Bustling with chefs and the delicious scent of various roasting meats, Franklin Barbecue hosted the first night of Hot Luck, a live food and music festival from Oct. 16-17 that highlighted chefs from Austin and around the country.
Franklin Barbecue owner Aaron Franklin created and hosted the first Hot Luck in 2017 and has cooked for the festival since.
“I wanted to make a festival that felt like Austin,” Franklin said. “I wanted people to be able to come hang out and feel like they were in their best friend’s backyard, and their best friend just happens to be the best chef in the world.”
For the past few years, Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit that provides financial and mental health aid to individuals in the food and service industry, has partnered with Hot Luck. Lindsey Brown, executive director of Southern Smoke Foundation and a UT alum, said the food and beverage community in Austin is tight-knit and important to support.
“We don’t want our favorite neighborhood restaurant to go away,” Brown said. “We want our favorite bartender to be there greeting us when we walk in the door … restaurants really do make up a community.”
Franklin said he personally selected each invited chef.
“I don’t invite people necessarily that are like ‘Oh, who’s the hot chef on TV,’ like I don’t care about that,” Franklin said. “I want people to come … make friends … I really just want them to cook like they’re cooking at home.”
Friday kicked off with 10 chefs serving dishes of their own creation while attendees enjoyed music and sampled each chef’s work. Highlights included Todd Duplechan’s spicy green chorizo and masa corn dog with yellow mole; Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel’s braised and fried short rib meatball with a zesty anchovy salsa verde; and Franklin’s smash burger with a burger patty stacked on a crisp chopped brisket patty, tangy dill relish, american cheese and espresso barbeque sauce.
At 9 p.m., chefs closed up and attendees made their way to Mohawk a few blocks down to watch Mon Rovîa, Afro-Appalachian singer-songwriter and headliner, perform.
Day two moved to Assembly Hall with 18 chefs. Standout dishes from Saturday included Fermín Núñez’s crunchy “Durito Preparado” with a smear of fish pâté, chive oil and fresh, raw bluefin tuna; Emil Oliva’s Ceviche a la Brasa featuring steamed sea bass, grilled shrimp, crispy grilled octopus, avocado and Andean corn; and Vinnie Cimino’s Midwest McRib with salty grilled pork, black garlic barbeque sauce, onion and sweet Kool-Aid pickle all on a stick.
UT alumnus Ken Lee, who returned to the event this weekend after first attending in 2023, said his favorite dish was Núñez’s “Durito Preparado.”
“You get a taste of a bunch of different restaurants, and it also gives an opportunity for the restaurants themselves to try out different dishes and different ideas,” Lee said. “You just run into random people who are also interested in the food scene, and then you can learn from them. So it’s a good way to diffuse ideas about the awesome restaurant industry.”
