110 // EPICURE-ALL
Calling all gourmands! The South Beach Wine & Food Festival is back for its 16th year—with a spread like never before.
CALLING ALL GOURMANDS!
THE SOUTH BEACH WINE &
FOOD FEST IS BACK FOR ITS
16TH YEAR—WITH A SPREAD
LIKE NEVER BEFORE.
The Magic City’s fine dining scene is second to none, but once a year a who’s who of the culinary world jets to Miami to cook up something really special. “It’s everything we have hoped to grow into,” says Lee Brian Schrager, founder of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, a nonstop, four-day, cheflebrityfilled extravaganza. Hosted by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and Florida International University and benefiting FIU’S Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, the festival has not only raised more than $24 million to date; it has also set a new gastronomic standard for Miami. Here, Schrager offers us a slice of the culinary action.
How are you celebrating the festival’s 16th anniversary? This year our focus was on securing the greatest lineup of chefs we’ve ever had [and] honoring José Andrés, with Anthony Bourdain as emcee and the extraordinary wine family from Maisons Marques & Domaines, at the tribute dinner. Massimo Bottura—the numberone-rated chef in the world—is doing a dinner at the Faena. Jean-georges [Vongerichten] and Nobu are hosting brunches. Martha [Stewart] is doing a truffle dinner. Michael Solomonov is [finally] getting his own event. Oh, and there’s a kosher barbecue with Alon Shaya. We’re really covering it all.