REVEW: IGNORE the Bizarre Appearance of Disney’s Smoked Salmon Mousse. Trust Us.

Salmon has taken over the France Festival of the Arts Food Studio! And though Duchess, Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse from The Aristocats might be in heaven with this change, we had to head over to see what it was all about!

L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise

The 2024 EPCOT Festival of the Arts has officially begun, and it has a LOT to offer. There are plenty of food studios with tasty items, shows and artistic performances to watch, souvenirs to grab (of course), and even an art-inspired food stroll to complete. But don’t let it overwhelm you — we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know. But for now, we’re taking you with us to the food booth within the France pavilion — L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise — so you can see just what it has to offer!

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Menu

Over at L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise, there are mostly returning food items (including the AH-MAZING cheese in a bread bowl), but we’ve also got FOUR (yep, you read that right — FOUR!) new items to try.

L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise Menu

So what are you waiting for? Let’s dive into this full booth review to see if it’s something YOU should check out.

Eats

First up, we’ll kick things off with a returning favorite — the Crème de Brie en Petit Pain. We have to, you know, for science.

Crème de Brie en Petit

This is a warm creamy brie in a house-made bread bowl. It’s priced at $9.95. It’s melted cheese in a bowl made of bread, so….there’s not a lot to complain about here (unless you hate or are allergic to cheese)! This dish is creamy, the cheese is soft and smooth, and the bread is nice and warm. This is a heartwarming, cozy (yet elevated!) snack that we will recommend over and over again.

Look at that CHEESE!

It has made our Best of the Fest List many times. Can you blame us? Look at that delicious cheesiness! If you love cheese, take our advice and get yourself one of these PRONTO, but note that the serving size is actually pretty small!

This is heavenly!

Next, we have another returning item, the Saumon Fumé Mousse, which is a smoked salmon mousse with goat cheese on top of Russian-style crepe called a blini. It’s priced at $7.95.

Saumon Fumé Mousse et Aspic, Blini et Fromage de Chevre

We are really intrigued by this dish since we absolutely LOVED the Crème de Saumon Fumé that the France pavilion wowed us with during the Festival of the Holidays. Will this smoked salmon mousse live up to its Holiday festival bar-setter?

Let’s give it a try!

OK, this one was a little SHOCKING, if we’re being honest. Look, we get it. It looks a little intense. Smoked salmon mousse? What? You could go as far as saying it looks GROSS. But wait! The flavors here come together in a surprising yet magical way. The salmon has a nice texture — it’s got that nice, buttery flavor we’ve come to love in a good salmon. The mousse is soft and creamy, and if you’re willing to embrace the soft textures in this fish dish, this is WELL WORTH a try. Be brave — you won’t regret it!

It looks interesting — but how does it TASTE?

But wait, we’re not done with salmon yet, not by a long shot! Next up is the Vol-au-Vent de Saumon et Epinards, which is salmon and spinach atop a puff pastry with a Chardonnay sauce. It’s priced at $7.95.

Vol-au-Vent de Saumon et Epinards, Sauce Chardonnay

All of these ingredients spell delicious, but does the final entree live up to the expectation? Yes! This was quite nice. The salmon was a liiiitle more fishy-tasting in this dish, but we can’t complain when flaky, buttery puff pastry is involved.

Here’s a closer look!

Remember how we said that we weren’t done with salmon by a long shot? Well, L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise may as well change its name to the Salmon Art Studio because we have another salmon dish — and this is one doubles down!

Duo de Saumon Hot and Cold

That’s right, if you can’t decide between the Saumon Fumé Mousse and theVol-au-Vent de Saumon et Epinards, you can have them both on this dish! This double whammy is priced at $14.75. Note that this item is NOT snack credit-eligible on the Disney Dining Plan. 

Here’s a closer look!

Because, as they say in France, “Pourquoi pas les deux.” Ok, we don’t know if they actually say that, but let’s start that trend!

Ready for dessert? Because we are! And no, we don’t mean getting another bread bowl (but if you do, we won’t judge because cheese is life!). It’s time for the Moelleux aux Noisettes, Croustillant Noisettes, Coulis Framboise et Mangue.

Moelleux aux Noisettes, Croustillant Noisettes, Coulis Framboise et Mangue: Molten Valrhona chocolate cake

The last dish is the returning Molten chocolate and hazelnut cake with pure origin Valrhona chocolates and passion fruit-mango sauce. It’s priced at $9.25. When we’ve had this in the past, it has been incredibly rich with a lovely molten center, but this year, it actually had a bit of bitterness to it that cut through that sweetness!

It’s very chocolatey!

That bitterness is thanks to the fruit sauce served with it, but it is heavy on the chocolate flavor, so be prepared for that! Overall, this one is fine. It tastes like a chocolate lava cake and has a rich, bitter cocoa flavor. We loved the crunch from that outer shell, but it’s probably not the BEST dessert of the day. If you’re in the area and are craving some chocolate, this is a good option, though.

Drinks

When it comes to the drinks, we’ll start things off with the returning Frozen French Martini. This is a returning drink made of Grey Goose Vodka, chambord liqueur, pineapple, orange, and grape juices with a lemon-lime foam. It’s priced at $15.25.

Frozen French Martini

The drink is slightly sweet and wonderfully refreshing — a great pick during a hot Florida day! It tastes like a grown-up Sweet Tart, in drink form. It’s not overly sweet and has a nice, fruity flavor that gives this drink candy vibes (in a GOOD way).

Frozen French Martini

Next up is the new cocktail, the Elderflower Liqueur Cocktail with St. Germain Liqueur, sparkling wine, and mint for $13.25. This one is VERY strong! Really, all we could taste was the champagne and St. Germain Liqueur, so if you like those two drinks, ORDER THIS!

Elderflower Liqueur Cocktail

And last, the new red wine offering, because can it really be a French dining experience without wine?!  The wine pairing showcased for this festival is the Pinot Noir J. de Villebois, priced at $12.75.

 

 

This wine promises notes of cherry and raspberry with a silky palate and could be a great gateway red to try if you are not a hard-core wine connoisseur.

OVERALL

This year, the France Booth BROUGHT. IT. This is EASILY a contender for the best booth of the festival! From the inventive salmon dishes to the bright and fruity cocktail, we had a BLAST at this location. If you’re willing to go outside your comfort zone and try something new, this might be your new favorite. Team Salmon for the WIN.

That’s it for this booth, but there’s a LOT more where that came from!

Click here to see FULL reviews of EVERY. SINGLE. BOOTH. at the Festival of the Arts!

Trying to plan the PERFECT trip to the 2024 EPCOT Festival of the Arts? We’ll be keeping you updated on all of the latest. Click our links below for the information you need to know:

And don’t forget to pick up our 2024 DFB Guide to the Festival of the Arts at Disney World! See more details about the book below.

MAKE THE MOST
OF YOUR FESTIVAL DAYS

DFB’s guide to the Festival of the Arts details everything you need to know to maximize your time, budget and stomach space! Know what’s worth it and what to skip with our full-photo menus of each booth, complete with DFB’s Best of the Fest.

It includes all the must-have information for navigating this colorful festival at Disney World, including:

  • 🍭 Booth & food photos, maps, and crawls with DFB’s exclusive recommendations!
  • 🖌 The COMPLETE schedule of events (so you don’t have to go hunting for all the dates!)
  • 🎨 All the details on special events, artist meet-n-greets, festival exclusive merchandise, and more!

What items from this booth would you most want to try? Tell us in the comments!

The post REVEW: IGNORE the Bizarre Appearance of Disney’s Smoked Salmon Mousse. Trust Us. first appeared on the disney food blog.