An intense food experience

The 80-event “SuperBowl for foodies” will kick off on Fort Lauderdale beach with some new tastes and new twists — including a big, white tent.

The South Beach Wine and Food Festival has unveiled its 2018 lineup, and for a third straight year, the five-day event known as “winter break for chefs” and “the Super Bowl for foodies,” will kick off in Fort Lauderdale.

The 80-event festival, which runs Feb. 21-25, will feature a new venue for the Wednesday-night opener: a giant white tent on the sands of Fort Lauderdale beach across from the Conrad Hotel. It will be the first time the Fort Lauderdale kickoff boasts a beachside tent.

The $200-a-head barbecue dinner on Feb. 21 will be hosted by World Barbecue Champion Chris Lilly and Conrad Hotel chef Jorge Ramos.

“We really wanted a presence on Fort Lauderdale beach all along and the Conrad was eager to work with us to get it done,” Lee Brian Schrager, the festival’s executive director, says.

Broward County will stage a record nine events as part of the expanded and rebranded Crave Greater Fort Lauderdale Series. Featured hosts at Broward events include celebrity chefs/TV stars Emeril Lagasse, Aaron Sanchez and Andrew Zimmern.

“We’ve got some big names, we’re introducing new venues and events, and we’re trying to introduce the festival to new people,” Schrager says about the expanded Broward footprint.

There are other new wrinkles for Broward. Lagasse and Ramos will co-host a $200-a-head clambake at the beach tent on Feb. 22. Zimmern, host of Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods,” will bring his popular Asian-themed Lucky Chopsticks event ($125) to the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 23. Sanchez will co-host the Sunday Bloody Mary Brunch ($150) on Feb. 25 with chef and Food Network star Geoffrey Zakarian at Zakarian’s Point Royal restaurant at the Diplomat Hilton Resort in Hollywood.

Gone from the Fort Lauderdale lineup is a late-night cocktail event in Fat Village, which did not sell well for its 2017 debut. It has been replaced by a Rooftop Rose Happy Hour ($75) with Kristin Cavallari, cookbook author and lifestyle guru, at the W Hotel at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 24.

Perhaps the most intriguing Broward event: a Women of Syria dinner on Feb. 23 ($200) at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The dinner, co-hosted by New Orleans chef Alon Shaya and television personality Ingrid Hoffmann, will feature food and stories from Syrian refugees. Two organizations dedicated to supporting Syrians fleeing war, the Denver-based Comal Heritage Food Incubator and Miami-based Zaytouna and Syrian Supper Club, are taking part in the event.

The revamped Diplomat Hilton Resort in Hollywood will be a featured Broward venue with two events. Besides the Bloody Mary Brunch, a $250-a-head dinner will take place Feb. 22 at Michael Schulson’s Monkitail restaurant, cohosted by Schulson and San Francisco-based chef Chris Cosentino. Paula Da SilvaÁ, the newly installed chef de cuisine at Burlock Coast at the Fort Lauderdale RitzCarlton, will host a dinner ($175) on Feb. 24 with other Ritz-Carlton chefs from around the state.

Change is also coming to Miami Beach events, where the annual Burger Bash (Feb. 23, $250) will feature a new host, Food Network’s Guy Fieri. He replaces Rachael Ray after an 11-year run. The annual tribute dinner on Feb. 24 ($550) at the Loews Miami Beach will salute chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay, and will feature a new walk-around format with food from a dozen chefs including Miami’s Michelle Bernstein. The dinner will be emceed by radio personality Elvis Duran. A new family-friendly event has been added, a Sunday afternoon ice cream social hosted by Duff Goldman at the Loews Miami Beach hotel (Feb. 25, $75 adults, $25 children).

Tickets go on sale Oct. 23, with a Oct. 9-22 presale for MasterCard holders. Go to SoBeWFF.org for details.