Memorable moments from the 2017 South Beach Wine & Food Festival

Ask any resident of Miami. One of the tastiest advantages of living here is the gourmet fare.

Miami has truly become a city synonymous with the good life, and that includes good food and good drinks.

That reputation is reflected in the popularity of the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival, held annually in late February (read: great weather, almost guaranteed).

Over the past 16 years, the gastronomic gathering has grown to a five-day festival that attracts more than 65,000 epicureans to 90 events throughout South Florida.

Joining them are scores of hosts from the Food Network and Cooking Channel, mixologists and sommeliers, and cookbook authors and restaurateurs.

And, the festival isn’t just about eating well and snapping selfies with chefs. It’s about doing good.

All of the net proceeds from the festival benefit the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management’s Wine Spectator Restaurant Management Laboratory and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center at Florida International University.

So far, SOBEWFF – whose tagline is “Eat. Drink. Educate.” — has raised more than $24 million for the school.

Highlights of the 2017 festival included:

• Toast of the town: Anthony Bourdain and Gloria Estefan helmed a dinner that paid tribute to Chef Jose Andres (Bazaar and the Bazaar Mar) as well as Jean-Claude Rouzaud and Frederic Rouzaud, owners of the Louis Roederer group. The evening’s chefs included Emeril Lagasse and Andrew Zimmern.
• Poolside paella: Chef Andres cooked up an enormous pan of paella by the pool at SLS South Beach while 10 of South Florida’s finest chefs prepared tapas for festivalgoers to try.
• Beachside bites: Valerie Bertinelli and Alex Guarnaschelli played host at Barilla’s Italian Bites on the Beach at the Delano hotel. Guests enjoyed a live performance by the Little River Band while sampling antipasto-style pasta salad and perciatelli and chicken on the South Beach sand.
• Qs and eats: Monty’s South Beach was the setting of Food Fight, a late-night trivia showdown emceed by Guy Fieri and starring food-world celebs like Robert Irvine, Scott Conant and Marc Murphy, as well as Miami’s own kitchen stars.
• Country cooking: Grammy Award-winning artist and Food Network host Trisha Yearwood shared some of her favorite recipes at a Southern Kitchen Brunch. The buffet-style gathering included treats from Miami’s Honeybee Doughnuts.
• Tequila and tacos: Celebrity chef and TV personality Aaron Sanchez oversaw Tacos After Dark, a smorgasbord of taco varieties sponsored by the National Pork Board, presented by Tequila Cazadores and prepared by an all-star cast of shell chefs.

Hungry yet? Stay tuned for the 2018 festival. The schedule of each festival’s events is typically previewed the preceding fall so attendees can plan their eating itineraries well in advance.