South Beach Wine & Food Festival Draws Nearly 65K Fans
The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One took over the Magic City Feb. 23-26 with its largest edition, welcoming nearly 65,000 fans from across the country. The four-day festival featured more than 110 events spanning Miami-Dade and Broward counties and celebrated 22 years of FIU students helping to run the nationally recognized event.
The festival showcased culinary greats such as Bobby Flay, Alex Guarnaschelli and Guy Fieri and major star power with the likes of DJ Khaled, Rev Run, Jane Krakowski, Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka and many others who descended upon South Beach for the nation’s largest wine and food event. South Florida chefs, restaurants and bars also won big throughout the weekend.
Burger Bash was presented by Schweid & Sons and hosted by Emeril Lagasse with a special performance by Midland.
The Schweid & Sons Very Best Burger Award: BurgerFi
Dish: BBQ Rodeo Burger, All-Natural Angus Beef grilled with Charred Jalapeños and topped with Pepper Jack Cheese, homemade Crispy Haystack Onions, and tangy Memphis Sweet BBQ
Award: $2,500 check
The People’s Choice Award: Motek from Miami
Dish: Areyes Burger, Arayes Lebanese Burger made with Lamb and Beef, Tucked inside freshly baked pita, grilled and served with harissa aioli and tahini
Award: $5,000 check
Art of Tiki Cocktail Showdown was presented by Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum.
Art of Tiki Cocktail Judges Choice Award presented by Appleton Estate: Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel from Miami Beach
Cocktail: Angel Lupiac, Appleton Estate Signature Blend, Aperol®, Mango Purée, Tamarind Nectar, Chili Pepper, Lime, Sea Salt and Tamarind
Award: Bragging rights and bottle of Appleton Estate 21 Year gifted by Appleton Estate
Art of Tiki Cocktail People’s Choice Award presented by Appleton Estate: Better Days from Miami
Cocktail: Shotgun in the Jungle, Appleton Estate Signature Blend, Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum, Campari, Fresh Lime Juice, Guava Purée, Shishito Green Pepper Cordial, All Spice Dram, Roasted Shishito Pepper and Thai Basil
Award: Bragging rights and a bottle of Appleton Estate 21 Years
Coke Zero Sugar presented Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives LIVE hosted by Guy Fieri
Coke Zero Sugar’s People’s Choice Award at Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives LIVE hosted by Fieri: Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken from Memphis
Dish: Sweet Spicy Love Chicken Tenderloins, Chicken breast tenderloins brined in Uncle Lou’s corruption seasoning, fried to perfection and dipped in Uncle Lou’s sweet spicy love sauce
Award: $5,000 check
Hallandale Beach Food & Groove: A Wine, Food and Art Experience part of the Hallandale Beach Event Series
Best of Show Award: Chef Irie from Hallandale, Fla.
Dish: Jerk pulled pork with tamarind plantain sauce and sofrito slaw
Award: $1,000 check
Goya Foods’ Swine & Wine hosted by Enrique Santos and Fernando Desa
Goya Foods’ People’s Choice Award: Apocalypse BBQ from Miami
Dish: Cafecito Ribs, Slow-smoked spare ribs seasoned with a Cuban coffee-based rub and finished with Oro Negro, a colada-infused BBQ sauce
Award: Donation of 10,000 pounds of Goya products to the chef’s charity of choice
Goya Foods’ Grand Tasting Village featuring Publix Culinary Demonstrations sponsored by Sub-Zero Group Southeast
Yelp’s Best Bite on the Beach (Saturday Feb. 25): Ceviches by Divino from Miami
Yelp’s Best Bite on the Beach (Sunday Feb. 26): Café Bastille from Miami
The Festival also continued to honor its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion with three new sold-out events – Overtown EatUp! hosted by Marcus Samuelsson and Amaris Jones, which featured a special performance by Deep Fried Funk Band; The Cookout hosted by JJ Johnson and D-Nice; and Our Sunday Table: Jazz Brunch with The Grey and Friends hosted by Mashama Bailey. which featured a sultry performance by South Florida’s beloved LaVie.
On Feb. 25, the Americana Lawn at the Loews Miami Beach was transformed for the debut of FoodieCon presented by Instagram. The all-day outdoor experience rounded up 15 digital content creators and featured an array of sponsors, activations, cooking demos, and panels including special appearances by Fieri, Andrew Zimmern and hospitality impresario David Grutman.
The 22nd annual Tribute Dinner was a star-studded affair honoring the outstanding accomplishments of the culinary community’s award-winning chef, cookbook author, and television personality Guarnaschelli and chairman and chief executive officer of Pernod Ricard Global, Alexandre Ricard. Masters of Ceremonies Flay hosted the lavish affair, which took place at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel and even featured a flash mob including Jeff Mauro, Samuelsson, Jet Tila, Tiffany Faison, Marc Murphy, Antonia Lofaso and more!
An unparalleled roster of highly decorated chefs came together to curate a menu designed to celebrate these two esteemed personalities, including dishes by Fieri, Amanda Freitag, Eric Adjepong, Ayesha Nurdjaja and Geoffrey Zakarian. Among the evening’s highlights was The Muse Collection Live Auction, which raised over $250,000 and was led by celebrity auctioneer Jeff Mauro, and The Protravel International Silent Auction, which raised over $90,000.
The Goya Foods’ Grand Tasting Village took over a sprawling three city blocks on the sands of Miami Beach and featured activations by more than 80 brands including Stella Artois which debuted three new sauces curated by chef Roy Choi at their Frites Artois activation.
The David Grutman Experience saw a show-stopping set by iconic DJ Cedric Gervais and ended with a special performance by Grammy-winning artist DJ Khaled. Cocktails for this experience were curated by renowned brands such as Belvedere Vodka, Volcan Tequila, Hennessy, and Moët & Chandon champagne. Colombian singer Maluma was also on hand to meet and greet fans and serve up sips of his new brand cristalino mezcal, Contraluz.
This year, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival hired Clean Vibes, a company formed and dedicated to responsible on-site waste management, to implement a three-stream waste collection system to divert as much waste as possible from the landfill through recycling and composting. Between recycling, composting and the festival’s food rescue efforts lead by Dr. John Buschman, the festival’s Green Team diverted over 43 tons (86,127 lbs.) of waste from the Goya Foods’ Grand Tasting and North Venue events.
South Beach Wine & Food Festival will return for its 23rd edition on Feb. 22-25, 2024. Stay up to date all year long by following along with the #SOBEWFF hashtag on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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