When the subsequent South Seaside Wine and Meals Competition rolls into Miami in spring 2025, a couple of issues are assured: Epic ranges of visitors, Meals Community expertise hanging out all over the place, tv and film stars hawking their spirits and canned cocktails and movie star cooks teasing their new eating places.
Whereas the primary objective of the gathering is to profit the Chaplin Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism Administration at Florida Worldwide College (elevating greater than $37 million) — via brunches, lunches, dinners, chef gatherings, cookouts, grasp courses, pink carpets and tributes — partying, gossiping, hamming and the possibility to hang around with the popular culture characters of the cooking world within the wild is what insiders and the general public present up for yr after yr.
With the meals competition world raging in reputation, February’s SOBEWFF was the shotgun begin to a full culinary calendar that features occasions up and down the West Coast all summer season. And after a five-year hiatus, Pebble Seaside Wine & Meals returned to the Monterey Peninsula with a compendium of chef and vintner collaborations and greater than 7,000 attendees. The toast of California’s central coast since 2008, Pebble hosted two daytime grand tasting occasions, 150 wine and spirits producers and 100 cooks from across the nation.
Whereas foodies have to attend till subsequent yr to take part within the subsequent SOBEWFF or PBFW, meals festivals will pack the social calendar over the subsequent few months. Beneath, discover a few of the greatest West Coast culinary occasions to style this yr, adopted by a recap of this yr’s South Seaside and Pebble Seaside meals festivities.
The landmark West Coast music competition options 65 eating places and bars in addition to meals and artist collaborations. Throughout the 12 Peaks VIP space, have fun the launch of Grimes’ new music with DJ Anyma “Taratata” with a slice of “The Final Pizza,” a collaboration with Prince Avenue Pizza, a Spicy Spring drizzled with sizzling honey. Additionally discover a collection of caffeinated drinks created by Blue Bottle Espresso and Abel Tesfaye (aka the Weeknd) from their collaborative espresso line, Samra Origins.
Aperol returns to Coachella with the brand new Aperol Terrazza additionally positioned throughout the 12 Peaks VIP space and the Aperol Aperitivo Italiano, a golden hour expertise, in collaboration with Chef Samuele Silvestri, government chef of Terrazza Aperol in Venice. Postmates returns to Coachella with the first-ver Sauce Bar, the place VIP ticketholders can seize some fries or tots from Irv’s Burgers and cargo them up with sauces from numerous L.A. eating places like Bludso’s BBQ, Irv’s Burgers, Monty’s Good Burger and Prime Pizza (plus a limited-edition vegan ghost chile Sriracha Secret Sauce by Postmates x Benny Blanco). There are even signature “saucetails.” After offering the competition’s first absolutely non-alcoholic bar, Coachella welcomes again The New Bar, a booze-free bottle store primarily based in Los Angeles. The New Bar will convey a standard full bar arrange, stocked with alcohol-free spirits, wine, beer and RTDs, in addition to NA cocktails.
BottleRock, introduced by JaM Cellars, presents the proper mix of summertime music competition and meals competition with eating places, wineries, and craft breweries and distilleries. Pearl Jam, Ed Sheeran, Stevie Nicks and Maná headline whereas attendees style greater than 100 vintages and varietals from labels resembling Caymus, Duckhorn, Cardinale, Schramsberg, Blackbird Vineyards and Silverado, amongst others. Meals distributors are simply as stellar with valley favorites resembling Mustards Grill, Slanted Door, La Toque, PRESS Restaurant, Oenotri, La Calenda, Morimoto Napa, Moro, Compline Restaurant, Oakville Grocery and Kitchen Door.
Las Vegas has been and not using a main meals occasion since Bon Appetit’s Uncork’d departed in 2019. In early June, The World’s 50 Greatest Eating places will host its awards in North America for the second time ever with every week’s price of occasions (thought-leadership discussion board #50BestTalks; the 50 Greatest Signature Classes sequence of collaborative eating occasions open to the general public; a Cooks’ Feast showcasing Las Vegas high-quality eating, all culminating within the awards ceremony) in Las Vegas at The Venetian, Resorts World and Wynn Las Vegas.
Main as much as The World’s 50 Greatest Eating places ceremony, Janaína Torres of A Casa do Porco in São Paulo has been named The World’s Greatest Feminine Chef 2024. Different particular awards can be introduced upfront of the ceremony. An activist, sommelier and chef, Torres was named Latin America’s Greatest Feminine Chef as a part of Latin America’s 50 Greatest Eating places 2023 and is now acknowledged for her contribution on a world scale, together with working with São Paulo’s authorities to coach faculty cooks to assist enhance the vitamin of 1.8 million youngsters in 4 years. Through the pandemic, she mobilized 1000’s of Brazilian cooks and hospitality employees to stress the federal government for important monetary help for the business.
Whereas particulars for The World’s 50 Greatest’s awards, dinners and seminars received’t be introduced till April 16, Wynn Las Vegas has revealed that it’s going to do its debut meals competition, Revelry, in early June. Cooks, vintners, mixologists and leisure converge night time after night time throughout one-time-only collaborations. For lovers of high-quality Cantonese delicacies, the East Meets Greatest Dinner on Wednesday, June 5 pairs the chef from Wynn Las Vegas’ Wing Lei and the resort’s government pastry chef with three of the highest culinary skills from Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace.
For many who depend their stars, The 50 Greatest Signature Session Icons Dinner Thursday, June 6, options an epic lineup with Eleven Madison Park’s Daniel Humm; Atomix’s Junghyun Park; Thomas Keller; Single Thread’s Chef Kyle Connaughton; and Dominique Crenn, amongst others. All of it ends in The Feast on June 8, a grand tasting that traverses from the Center East to Japan and from Tulum to the American West. Strive prime cuts from Taylor Sheridan’s 4 Sixes Ranch and meet L.A. culinary expertise resembling Moo’s Craft Barbecue’s Andrew and Michelle Muñoz, Flouring Cake Store Pastry Chef Heather Wong, Dunsmoor Pastry Chef Erika Chan, YouTube sensation Yakitoriguy; and imported from New Orleans, Chef Alon Shaya, who simply debuted a culinary residency at Wynn together with his pop-up Safta 1964.
Meals discovery platform The Infatuation‘s Eeeeatscon introduced by Chase Sapphire returns to Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar on June 8 and 9. Headliners embody Chrissy Teigen; Sofia Vergara along with her son, restaurateur and tv host Manolo Gonzalez Vergara; meals critic and philanthropist Keith Lee; chef David Chang; and comic and actress Nicole Byer.
Eeeeatscon is constructed within the spirit of a music competition with 25-plus native and nationwide eating places that carry buzz, together with Lucali (New York Metropolis), KG BBQ (Austin), Neighborhood Items, Two Hommés, Za Za Zà x Loreto (festival-exclusive collab!), Bar Chelou, Tacos Los Cholos, Le Nice Outside, Amiga Amore, Kuya Lord and extra. The Infatuation continues to develop its movie star partnerships, with expertise like Selena Gomez via editorial and social collaboration as effectively. Eeeeatscon now operates in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York Metropolis.
Seen, Heard and Tasted at SOBEWFF
Massimo Bottura is honored at SOBEWFF’s annual Tribute Dinner.
Courtesy of South Seaside Wine and Meals Competition
SOBEWFF’s wizard is Lee Brian Schrager, a Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits government and the competition’s founder and government director, who has been making this occasion magic for 23 years. He additionally wears the identical title for NYCWFF (in October) and curates expertise for the Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Meals Competition, which featured Martha Stewart, Andrew Zimmern, José Andrés, Robert Irvine and Nobu Matsuhisa throughout its second effort in March. In Miami, Schrager admittedly solely will get to about 20 of the 120 occasions over 4 nights and to perform that strategically stacks his schedule, all the time making it a degree to hit occasions that embody a number of boldface names and the non-public chef events, the place lots of the greatest moments unfold.
The Oscars second at SOBEWFF is the annual Tribute Dinner, sponsored by Hexclad cookware, this yr honoring Massimo Bottura (three-Michelin-star Osteria Francescana, Gucci Osteria and Miami’s soon-to-open Torno Subito) and Campari Group chairman Luca Garavoglia. A pantheon of Spanish and French grasp cooks Mauro Colagreco, Albert Adria, Jordi Roca and Alain Ducasse all cooked of their honor. The town is awaiting the debut of Bottura’s restaurant which has been teased for greater than a yr. “A kind of cooks would have been good. 5 of them had been wonderful,” Schrager says, noting that 2025’s honoree can be Dominique Crenn.
A Weird New Present
Andrew Zimmern at South Seaside Meals Wine & Meals Competition.
Courtey of South Seaside Meals Wine & Meals Competition
At an invite-only chef’s occasion at W South Seaside, Andrew Zimmern revealed particulars to pals about his new undertaking — an AI courting present the place the contestants should select whether or not they need to fall in love with a human or have a situationship with a bot.
Miami’s Mom Wolf Is Coming Quickly
Returning for the primary time since 2018, L.A.’s Evan Funke (Funke, Felix, Mom Wolf) participated in SOBEWFF with a dinner and a grasp class. He opened Mom Wolf in Las Vegas in December and Tre Dita in Chicago in March He’ll debut a 3rd Mom Wolf in Miami’s Design District this yr.
“Miami is quickly changing into a magnet for critical eating places and cooks, lots like Vegas it has turn out to be a bastion of hospitality,” Funke tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Even with virtually six eating places, Funke says there isn’t any scarcity of inspiration. “The tradition of Italy is so deep and so numerous, that I may open a restaurant each single yr and nonetheless not run out of tales to inform. Italy is my fountain, it’s a relentless supply of inspiration, it’s a relentless supply of affection. It’s my North Star.”
Earlier this yr Giada De Laurentiis — who signed a deal to develop an unscripted sequence for Amazon Studios when she departed the Meals Community after 21 years — revealed that certainly one of her new tasks will contain Funke. Whereas particulars are largely nonetheless underneath wraps, he shares that the present they’re growing “goes to be restaurant associated and it’s going to be intense as a result of the restaurant business is intense. What we do within the restaurant business each day is manufacturing, it simply so occurs my medium is meals. I need this present to be an expertise for individuals. I need them to really feel one thing.”
Jon and Vinny Go to Riyadh
L.A.’s Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo (Son of a Gun, Jon & Vinny’s, Helen’s and Cookbook) teamed up with their pals Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer (Miami’s Michelin-lauded Boia de and Walrus Rodeo) for his or her return to SOBEWFF.
“Jon and I are each from Florida,” Dotolo says. “South Seaside has a particular place in our hearts. It’s the place we began working for Michelle Bernstein in 1999, who’s certainly one of our greatest mentors.” Satirically that was six years earlier than Jon and Vinny starred within the short-lived 2007 Meals Community present 2 Dudes Catering. Dotolo says they don’t have any plans to return to tv after that cringe-y flip.
“It was in all probability one of the difficult experiences of my profession. We discovered shortly that it wasn’t our calling. Nevertheless, what got here out of it was Animal and that was the success that broke us into the scene,” Dotolo says of their seminal restaurant, which closed in 2023. “Meyer labored within the Animal kitchen and even dabbled at Son of a Gun. Then, he went to work at Eleven Madison Park. Some of the fulfilling issues for Jon and I is to have individuals on the market who’re a part of our lineage and historical past. I couldn’t be prouder of them. Boia is such a tremendous restaurant.”
Shook and Dotolo at the moment are opening a fifth Jon and Vinny’s within the Valley; specializing in their Baked by Jon & Vinny’s frozen pizza line in partnership with Dwell Nation, out there at choose venues; in addition to increasing to Jon & Vinny’s to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this month after a profitable pop-up in 2022.
Miami growth continues to be within the playing cards. “We had introduced we had been coming and secured a property, after which it fizzled out on us. We’re trying,” he says.
Using Miami’s Michelin Wave
Giangrandi and Meyer, two break stars of Miami’s Michelin wave, don’t have any plans to develop outdoors the Bravo Grocery store Plaza in Little Haiti the place each Boia de and Walrus Rodeo are positioned.
“After we got here to Miami, we needed to assist take part in rising the meals scene. We’re invested in persevering with that trajectory,” Giangrandi says.
“We solely mentioned sure to [a second location], as a result of it was a possibility inside our strip mall car parking zone. We walked backwards and forwards between the 2 eating places. One other market shouldn’t be within the playing cards now,” Meyer says.
The duo, who’re additionally married in addition to enterprise companions, welcome the inflow of big-name movie star cooks like Bottura and Gordon Ramsay to the town. “If no person got here to Miami and no person left Miami, Miami would nonetheless be the place it was eight years in the past. Now there are these two extremes of small owner-operated locations and massive out-of-town operators. Some individuals like each and go to each,” Meyere says.
Jeremy Ford Heads Out West
Breaking the West Coast to East Coast migration sample that Funke, Shook and Dotolo are all a part of, High Chef season 13 winner and Miami Michelin-star Jeremy Ford of Cussed Seed will quickly elevate his flag at Resorts World in Las Vegas this yr.
“There are 1,000,000 locations we may land, however I don’t suppose anyplace else in addition to Resorts World would have been the proper spot,” he says, noting that his focus proper now’s constructing a crew that conveys ardour and carries the “Cussed bug.”
One other factor Ford is determining is learn how to incorporate produce from his newly acquired farm into all the pieces he does.
“Again in July, I put my life financial savings into the concept. I simply purchased a $40,000 tractor. It has been probably the most rewarding expertise of my complete life,” he says. “I pulled dragon tongue beans off the vine the opposite day that my daughter and I planted. Not solely had been they the best-tasting bean I’ve ever had, however it was cool that my daughter was a part of that course of,” he says.
Ford quickly hopes to be internet hosting occasions, farm-to-table dinners and cooking courses. “It’s going to be a particular place of studying, creating,” he says. “I’m bringing deliveries three or 4 days per week to Cussed—Japanese child turnips, radishes, carrots, lovely arugula, and flowers for plating, Sungold tomatoes. We’re producing sufficient proper now to maintain one restaurant fully and possibly just a little further. However as soon as we begin stepping into the bottom out right here, I’ll begin promoting produce to pals across the metropolis.”
Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon’s Subsequent Huge Tasks
Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon of Philadelphia’s Kalaya made her debut at SOBEWFF after being named the 2023 mid-Atlantic Greatest Chef by the James Beard Basis. After retiring from an extended profession as a flight attendant (she beforehand had an Italian restaurant in Bangkok), Suntaranon created Kalaya in 2019 as a passion.
The Fishtown-neighborhood restaurant options two sorts of intricate dumplings which have fully enraptured guests: kanom jeeb nok, crammed with cod and radish and formed like birds; and shaw muang, made from floor rooster and Thai chili, wrapped in a flower. She says the kitchen seems 700 items. “In Thailand, you can’t discover any of those dumplings within the restaurant, as a result of it’s time-consuming and labor-intensive. I’m very pleased with the craftsmanship and the time that we put towards our meals.” Kalaya makes use of French cooking methods to execute the complexity of southern Thai delicacies. Suntaranon likes her curries to be colourful like her wardrobe of Issey Miyake and Yayoi Kusama.
The key to her success: “My husband supported my dream and I did all the pieces with none expectation however I put greater than 100% of my coronary heart into it. I don’t have to fret about whether or not I’m going to make it or am I not going to make it. I took an enormous danger with out pondering it was a danger and I’ve the liberty of being artistic. It’s totally different from the opposite younger those who get into this enterprise as a result of they should make a dwelling or they should have a job.”
Later this yr she is going to launch a cookbook written and edited by Francis Lam, host of The Splendid Desk podcast and editor-in-chief at Clarkson Potter, the cookbook division inside Penguin Random Home and she or he additionally had an unnamed Netflix documentary within the works.
Delilah Docks in Brickell
H.wooden Group’s Delilah hosts jazz night time on Wednesdays.
Courtesy of H.wooden Group
One other L.A. import who simply took up residence in Miami’s Brickell Key, Delilah from h.wooden Group participated for the primary time in SOBEWFF. The East Coast model of the West Hollywood restaurant opened throughout Artwork Basel Miami Seaside with chef Daniel Roy on the helm. Along with being the guardian of Delilah staples just like the rooster tenders, Roy, who has lived in South Florida for 15 years, “leans into Miami flavors.”
“Within the early levels of discussing the menu, one of many cooks talked about making a Cuban sandwich … in flip, we did my interpretation of Cuban in a chew, the Cubano Fritters,” Roy says. Different only-in-Miami highlights are the stone crab salad, crispy confit and suckling pig.
In that vein, Delilah Miami lately unveiled Coco Loco, Latin jazz music each Wednesday with sequin-clad dancers and the Coco Loco Latin Band with drums, bass, cello and brass devices, On the plate and within the glass, Hiramasa Ceviche and the Cafecito Martini — a Latin spin on the espresso martini — flip up the expertise. Distinctive to this Delilah, there may be an out of doors terrace and that is the one Brickell restaurant with boat slips — Miami diners like to moor on web site.
Cooks with Paddles
Man and Hunter Fieri on the Movie star Chef Pickleball Event at Miami Seaside Golf Membership on Feb. 24, 2024.
Courtesy of South Seaside Meals Wine & Meals Competition
Two annual occasions as soon as once more known as the culinary elite into pleasant competitions that don’t have anything to do with cooking. By day, Whispering Angel teamed up with Tara Bernstein and Hunter Fieri for the second annual Movie star Chef Pickleball Event at Miami Seaside Golf Membership on Feb. 24. Adrianne Calvo, Marcus Samuelsson, Jet Tila, and Molly Yeh had been among the many gamers. By night time at Miami Seaside Version, Jean-Georges Vongerichten hosted the seventh annual Ping Pong & Pizzas. Man Fieri, Amanda Freitag, Robert Irvine, Marc Murphy, Michelle Bernstein, Todd English, Michael Schwartz and extra challenged one another to fierce matches of ping pong. Man Fieri made it rain on occasion workers by tipping with $100 payments.
FoodieCon Creates Clicks
Integrating the pressure of social media meals content material creators into the food-festival universe, FoodieCon returned to SOBEWFF for its second yr with a cheerful hour hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, adopted by a dinner with Robert Irvine, Jake Cohen and Olivia Tiedemann. That programming preceded an all-day fundamental occasion with panels, model activations, meet-and-greets, e-book signings, tastings, and extra starring personalities such because the King of Sandwiches” Owen Han, The Pasta Queen Nadia Caterina Munno,{hardware} engineer-turned-culinary-creator Albert Niahvinski and New York Metropolis Fireplace Escape meals content material creator Joe Vadakkedam.
FoodieCon expanded this previous fall to the New York Metropolis Wine & Meals Competition, the place it was sponsored by Instagram.
Celebs Hawk Their Booze
On the celeb-endorsed liquor scene, The Rolling Stones’ new Crossfire Hurricane Rum, in partnership with Common Music Group and Socio Ventures, made its first Florida occasion look. It’s All the time Sunny in Philadelphia’s Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day represented their 4 Partitions new Irish American Whiskey and Kate Upton made the rounds with Vosa Spirits canned cocktails. Elizabeth Banks supported her Archer Roose canned wine with a sundowner cocktail occasion and poolside chat.
The Buzz on the Seaside
Perennially, 1 Resort South Seaside is the place some prime culinary skills and food-loving visitors keep when they need a close-yet-away-from-it-all respite. Celebrating virtually a decade in Miami, 1 Resort South Seaside lately started re-envisioning its meals and beverage program with Tala Seaside, a beachfront restaurant, bar and lounge, that includes daybeds and seating enclaves with overstuffed pillows for lounging underneath the palm timber, toes within the sand. Take a go via right here throughout SOBEWFF and also you by no means know who you may see hiding out. Moreover, the resort’s rooftop restaurant WATR provides panoramic views of the ocean because the signature Japanese restaurant floats above the town.
Different West Coast Foodie Fêtes
Pebble Seaside Wine & Meals Triumphantly Returns
This yr’s Pebble Seaside Meals & Wine kicked off Thursday, April 4, with a celebration of 25 James Beard Basis-recognized culinary skills, hosted by Nancy Silverton and introduced by HexClad, together with 2024 Greatest Chef Finalist Jenner Tomaska from Chicago’s Esmé, 2022 Greatest Restaurant Finalist Wesley Avila from L.A.’s Offended Egret Dinette, 2022 Greatest Chef Semifinalist Keith Corbin of L.A.’s Alta Adams and California-cooking legend Jeremiah Tower. The 2023 Greatest Chef South semifinalist Valerie Chang from Miami’s Itamae received the HexClad-sponsored attendee vote introduced by the cookware model’s CEO and co-founder Danny Winer. Because the official cookware associate at Pebble Seaside, HexClad cookware, knives, and aprons had been seen all through the weekend and in tow with their latest ambassador Silverton, who joins Gordon Ramsay in endorsing the product.
The place this competition pops the cork is in enchantment to California and French wine connoisseurs with labels resembling Bond, Piper-Heidsieck, Dom Pérignon, Krug, Laurent Perrier, Opus One and Promontory all collaborating. At Pebble, it’s potential to drink 5 Bond crus for breakfast as winemakers and sommeliers open and pour tremendous uncommon vintages. Maximilian Kast, grasp sommelier and director of Napa Valley’s Bond, and Grasp Sommelier Carlton McCoy, led the in-depth tasting of Bond’s Cabernet Sauvignon wines, which convey the distinct characters of their respective websites of origin. Through the Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Seminar, Michelle Defeo, president of Laurent-Perrier, led a vertical tasting of numbered iterations of the status Grand Siècle, that includes Grand Siècle Iteration No. 26 — named Wine of the 12 months in 2023 — in addition to previous iterations courting again three many years, together with the not-yet-released Les Réserves Iteration No. 20.
Culinary highlights from the weekend included the “Legacy Unveiled: A Protégé Showcase Dinner that includes Rarities from Heitz Cellar Historic Stone Cellar Library Assortment” with cooks together with Tim Hollingsworth (L.A.’s Otium and B.J. Novak’s Chained), Aaron Bludorn and Cédric Vongerichten (Wayan & Ma·dé in New York Metropolis) cooking dishes impressed by their mentors with wines paired by McCoy. Thomas Keller protegé Hollingsworth introduced a Liberty Farms Duck Breast with cherry, olive and onion; Bludorn, who’s a protege of Daniel Boulud, served dungeness crab ravigote with uni, avocado, orange and endive; and Vongerichten, who’s the son of Jean-Georges Vongerichten, wowed with grilled lamb chops with sugar snap peas, jalapeno candy pea and black olive oil.
Saturday night’s Michelin-Star Showcase featured Oceanside’s breakout Mexican restaurant Valle, helmed by Roberto Alcocer, which is just one of 5 eating places in San Diego to seize a constellation.
Pebble Seaside Meals & Wine returns April 10-13, 2025.
