Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Presented by Food & Wine Celebrates 10 Years

MIAMI, FL–(Marketwire – October 12, 2010) – Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Founder and Executive Director Lee Brian Schrager is pleased to announce that the Festival will celebrate its 10^th year February 24 – 27, 2011. In recognition of its loyal fans and to honor this special occasion, the Festival is offering everyone the chance to purchase tickets to its signature event, the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village, at a 10% discount for one day only — Monday, October 25^th, 2010 when tickets go on sale. 

“We are truly excited for the 2011 Festival and very thankful to the fans, chefs, winemakers, sponsors, students, and staff who have supported us since the beginning,” notes Schrager, who also serves as Vice President of Corporate Communications & National Events at Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. which hosts the Festival. “It has truly been an unforgettable decade and we are so pleased to have raised $10 million to date for Florida International University. We look forward to bringing the best names in the wine and culinary industries to South Florida for many years to come!”

In commemoration of the Festival’s 10^th year, Schrager will release the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, $35/hardcover) on November 16, 2010. The book features a foreword from none-other than Anthony Bourdain, as well as an array of recipes from the nation’s favorite celebrity chefs and culinary personalities. In addition, it provides a behind-the-scenes look at the chefs, events and food that make the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival the most prestigious gourmet gathering in America. Like the overall Festival, all proceeds from the cookbook will benefit the Florida International University (FIU) School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center located on FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus.

The 2011 Festival features returning fan-favorite events, including the Wine Spectator Wine Seminar series and Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village, and plenty of new soirées to keep the celebration going all weekend long! For its 10^th year, the Festival is pleased to honor one of the world’s most revered chefs at its Tribute Dinner honoring Alain Ducasse presented by Bank of America on Saturday, February 26. A veritable who’s who of the culinary world will be in attendance to pay homage to Chef Ducasse, a chef who has earned more Michelin Stars than any of his colleagues.

Planned especially for this year, the dynamic duo of Emeril Lagasse and Martha Stewart will host the Festival’s featured 10^th anniversary celebration Let Them Eat Cake presented by Ocean Drive magazine on Friday, February 25 in the contemporary new space at 1111 Lincoln Road. Here, no fewer than 10 pastry chefs, cake artists and renowned confectioners, including Margaret Braun, Jacques Torres, and Food Network’s Duff Goldman, will present decadent delicacies to complement the cocktails and Moët & Chandon Champagne that will be flowing all night long! 

Food Network presents a Saturday night fête that will put a South Beach spin on their popular primetime series The Best Thing I Ever Ate! Join Master of Ceremonies Duff Goldman, alongside Anne Burrell, Sunny Anderson, Chuck Hughes, Scott Conant, Geoffrey Zakarian, and many more Food Network, Cooking Channel and South Florida personalities at The Best Thing I Ever Ate At the Beach — where they will share their favorite dishes and cocktails found near shorelines from all over the United States. 

The Festival is honored to welcome back Jamie Oliver to its family-oriented program Kohl’s Fun and Fit as a Family featuring Kellogg’s Kidz Kitchen, which takes place at Jungle Island the Saturday and Sunday during the Festival. Parents and kids will have the chance to explore the Children’s Sustainable Food Garden, play sports on the beach, prepare healthy snacks in the interactive Food Lab, and watch Food Network favorites, including Giada De Laurentiis, Tyler Florence and Rachael Ray, among others, host healthy culinary demonstrations in the Kellogg’s Kidz Kitchen.

The iconic Amstel Light Burger Bash presented by Allen Brothers hosted by Rachael Ray will celebrate its fifth birthday during the Festival — bringing back the best in beer and burgers, plus the four previously crowned People’s Choice Award winners (Shake Shack, Michael Schlow, Spike Mendelsohn, and Michael Symon) to compete with their fellow chefs for bragging rights in 2011. This year’s Perrier-Jouët BubbleQ presented by Allen Brothers and MIAMI magazine — the very event that put the Festival on the map its first year — will be hosted by the grill-master himself, Bobby Flay, in its final showing as a signature Festival event. Additionally, Fontainebleau Miami Beach presents Wine Spectator’s Best of the Best sponsored by Bank of America will again feature the finest selections in wine and culinary creations of renowned chefs, and is sure to be the best yet with celebrated chef Charlie Trotter in attendance. 

Once again, the Festival gathers all that glistens for an unparalleled series of brunches and dinners to keep your taste buds dancing all weekend long:

• The Brilliance of France — dinner prepared by chefs Pascal Nibaudeau (Le Pressoir d’Argent at The Regent Grand Hotel Bordeaux) and Jean-Marie Gautier (Le Villa Eugenie at the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz)
• Dolce Brunch hosted by Gail Simmons and Michael White
• Barilla Interactive Lunch hosted by Bryan and Michael Voltaggio
• Italian in Paradise hosted by Giada De Laurentiis
• Barilla Interactive Dinner hosted by CHOPPED stars Ted Allen with Marc Murphy, Alex Guarnaschelli and Aarón Sánchez
• Wine + Dine + Design — the Festival’s ultimate dine around in Miami’s trendy Design District
• Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink Brunch at Sea
• Paula Deen’s Down Home Cookin’ Sunday Gospel Brunch

The complete program for this year, tickets and more information is available online at www.sobewineandfoodfest.com or by calling the box office at 877.762.3933. Get daily updates on the Festival all year long by following Festival Founder and Executive Director Lee Brian Schrager on Twitter — www.twitter.com/Lee_Schrager. 

About the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival
All proceeds of the Festival benefit the students of the Florida International University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management who also assist Festival organizers with sponsorship fulfillment, restaurant and exhibitor recruitment, logistics, and inventory as well as working alongside some of the world’s greatest celebrity chefs and winemakers. 

The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine is produced by Florida International University and Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida with the support of the Miami Beach Visitors & Convention Authority and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about the Festival, visit www.sobewineandfoodfest.com or call 877-762-3933. For more information about Florida International University visit www.fiu.edu, for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management visit www.hospitality.fiu.edu and for more information about Southern Wine & Spirits visit www.southernwine.com.

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