Decadent Delights Review: Epcot Art Festival

Our stop next at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts is the Decadent Delights Food Studio, or the dessert booth. This Walt Disney World dining review features real world photos of each item on the menu, plus our thoughts on each dish.

Before starting this review, I looked at what still needs to be written, thinking I was about halfway done with these reviews. More like three-quarters of the way to go (or one-quarter totally conquered, if we’re trying to be optimistic). I wavered on doing individual reviews for these booths to begin with since they’re tedious and repetitive, but enough of you asked, so I decided to oblige.

I know people find these useful, and I’ll keep doing these to the extent that I think that there’s interesting commentary to be shared. However, a few are fairly dull, or only have a standout item or two, so my tentative plan is to review ~5 more booths, and then pivot to a best-of list that includes anything else from the other booths that was skipped. I hope this covers our bases and provides planning info to help you choose what to order at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts…

Here’s what’s on the menu at the Decadent Delights Food Studio:

• White Chocolate and Purple Sweet Potato Mousse, Caramel, Coconut and Maple Meringue
• Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Pretzel Crunch
• Lemon and Blood Orange Tart
• Artist Palette Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie

Now let’s take a look at our photos and reviews of each food item…

We’ll start with the Purple Sweet Potato Mousse. Between the time menus were released and I looked at them and the time we first visited for Festival of the Arts, I had forgotten it existed. I also didn’t look closely at the menu when ordering “one of everything,” so I didn’t realize this was sweet potato.

Upon taking my first bite, I was a bit taken aback. With that said, this dessert wasn’t terrible…but it wasn’t good, either. More ‘unexpected’ than anything. Once I looked at the menu and realized this is a sweet potato dessert, my perspective changed for the better.

Normally, I think sweet potatoes are an abomination, and I cringe at the trend of substituting them for good ole fashioned russet potatoes. (What, do you people hate Idaho?!) It’s still not something I’d order again, but it’s interesting and relatively novel if you want to boast about eating something healthy (let’s just assume that to be true) for dessert.

Sarah notes that it’s a huge missed opportunity to not have the toppings be colored orange and better arranged to make this look like an abstract Figment dessert with two tiny wings. That’d definitely make it more appealing and photogenic.

The Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Pretzel Crunch is considerably better, offering a rich and (as the booth name suggests) decadent dessert.

It’s a bit on the dry side and could use more peanut butter flavor, but we generally liked this. I wouldn’t consider it a dessert highlight, but if chocolate is your jam, go for it.

Finally, the Lemon and Blood Orange Tart. This had a tangy, citrus flavor…as you might expect given the name. There’s a lot going on here, but it all works together to provide a nuanced and ambitious dessert.

I really enjoyed this one, although I think other reactions among our party were a bit more tepid. From my perspective, this is the unequivocal highlight of the Decadent Delights Food Studio–I’d highly recommend it.

Here are your options in terms of drinks at the Decadent Delights Food Studio:

• 3 Daughters Strawberry Blonde Nitro, St. Petersburg, FL
• Breckenridge Nitro Vanilla Porter, Breckenridge, CO
• Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, England
• Biagio Moscato d’Asti, Piedmont
• Florida Orange Groves Winery Black and Blue Port, St. Petersburg, FL
• Cold Fashioned Coffee Cocktail
• Neapolitan Beer Flight

Overall, reactions to the Decadent Delights Food Studio are likely to vary largely based upon personal preferences. For instance, I think sweet potato is a vile creation that doesn’t belong in french fries, let alone desserts. As such, I’m predisposed to a negative opinion of that dessert, even if fans of sweet potatoes love it. Others might like citrus tarts less than me. Same goes with chocolate-heavy desserts. All things considered, we’d hazard a guess that you’ll like 2 of the 3 desserts at this booth, putting it among the ‘good’ Food Studios at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts.

Check out our Food Guide to the Epcot International Festival of the Arts if you want to see and read more about every Food Studio this year, what to eat & avoid, and other tips for making the most of the culinary side of the event. As this event isn’t just about the cuisine, you’ll also want to read our full Epcot International Festival of the Arts Tips & Tricks post for info about the non-culinary side of the festivities. That covers the Disney on Broadway concert series, visual arts, performing arts, participatory arts, and much more!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think of the Decadent Delights Food Studio? Have you tried any of the food items at this booth? What did you think of them? Do you think sweet potatoes belong in desserts…or in the culinary trash heap? Questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!