America’s favorite gourmet gathering on the beach, the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One (SOBEWFF®) begins today, February 23-26 with its largest edition ever. The Festival will not only feature culinary greats such as Bobby Flay, Alex Guarnaschelli and Guy Fieri but will also see major star power with the likes of Pharrell, DJ Khaled, Rev Run, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, “Vanderpump Rules” stars Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz, Machete icon Danny Trejo and many others as they descend upon South Beach for the nation’s largest wine and food event.
With more than 110 events, the Festival will welcome over 60,000 food and drink aficionados to savor bites and sips from an incredible roster of renowned chefs, culinary and lifestyle personalities, winemakers, and spirits producers all weekend long. Attendees can expect to indulge in some of the world’s best food, wine, and spirits while enjoying the gorgeous Miami Beach weather and breathtaking views.
Emeril Lagasse will kick off the 16th annual Burger Bash presented by Schweid & Sons® tonight with a special performance by Grammy-nominated country music group, Midland. More than 30 of the country’s best burger joints will be vying for top honor and a panel of celebrity judges will be on-hand to decide who takes home the coveted trophy. Judges include:
- Phil Rosenthal, from Netflix’s most popular food and travel show “Somebody Feed Phil”
- Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports
- Nicole Gates, co-owner of Overtown’s iconic Lil’ Greenhouse Grill
- Ming Tsai, American restaurateur and television personality
- Robert Irvine, Food Network celebrity chef
- Jawan Strader, Emmy award-winning journalist and one of South Florida’s most recognizable news figures
FoodieCon® presented by Instagram, a first-of-its-kind gathering of the most influential digital content creators and the definitive insider’s mecca for food culture, content creation, and networking will take place on Saturday, February 25 at the Loews Miami Beach. The David Grutman Experience will once again return to the sands of Miami Beach on Sunday, February 26 with special performances by Grammy-award winner DJ Khaled and Cedric Gervais. Festival goers can also catch legendary Mowtowner Thelma Houston performing her chart-topping hits at the first-ever ABSOLUT® Vodka Tea Dance and Drag Show hosted by Kalen Allen and Mistress of Ceremonies Athena Dion. Closeout Sunday Funday with BACARDĺ Carnival hosted by Andrew Zimmern featuring expertly crafted cocktails from the Bacardi portfolio and craveable bites from more than 30 of South Florida’s best chefs.
Limited tickets for the 22nd annual Festival are available online at sobewff.org. Stay up to date all year long by following along with the #SOBEWFF hashtag on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
To date, the Festival has raised more than $34 million in support of its educational mission to cultivate future leaders of the hospitality industry at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University (FIU). Between SOBEWFF® and its sister NYCWFF, more than $48 million has been raised to benefit the respective charities of each Festival. Beyond the funds raised, both Festivals draw attention to the diverse dining cultures of their respective cities, provide economic stimulus in their communities, and serve as a platform to drive awareness and engagement for a wide array of philanthropic activities.
