Miami Beach
#1 Food & Restaurant Industry Event
The massive festival—presented by Food Network and Cooking Channel—celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2016 by continuing to expand on recent upgrades, including adding more live music and DJs, offering free shuttle service to and from downtown Miami, and boosting amenities such as more seating and shaded areas. Attracting about 60,000 people a year, the five-day extravaganza offers wine-and-food tasting, culinary demonstrations, and celebrity meet-and-greets. Expanding its reach into Broward County, the event introduced the Taste Fort Lauderdale Series that included Seaside Eats, hosted by Robert Irvine at the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens; intimate dinner experiences at various Fort Lauderdale restaurants; and the Bloody Mary Brunch, hosted by the cast of Chopped at the Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale. New events in South Beach included a Grilled Cheese Happy Hour; Midnight Breakfast hosted by Chrissy Teigen and Fireman Derek; Croquetamania hosted by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; and a screening of the 1992 movie Like Water for Chocolate followed by a conversation with screenwriter Laura Esquivel. Next: February 22-26, 2017
Chicago
#2 Food & Restaurant Industry Event
Among the most coveted prizes in the U.S. culinary industry, the awards honor chefs, restaurateurs, winemakers, and restaurant architects and designers. The event’s 30th anniversary was hosted by chef and television personality Carla Hall at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and attended by about 3,560 guests. Honorees included the Chicago eatery Alinea (which received the award for Outstanding Restaurant), the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York (winner of the Design Icon award), New Orleans eatery Shaya (Best New Restaurant), and New York-based Ken Friedman—owner of the Spotted Pig, the Breslin, Tosca Cafe—who was named Outstanding Restaurateur. Next: May 1, 2017
New York
#3 Food & Restaurant Industry Event
The sister event to the older, more established South Beach Wine & Food Festival has firmly established its own unique identity since it launched in 2008. With its main hub at Pier 92 and Pier 94, the event attracts about 55,000 attendees a year, and is also a fund-raiser whose proceeds benefit No Kid Hungry and Food Bank for New York City. Coca-Cola has signed on as a presenting sponsor for the festival this year. Also new in 2016: Although most of the festival activities are restricted to people ages 21 and over, fans of all ages have the opportunity to access the Samsung Culinary Demonstrations at a 135,000-square-foot playground that will include Grand Tasting presented by ShopRite. Next: October 13-16, 2016
Las Vegas
#4 Food & Restaurant Industry Event
The four-day culinary and wine event held at multiple venues introduced new activities in 2016 to celebrate the festival’s 10th edition. Chase Sapphire Preferred is a presenting sponsor of the event, whose concept was developed by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and advertising agency R&R Partners, in partnership multiple resorts and Bon Appétit magazine. For the first time this year, the festival went to downtown Las Vegas with epicurean revelries, including a Steakhouse Redux at the Golden Steer featuring chef Michael Mina. Other new activities included After Hours Sake & Sushi: The Night Rolls on at Tao at the Venetian; brunch at Giada; sushi-making and sake-tasting with chef Nobu Matsuhisa at Caesars Palace’s Nobu Restaurant and Lounge; and an all-star chef dinner hosted by Emeril Lagasse and Daniel Boulud at Doge's Palace Piazza at the Venetian and the Palazzo. Next: April 2017
New Orleans
#5 Food & Restaurant Industry Event
Produced by the nonprofit New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society since 2002, the event is considered the most essential U.S. gathering for the international spirits industry. The six-day event, which culminates with the Spirited Awards, attracts about 10,000 people and 200 participating organizations yearly. Award winners this year included ABV San Francisco (Best Bar Team), Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon (American Bartender of the Year); and Connaught Bar at the Connaught in London (World’s Best Cocktail Bar). Next: July 18-23, 2017
Aspen, Colorado
#6 Food & Restaurant Industry Event
Presented by Food & Wine, the festival attracts a sold-out crowd of 5,000 people for cooking demonstrations, wine tasting and seminars, and educational sessions throughout the mountain resort town. It was the first year for presenters José Garces and Anne Burrell, as well as Food & Wine editor Nilou Motamed, who joined the title in March. Also new in 2016, Tennessee’s famed Blackberry Farm hosted a dinner honoring Southern classics at the top of Aspen Mountain. In addition, more than 300 wines and luxury lifestyle brands gathered in the Grand Tasting Pavilion, the epicenter of the event, to feature and sample their newest products. Simultaneously, American Express hosted its 27th annual Restaurant Trade Program, an educational and networking event for hospitality professionals. Next: June 16-18, 2017
New York
#7 Food & Restaurant Industry Event (new to the list)
While there is some debate over when the contest really began—some say it was 1916, while others cite 1972—the event has become more than a novelty, garnering worldwide attention for being a must-see spectacle for many food enthusiasts. In 2016, about 40,000 people gathered at Coney Island in Brooklyn to witness reigning champion Joey Chestnut consume 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes—setting a new record for the contest. In the women’s category, Miki Sudo defended her title by eating 38-and-a-half hot dogs in 10 minutes. The contest, televised on ESPN and ESPN2, was the networks’ most-watched show on July 4, with about 1 million U.S. viewers, an increase from about 900,000 in 2015. New this year, Cake Boss presented a specially made cake for the 100th anniversary of Nathan’s Famous. Next: July 4, 2017
