5 culinary highlights from Omni PGA Frisco’s Savor Festival

As a writer who traverses the globe covering golf, travel and all things food and beverage — and who racked up 110,000 frequent-flyer miles in 2025 — GOLF contributor Shaun Tolson has visited some of the world’s most famous golf clubs, resorts and best-kept secrets. Below, in Clubhouse Eats, he shares some of his favorite bites and sips from his recent travels.

In less than two months, a marquee-worthy lineup of all-star Texas chefs and Food Network stars will take over Omni PGA Frisco for the resort’s second annual Savor event. Billed as a celebration of food, drink, golf, and music, Savor is authentically all of those things, which I learned firsthand last May when I attended the inaugural event.

Savor successfully melds together all of those aforementioned experiences in a way that distinguishes it from so many of the other food-and-wine festivals that occupy the calendar each year. The participating chefs noticed the distinction, too.

“There was an intimate feeling of community that doesn’t always happen at some of the other festivals,” last year’s headlining chef Antonia Lofaso told me afterward. “What did it for me was the live music. That was the through-line that made it feel very Texas.”

Even so, the fare remains Savor’s crown jewel; and I find myself still salivating when I think of several bites from last year’s event. Fortunately, four of the five chefs who created those dishes are returning to the event at the end of April, which means equally delectable (and memorable) bites are all but guaranteed this time around, too. Best of all, tickets are still available.

Antonia Lofaso’s Braised Short Rib Cavatelli

While awaiting Chef Lofaso’s entrée course during the opening Masters of Taste dinner, I formulated a few expectations. For starters, I was certain the meat would be succulent and tender. I also expected unctuous flavors. What I was served delivered on all of those things and so much more.

Yes, the meat practically melted in my mouth, but the cavatelli was light — not something I expected from the pasta — and that allowed the short rib to take center stage. The burrata and mushrooms that accompanied the dish, along with the subtle presence of horseradish, produced layers of nuanced flavor. My wife declared the dish “one of the best things I have ever eaten!” And we’ve collected our fair share of Michelin-starred dining experiences over the years, so that gives you an idea of just how amazing this dish was.

Kevin Lee’s Gochujang Glazed Sticky Ribs

There was no shortage of delicious bites and sips at Savor’s outdoor Fork & Fire grand tasting, which attracted about 600 guests, but Chef Kevin Lee made the boldest statement of the night with his gochujang-glazed sticky ribs. Yes, they were meaty and toothsome, but the ribs also boasted a rich and robust flavor. They had a kick, for sure — that’s to be expected with gochujang, a slightly sweet, fermented Korean chili paste — but it was a rounded spiciness. There were no sharp intrusions, which often mar foods that highlight the character of spicy chili peppers. Even if Fork & Fire was nothing more than a long communal table piled high with Chef Lee’s baby-back ribs, it would’ve been a raging success.

Kevin Sbraga’s Beef Tenderloin

The Best of Texas grand tasting on Savor’s third night last year could have been renamed An Ode to Beef. From brisket pastrami and pho beef carpaccio to smoked beef ribs and beef cheek tacos, the Best of Texas was a carnivore’s delight. As the event’s host, Chef Beau MacMillan, told me later, many of those dishes shined for their “sophistication in the simplicity.”

That said, Chef Kevin Sbraga, winner of the seventh season of Top Chef, served one of the evening’s best bites. His fire-roasted tenderloin with tomato agrodolce and giardiniera was a love letter to beef, one that allowed the meat’s delicate flavor and tenderness to sing. Texas may be best known for its barbecue, where meat often serves as a canvas to spice rubs and sauces, but Chef Sbraga reminded everyone that the state’s best cooks know how to celebrate a high-end cut of beef, too.

Beau MacMillan’s Seared Dayboat Scallops

Chef MacMillan finally got his chance to cook during Savor’s final event, an al fresco Margaritas & Mariachis brunch, and he unofficially won the morning, serving a seared dayboat scallop with banana, mango aguachile, toasted peanut salsa, and pearls made of matcha and passionfruit. The scallop was perfectly seared, which was no small accomplishment given the heat of the Texas sun, but the matcha and passionfruit pearls were the dish’s unheralded star. Visually, they mimicked roe, but from a flavor standpoint they provided a surprising pop of flavor that kept the dish light and refreshing. It was a dynamic bite with bright flavors that showcased the shellfish in an unusual but elegant way.

Everything by Chef Leen Nunn

It might sound like a cop out, but everything that Omni PGA Frisco’s resident pastry chef, Leen Nunn, created was stunning. Some dishes were whimsical, others were culinary works of art, but all were delicious and memorable. (This came as no surprise to me, only because I had previously tried, and subsequently wrote about, her Ranch House Cookies, which may be the perfect cookie — dark chocolate juxtaposed by coconut, soft baked oaks contrasted by chopped pecans, and a touch of finishing salt to temper the sweetness.)

Chef Nunn’s deconstructed strawberry rhubarb pie during the Masters of Taste dinner last year was spectacular. It was bright, sweet, balanced, and texturally varied. Her “Lonestar Ember & Frost” (created with Chef Ryan Stipp) was a masterclass in restraint, as grilled peaches and semolina pound cake were accented by subtly smoked vanilla bean ice cream. But her chocolate cake trifle, created with Chef Gelyn Widelski, captivated everyone. Served in a Dr. Pepper can (its top removed), the trifle was comprised of Dr. Pepper jelly, Bada Bing cherries, Cherry Cola Pop Rocks, and vanilla ice cream, all of which was topped with an edible bubble cloud. It was as delicious as it was eye-catching, and it had all the other chefs talking.

“There was this drama and theater to it,” Lofaso told me, “which I thought was really cool.”