Your
move,
Birmingham.
This is the city that invented white barbecue sauce, argues about hot dog joints across three generations, and grew up on a chip that was born here. Season One finds out what Birmingham actually loves: blind, one unmarked bite at a time.
- The wing station goes white sauce. Obviously.
- The chip flight includes the hometown bag. You'd riot otherwise.
- Sweet tea gets its own station, and yes, your family's brand can enter.
concept render: a rented hall, one of the venue types being scouted
Season One call sheet
Target Saturday, March 27, 2027. It locks the moment the venue does.
Venue TBD. Scouting warehouses, market halls, and breweries now.
Locked in
- The format: one night, a dozen blind stations, one reveal
- The deal: one ticket covers everything ($25 proposed)
- The season: early spring 2027
- The promise: local charities share the night
Still open
- openThe venue (scouting now)
- openThe maker lineup (invitations going out)
- openThe sponsors (cups and trophies need heroes)
- openThe charity lineup (talking to Birmingham's best)
Can you fill a slot? Raise your hand.
01 · The night · a working rundown
Tongue & Groove plays all night
6PM
Doors
Wristband on, scorecard link in your pocket. No app to download.
6:30
First cups
About a dozen stations, any order, till the last flight at 8:30.
9PM
The reveal
Every cup unmasked on the big screen. Champions crowned, upsets exposed.
10:30
Your Taste Report
Every star, crown and guess, matched to the makers, in your inbox before bed.
02 · The game · how a Birmingham station plays
Taste.
Guess.
Crown.
Every station is one food, served as a flight of unmarked cups: A, B, C. Your scorecard runs in your phone’s browser, and each station is an entry on it. Wings. Pizza. Sweet tea.
TasteFest · Season One
Your scorecard
4 of 12 crowned · 1 tasted · 7 to go
Golden Gut: 7 of 12 called · reveal at 9:00
Tap a station to open its flight.playing itself
Auto-plays as you scroll by. Tap it to take over.
This demo runs in your browser. On the night, so does the real one: no app to download.
demo brands only · nobody's enrolled (yet)
- 01
Rate every cup
One to five stars, plus a note. “Tastes like childhood” is a valid note.
- 02
Guess the maker
The station posts who's in the running, never which cup is which. Correct calls climb the Golden Gut board.
- 03
Crown one, then stay
The last hour is the reveal: every cup unmasked on the big screen, the whole room finding out together.
How a station works
Anatomy of a station.
Blind and safe at the same time: the allergen card at every station names what’s in every cup, never who made it.
- 1A volunteer steward, never the maker, portions everything backstage into identical cups.
- 2The card names who's in the running, never which cup is which. Anything recognizable gets chopped.
- 3Same cup, same portion, zero logos. Flights of three to five, labeled A to E.
- 4The allergen card lists every allergen in every cup, even while the makers stay secret.
- 5Water and plain crackers at every station. Drink flights: small pours, hard cap, 21+ wristband.
03 · The reveal · why you’ll never forget it
The reveal is the show.
Last hour, the screens light up and every cup gets unmasked, live, in front of everyone who just spent the evening being very confident out loud.
Five cups, unmasked: the gas station, your usual spot, the $12 bottle, the local smokehouse, your rival's brand.
- 01
People's Champ
One per station. The cup the city crowned with the most stars, revealed live.
- 02
The Upset
A hometown kitchen outscoring a household name, or the cheap bottle beating the top shelf.
- 03
The Golden Gut
Best guesser in the building. Call the most cups right and nobody questions your palate again.
Tongue & Groove, the house stage, plays you in: DJs and local players from the first cup to the last reveal, and a fanfare every time a champion is crowned.
Your Taste Report lands before bed: every star, every crown, every guess, matched to the makers. Your name never rides along with a rating, and your personal info is never sold.
05 · The cause · let’s eat to feed the hungry
A fundraiser dressed up as an argument.
Birmingham's charity lineup is being chosen right now. Four slots, all open.
Admit one
$25
proposed · everything included
- every food station
- every drink flight
- your scorecard
- the reveal show
21+ wristband unlocks the boozy flights · no per-bite charges
Where your $25 goes
- Runs the night60%· venue, cups, permits, staff, trophies
- Local charities25%· the fixed share, straight through
- Next season15%· so this happens again next year
200 tasters × $25 = $5,000, so $1,250 straight to the charities
a worked example, not a promise: the real split is published after the night
- untouched samples
- packed cold, that hour
- driven across town
- a shelter's kitchen, tonight
Every safe, untouched bite is packed cold and driven to a shelter kitchen while the reveal plays.
Reserved for
a Birmingham food pantry
slot open
Reserved for
a Birmingham community kitchen
slot open
Reserved for
a Birmingham homeless shelter
slot open
Reserved for
a Birmingham home for women and families
slot open
Run a hunger-relief charity, or love one that deserves a night like this? Nominate one you love →
06 · The list · follow your buds · rare emails · first dibs
Get on the Birmingham list.
Tickets aren't on sale yet. The list hears everything first: the venue, the date lock, the maker lineup and early-bird tickets for Birmingham, AL.
Birmingham needs four more ingredients
The venue
scouting now
Indoor or covered, room for a dozen stations, a stage for the reveal, and a big hungry crowd. Warehouses, breweries, market halls: we're listening.
The makers
inviting now
Restaurants, trucks, bakeries, breweries, and big brands with guts. Three to five makers per category. You get a room full of honest palates and the data to prove what they loved.
The sponsors
open
Somebody has to cover the cups, the permits, and the trophies. Sponsors get named at stations, on the big screen, and in every Taste Report that lands in every inbox.
The charities
slots open
Every TasteFest signs a lineup of local charities: food pantries, community kitchens, shelters, homes for women and families. They share a cut of every ticket, and every safe, untouched bite gets rescued and delivered the same night.
Fair questions · a working plan, not a promise
What would the proposed $25 cover?
The working plan: everything on the floor. Every food station, every drink flight, your scorecard, and the reveal show, with the 21+ wristband for the boozy flights included. The final price is TBD and could land a little under or over $25; the list hears the real number first. The promise that won't change: nobody nickels-and-dimes you per bite.
How blind is blind?
Fully. Volunteer stewards portion everything backstage into identical numbered cups, and anything recognizable by shape or branding gets chopped or re-plated. Stations post who's in the running, never which cup is which. The makers themselves don't work their own stations. Think you can recognize your favorite by taste alone? Then prove it: guessing is half the game, and the sharpest buds in the building take home the Golden Gut.
I have a food allergy. Can I play?
Every station posts an allergen card naming every allergen in every single cup, even though the makers stay secret, and stewards can tell you full ingredients on request. Fair warning: samples come from working restaurant kitchens, so nothing is certified allergen-free. If your allergy is severe, please read the cards and sit out any station that's not clearly safe for you.
Can I bring the kids?
Yes. It's a family-friendly night, kids 5 and under get in free, and there's plenty on the menu they'll happily judge. The drink flights are strictly 21+ with checked wristbands.
Do the restaurants know they're being judged?
They signed up for it. Every maker consents to the blind format, and in exchange they get something money can't usually buy: hundreds of honest, brand-blind ratings and notes. Everyone gets the data. Most of them trash talk each other about it all spring, and we encourage it.
Where does the money actually go?
Three places, in this order: the night itself (cups, permits, insurance, staff, trophies), a fixed share of every ticket to the city's charity lineup, and a small rainy-day fund so next season exists. Sponsors are how the charities' share grows. We publish the split after every event, and every safe, untouched sample gets rescued and delivered the same night.
What happens to my ratings?
Your personal Taste Report is yours alone. Beyond that, the full results go to the event planners first, and what happens next is deliberately TBD: maybe a public reveal of the city's highlights, maybe score reports for the makers, maybe something bigger down the road. Two things are already locked, though. Your name and contact info never get attached to any rating that leaves the building, and your personal information is never sold. Anything ever shared or licensed would be aggregate and anonymous by design.
When and where exactly is this?
Season One lands in Birmingham, Alabama, in early spring 2027. We're targeting Saturday, March 27, and the venue is being scouted right now. The list hears everything first, including early-bird tickets.