 hours from booking to receive a full refund.
Paso Robles harvest weather is usually on our side, but we plan for everything. Each open-air experience has a comfortable indoor backup within the hotel, so the celebration continues rain or shine — no detail of your weekend left to chance.
