Aperol Spritz was back with its orange-hued bar outfitted with spandex drapery, a lounge area and a branded cart overflowing with complementary florals.Photo: World Red Eye Productions, taken at Trade Day & Grand Tasting Tents at the 2022 Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One
MIAMI/SOUTH FLA.–A toast to the 21st annual Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) presented by Capital One was in full effect in South Florida from Feb. 24-27 this year. In fact, 50,000 attendees flocked to the sands of South Beach–and beyond–to raise funds for the FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.
As luck would have it, festival director Lee Schrager and his team built their signature tented venues–and ballroom blueprints, back this year after a 2021 hiatus–just as the COVID-19 Omicron surge was on its way out. (Numbers were down 90 percent the week of the festival.) “We kept hoping that time would be on our side,” said Schrager. “Comfort remained our top priority, and if we could not produce a festival in the way we felt most comfortable, we wouldn’t have done it.”
While the 2021 installment was delayed two months due to the pandemic and brought restrictions from attendance caps to outdoor-only protocols, 2022 went off without a hitch—reuniting chefs, celebrities and longtime attendees who missed out on the last round. (Of course, there were still plenty of hand-sanitizing stations, COVID-sniffing dogs and the mandatory SymCheck to enter all events.)
Booze Bashes on the Rise
In true 21st birthday fashion, the festival rolled out a slew of exciting cocktail-driven programming. On Thursday, Michael Symon was at the helm of the wildly popular, sold-out debut of Steak and Whiskey, part of the Miami Design District Event Series. And from the return of Friday night’s fan-favorite Art of Tiki Cocktail Showdown at Surfcomber Miami Beach to the premiere of Make It Miami: A 305-Inspired Tapas & Craft Cocktail Party, the potables were full-pour.
Additionally, several celebs BYO'd bottles to the party, including Eva Longoria Baston (Casa Del Sol Tequila's dinner), Adam Levine and wife Behati Prinsloo (Calirosa Tequila's dinner) and Kate Hudson (King St. Vodka at Peace Love Yoga). “It was definitely the year of the celebrity,” said Schrager. “We took advantage of that celebrity rise and flew with it!”
The Year of Guy
Without a doubt, Guy Fieri was a star at this year’s festival—and not just because he’s a famous Food Network personality. In fact, Fieri’s philanthropy was a strong complement to the festival’s fundraising efforts. “He talks the talk and walks the walk,” said Schrager, “from the millions he raised for the restaurant industry during the pandemic to feeding first responders in a 48-foot rescue trailer.”
Beginning Thursday night, Fieri brought the “triple D” action–Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives LIVE–to the North Tent where attendees noshed on featured favorites (IRL) from the popular Food Network show. And on Saturday night, Fieri was honored at the Tribute Dinner, which moved back indoors to its Americana Ballroom digs at Loews Miami Beach Hotel following a more intimate lawn setting in 2021. Following the seated soiree for 550, there was an epic after-hours event on the St. Mortiz Lawn at Guy Fieri’s Late-Night Goldbelly Party, alongside Joe Ariel and Rev Run.
A Warm Welcome Back
After limited programming in 2021, host hotel Loews Miami Beach was thrilled to welcome not only two of Fieri’s fiestas, but several other events back to its HQ. The new Asian Night Market (Thursday), along with two returning Sunday indulgences (Southern Kitchen Brunch hosted by Trisha Yearwood and the kid-friendly Family Ice Cream Social) brought a steady flow of visitors to the sold-out, 790-room luxury hotel all weekend.
“Our team was ecstatic,” said Mutluhan Kucuk, complex managing director of Loews Hotels & Co. “Going full throttle meant there was a sense of normalcy again. It meant our team members could go back to creating memorable events for our guests, which is what we love to do most of all.”
However, the hotel didn’t stop there. Each day, there were special activations to ensure the full foot traffic could enjoy a taste. Daily curated lobby amenities–like toasted sesame matcha madeleines, maple bacon macrons and brookie tarts–as well as on-site menu specials—extended the hotel’s partnerships and direct connectivity to the festival.
The sweetest of all? Weekend-long collaborative treats from Loews and Salt & Straw with a Sips & Scoops Cocktail Experience (Ice Cream Old Fashioned, anyone?) as well as morning Waffles & Scoops and Poolside Scoops served daily. “All of this was done to further enhance the guest experience over a one-of-a-kind weekend,” explained Kucuk. "With Salt & Straw, the partnership was ideal, since we are a family hotel–and who doesn’t love ice cream?”
New & Returning Wins
With more than 90 events on the 2022 roster, the festival still successfully brought old favorites and new rollouts together. The highly-anticipated Fontainebleau Miami Beach Presents Wine Spectator’s Best of the Best event drew the movers and shakers for high-end vino and progressive bites, while the famous Goya Foods’ Grand Tasting Tents welcomed hundreds to its sponsor-clad village (Go Puff had a claw machine with store credits up for grabs, while an FIU robot mixologist cranked out cocktails) as the sun-kissed food and beverage extravaganza unfolded.
Tacos & Tequila experienced a growth spurt and graduated from an intimate late-night setting into the North Tent Saturday night, and Andrew Zimmern’s Bacardi Carnival was back to showcase a robust portfolio of mixed drinks, eclectic eats and guest-friendly games and entertainment as the locals-driven grand finale.
So how does Schrager do it, year after year … after year? First, he looks. “We continue to look for the best talent and trends out there, for something new and fresh,” he said. “If you do the same thing year after year, you are not motivated and your team is not motivated. Then, he listens. “Every year, I walk around the festival asking for consumer feedback. I listen because that is the only way we really learn.”
Scroll down to see inside some of the festival's biggest events and brand activations—and some of its most drool-worthy dishes.
