Ready your appetite. The annual Charlotte StrEATs Festival recently announced its return to the Queen City during Charlotte SHOUT!. The festival celebrates Charlotte's culinary landscape, local chefs, businesses, and flavors.

"While Charlotte’s food scene has grown to rival any other Southeastern city’s, we felt there wasn’t an event focused solely on highlighting the incredible local and independent restaurants here," said Kristen Wile, co-organizer and owner of Unpretentious Palate. "We're proud to help give Charlotte a food festival worthy of the chefs and mixologists who are part of it and are excited to show off our culinary scene for a fourth year."

With the announcement of the StrEATs festival's return, it’s the perfect time to start savoring the date and marking your calendars.

The appetizer

StrEATs Uncorked is happening Friday, April 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Johnson & Wales University. This second annual event brings some of North Carolina’s finest wines and cuisines to Uptown. The ticketed event brings wine connoisseurs together to taste a handpicked selection of award-winning wines.

Pro tip: Early bird tickets are $55 before prices increase March 1.

The main course

The StrEATs Tasting Tour kicks off Saturday, April 12 from 12 to 3 p.m. at Gateway Village. This unique festival brings locally-owned restaurants from across the city. Some of our favorite chefs will hold cooking demonstrations, craft cocktails, and allow you to sample cuisines. Tickets tend to sell out for the 21+ event. Participating restaurants will be announced soon.

On Sunday, April 13, the free StrEATs Festival will take over Gateway Village, providing guests a chance to shop and sample from some of the Queen City's top chefs, vendors, and food trucks.

Plan ahead: Wristbands for the festival cocktail tasting will be available in March.

Charlotte StrEATs Festival Neighborhood Cook-Off in 2023. | Photo via Ryan Allen

While perusing the many festival tables, you're invited to cheer on local chefs during the annual Neighborhood Cook-off, where local chefs will battle it out in a Food Network-style competition to win the title of StrEATs Neighborhood Champion.

City Editor Maria, here. This is one of my favorite parts of the festival. Seeing our culinary talent on stage, talking about their signature dish is very inspiring.

Editor's note: Renowned chef Aarón Sánchez was the celebrity chef for last year's festival. This year's guest of honor is Chef Eric Adjepong from Food Network's popular shows Wild Card Kitchen and Alex vs. America.