Critiquing the South Beach Wine and Food Festival's Grand Tasting
The tents have been taken down, the chefs have all gone home, and South Floridians can now return to more pressing matters like spring training, but the memories of my first South Beach Wine and Food Festival linger for any number of reasons, even if I didn't see the pantsless Paula Deen fiasco.
But what did I make of the main event? The Grand Tasting, a series of huge white tents right on the South Beach waterfront where extremely polite folks served up massive (unlimited) quantities of wine, spirits, and cocktails, and celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay, Tom Colicchio, and Emeril Lagasse drew in big crowds to answer questions, kibbitz, make jokes, and yes, even cook?
I was struck by so many things. Thousands of people paid $212 to get in and seemed to have a great, great time. And why not? They paid more than $200 for:
1. An eight hour-long open bar.
2. The opportunity to see their favorite food celebrities cook, crack jokes, and entertain.
3. The chance to rub elbows and maybe get pictures taken with Flay, Colicchio, or Lagasse, or any one of their heroes. I was interviewing Colicchio when somebody came up to him and said, "Hey, Tom Colicchio, Top Chef is the best show on TV, but you screwed up with Fabio. He shouldn't have been sent packing. But you're still the man, Tom. Would you mind if my girlfriend took a picture of you and me together?" Colicchio smiled and obliged, and I am sure that guy walked away thrilled with Colicchio, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, and himself.
What really surprised me is what they didn't get at the Grand Tasting: food made by big-name chefs or artisanal purveyors. In fact, though there were certainly a lot of booths to get nibbles, there wasn't much in the way of substantial food at all.
Guacamole, yes, tiny slices of Jamón ibérico, yes, but something to sink your teeth into? Not so much.
But I'm first and foremost a food guy, a serious eats kind of fellow, so unlike most of the other people, I was there for the food and not the drinks.
As far as I could tell, no one except me cared about the wine-and-spirits-to-food imbalance. The overall vibe at the festival was remarkably positive. In fact, one New York restaurateur said to me, "You know what's cool about this festival? There are almost no haters here." And you know what. He was absolutely right. The throngs of serious drinkers and eaters were having a great time.
All in all, the festival was a fun hang for me and others who went. It's not a cheap hang, but just about everyone thought they got their money's worth. And it was nice to be in a warm place in February where people were partying like it was 1999. For one weekend at least, the crippling recession was nowhere to be found, except in the conversations the chefs were having with each other.
Previously: Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 55: A South Beach Burger Bash Meal Plan
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5 Comments:
The biggest problem with Miami is though it does have a number of big name chefs (Michele Bernstein, Norman van Aiken, etc) and pop culture chefs (Jeff McInnis from Top Chef Season 5, Howie from TC Season 4 or 3?), etc), nobody goes to events like that in Miami for the food. It's the booze and the celebrity. I've lived here for going on 9 years, and I'm comfortable with that fact.
The event is held on the beach, people walk around top different tents, and massive amounts of people at that. If there were big meals, tons of food would be wasted because there is just so much going on, and no one wants a big heavy meal in Miami, no matter that it may have only been in the 60, because no one here EVER wants the dense meals.
There is a true foody scene, but those people don't go to the South Beach Food and Wine Festival Grand Tasting, because they know they won't be getting food, but instead would get the accoutrements that go along with being in Miami (i.e. booze and celebrity).
You want eating in Miami? Go to http://www.paradisefarms.net/ and check out what they do and who they have cooking for them.
MiaLawyer at 3:31PM on 02/27/09
Ed, as always I appreciate your perspective on all things food. It was hard for me to get any meaningful reports on the event from my fellow bloggers who at times seemed more interested in snapping photos with celebrity chefs. I'm not knocking them, I've done it before myself and I don't wanna be a hater! I'm just sayin'!
Thanks for the summary!
mattbites at 3:32PM on 02/27/09
I would have enjoyed something like that. I love food and wine!! Bobby Flay is one of my favorite chefs!
www.JennysWineShop.com
jennysmith at 6:42PM on 02/27/09
i was in Miami the first days of the festival and looked for information on the events on their website... there was no information about the Grand Tasting tent/tents or the cost to attend... there was only information about activities being held in other Miami Beahc venues - like the dinner with the Kings of Spain, some sommelier and vineyards seminars, a seminar by Rachel Ray on feeding kids in a healthy way... stuf like that.
I was very dissapointed I was not able to locate firm information on what the festival was all about, how it is organized so people without a pre-determined plan could enjoy and attend as well...
MadelynRodriguez at 5:16PM on 02/28/09
The name says it all......."Wine" and Food. The food is only added as a courtesy. This is all about Miami...................booze, celebrities and party central.
Boscompb at 12:19PM on 03/01/09