This Weekend's Can't Miss Food Events

laV gets into the holiday spirit, Supper Friends hosts a dynamic duo, and more local bites.

Live Oak Brewing Company owner Chip McElroy reports the company is completely moved into their new production facility across Hwy. 71 East from the airport. McElroy says he can already tell the new brewing equipment is improving the quality of their beers, and he's looking forward to adding canned beers to the product line soon. Look for the new Live Oak facility to open to the public with a taproom and live oak-shaded biergarten serviced by food trucks sometime after the first of the year.

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Austin's mom-owned baby food start up company, Pure Spoon, has announced they'll be hitting the shelves of three major national retailers within the next two months. Pure Spoon's 11 flavors of fruit and vegetable purees in single-serving 4.2 oz containers will be in Sprouts Farmers Markets in 10 states, and New York's Fairway Market after the first of 2016. The Austin company is also working with Target stores to create a new “Refrigerated Kids' Food” section in the baby aisle. “With our high-pressure pasteurization technique that maintains the integrity of the puree's flavor, vitamins, and nutrients, and our use of 100% fresh fruits and veggies, we're able to create purees with maximum flavor and nutrition," says company founder Alyson Eberle. "Pure Spoon provides a long over-due, new, healthy option in the ready-to-eat, fruit and vegetable category for kids – one that tastes delicious and is good for them.” Pure Spoon purees are already on the shelves at Whole Foods Markets around Austin.

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Kudos to Balcones Distilling of Waco for being named Texas Distillery of the Year at the 2015 New York International Spirits competition, where they've been the reigning champion since 2013. This year, Balcones was awarded a double gold medal for their Texas Blue corn Bourbon, a gold medal for their Texas rum, and a bronze medal for the “1” Texas single malt. According to their press release, the bourbon is made from the same blue corn mash as their other celebrated whiskies, Baby Blue, True Blue, and Brimstone, but aged in new charred oak American barrels at a cask strength of 64.5%. The award-winning bourbon is currently sold out, with a new batch expected in 2016. The distillery will soon be moving into a larger production facility where new copper pot stills imported from Scotland will be put to good use. The highly-anticipated move will provide Balcones the capacity to meet the demand for their popular product line as well as the flexibility to create new whiskies and spirits.

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Here are some events coming up you won't want to miss:

Chef couple Janina and Sean O'Leary will present two Supper Friends dinners at the Swoop House this month. There are still a few $55 tickets available for dinners on Wednesday, Dec. 9 and Saturday, Dec. 12.

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Both of the PDQ restaurants in Cedar Park are holding toy drives to benefit the Dell Children's Hospital. Guests who donate a new, unwrapped toy from now until Friday, Dec. 18 will receive a three-piece tender meal, a sandwich, or a salad in return for their donation. PDQ employees will distribute the toys at the hospital before Christmas.

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The Austin Food & Wine Alliance will hand out $40,000 in culinary innovation grants to this year's lucky recipients in the Tejas room at the UT AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center. There will be appetizers and wine to celebrate the occasion, and last year's grant recipients will be on hand to discuss the progress of their projects and congratulate the new crop of winners. Tuesday, Dec. 8, 6-8pm.

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Coco Paloma Desserts and Serena Lissy Chocolates are hosting a sale of Chanukah cupcakes and chocolates at the Coco Paloma kitchen. Chanukah-themed treats are not always easy to find, so it would be a good idea to order in advance. For cupcakes: [email protected] and for chocolates: [email protected]. The sale is Saturday, Dec. 5, 11am-3pm.

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laV will host their first ever Christmas-tree lighting ceremony in Jardins de laV, their outdoor event space. Snacks, hot chocolate, and cider will be for sale for the kids from the Say laV food trailer, while hot toddies, mulled wine, and spiked cider will be available for the adults. There will be an ornament decorating station and the opportunity to visit with Pere de Noel, also known as Santa Claus. Saturday, Dec. 5, 4-7pm.

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The ultra-rich poutine burger from Austin's own Hopdoddy Burger Bar will be featured in a mouth-watering episode of FYI Network's Food Porn on Thursday, Dec., 10 at 9pm.

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If the gingerbread house decorator in you just needs some encouragement and camaraderie in order to fully realize your potential, the Capital Confectioners cake club has the right workshop for you. These workshops were so popular last year they sold out almost immediately, so they've added two more days to the schedule, but do sign up quickly. The gingerbread houses are already assembled, and the class provides a huge candy buffet of items to use for decorations. The cost is $30 per house and groups of up to four people can work on each house, so be sure to let them know how many people will be in your group when you register.