What’s New At The 2023 South Beach Wine And Food Festival

This year’s Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine and Food Festival (SOBEWFF) is taking place from February 23 to 26 at various locations in Miami-Dade and Broward. Signature events like Best of the Best at Fontainebleau (my personal favorite), Burger Bash, Tacos and Tequila, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dive, Grand Tasting Village, Bacardi Carnival and the annual Tribute Dinner (this year’s honorees are chef, cookbook author, and television personality Guarnaschelli and Alexandre Ricard, chief executive officer of Pernod Ricard) will be taking place on Miami Beach.

This year will see exciting new events. Intimate dinners in partnership with the Michelin Guide will see collaborations between chefs from Miami-based Michelin-starred restaurants: Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer of Boia De with Sebastian Vargas of Los Felix; and Juan-Manuel Barrientos of El Cielo Miami with Ryan Ratino of Bresca in Washington DC. Two-time James Beard Award winner Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah will be hosting “Our Sunday Table: Jazz Brunch with The Grey and Friends” with a lineup that includes Miami-based James Beard-nominated chefs Valerie Chang of Itamae and Akino West of Rosie’s, Karla Hoyos of Tacotomia, Kyle Jacovino of Vittoria Pizzeria Napoletana in Savannah, vegan Filipino-American chef Josie Smith-Malave of Bubbles & Pearls in Wilton Manor, James Beard-nominated Paola Velez, founder of Bakers Against Racism, in Washington DC.

FoodieCon is a new content creator event of cooking demos, interactive panels and immersive activations and book signings with Instagram and Tiktok personalities. Tieghan Gerard (Half Baked Harvest), Lynn Yamada Davis (Cooking with Lynja), Alexis Nikole (Black Forager), Owen Han, Andrew Rea (Binging with Babish) and Jessica Woo (Bento Box Queen) are some of the Instagram and Tiktok personalities who will be in attendance.

Other new events include Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives After Dark, hosted by Guy Fieri’s son, Hunter; Craft-y Happy Hour and Bites at Bayshore Club, hosted by Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz; The Cookout hosted by JJ Johnson and D-Nice; Overtown Eat Up! hosted by Marcus Samuelsson and Amaris Jones; Farmer’s Market Brunch hosted by Michael Schwartz; Smorgasburg After Dark hosted by Rev Run; and Tea Dance and Drag Show hosted by Kalen Allen featuring Athena Dion and Thelma Houston.

For tickets and more information, visit the SOBEWFF website.