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South Beach Food & Wine Fest Draws National Spotlight

“The Food Network came to us and asked if they could sponsor us.”

By Ambar Hernandez

Almost two months into America’s New Year commitment to lose the ever-present 10 pounds, it is once again time for the Sixth Annual South Beach Wine and Food Festival. Foodies, prepare to gorge on all that’s good in the culinary world.

Festival founder and director Lee Schrager, also the director of media and special events for Miami-based Southern Wine & Spirits, says that owing to popular demand more wine and spirits-related seminars have been added to the program this year, but many of the festival’s staples will return, if only slightly improved.

“Everything we have tried in the past has worked after we have tweaked it. We have also added other events to accommodate the demand to attend,” he said.

Those events include the kick-off event, Amstel Light Burger Bash, hosted by Food Network sweetheart Rachael Ray on Thursday, Feb 22. Attendees will feast on creative incarnations of the nation’s most popular meal at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach.

Miami Beach resident Laura Cullen, 37 (“I don’t look a day over 25”), owner of Clarke’s Miami Beach, is one of the restaurateurs slated to throw down her all-beef patties for the event, which she says organizers described to her as a “friendly competition” to name the best burger. Cullen is betting her buns on an old family recipe that includes, among other things, “magic Irish fairy dust” (what, you didn’t think burgers were big in Ireland?). Despite the quip, Cullen is serious about her ground beef. She says Clarke’s chef, Oscar Rubin, is entering the same hamburger recipe Clarke’s serves customers “every day of the week. It’s a phenomenal product,” Cullen says. Beyond that, all she is willing to reveal is that the secret to a great burger is the excellent quality of the raw ingredients (Clarke’s uses Black Angus Sirloin beef) and “a really hot grill.”

Cullen, who admits to being “a little bit of a Food Network junkie — I’ll pretty much watch anything,” says this is her first food festival competition. Another first is her South Pointe restaurant, which has been open for about a year and a half. “It’s been the greatest experience of my life and the most exhausting experience all rolled into one. It’s exciting to see it grow some legs,” she says. “The community is incredible. … We’ve gotten a lot of love.”

More love will be doled out at the first-ever Food Network Awards Show, to take place Friday at 9:30 p.m. at the Jackie Gleason Theater. Winners will be presented with slice-of-cake-shaped awards for Icy Innovations, Tasty Technology and other quirky categories. Julia Child, the original gastronomic guru, will be inducted posthumously into the Food Hall of Fame.

Kidz Kitchen, introduced just last year, is back with two additional slots. Children under 18 will make their creations alongside Ray, Emeril Lagasse, Dylan Lauren (daughter of designer Ralph Lauren), Giada de Laurentiis, Bobby Flay and George Duran.

The famous BubbleQ is being hosted this year by Al Roker and Friends on Friday night. Tickets for this coveted barbecue-and-bubbly bash, $300 each on the festival Web site, had a reserve price of almost $1,300 for the pair.

Last year’s Iron Chef-style competition between NFL Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino and Tyler Florence proved to be a crowd pleaser, as evidenced by this year’s four competitions between national celeb-chefs and local ones.

On Saturday, Florence will race against Norman’s Norman Van Aken; later that day, it’s Marcus Samuelsson versus Ortanique’s Cindy Hutson (see sidebar).

Sunday’s competition includes George Duran taking on Michael Schwartz from Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, opening this fall in the Design District; and Dave Lieberman battling Michy’s very own Michelle Bernstein.

And of course, the Publix Grand Tasting Village will feature samples (both food and drink) from hundreds of participants.

Expect to see food diva Martha Stewart and Search for the Next Food Network Star’s winners Hearty Boys (Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh) make their festival debut at different seminars. Anthony Bourdain, Paula Deen, Ingrid Hoffman and other favorites return as well.

In its first five years of existence, the festival has garnered extreme popularity among South Florida foodies. According to the Web site, about four months prior to the event the site had already received about 8 million hits.

Tickets on e-Bay, as of press time, were going for as high as $585 for two. Regular tickets, which are now sold out, were going for $137.50. A quick look at Craigslist postings turned up one weekend pass going for $1,500, and many requests from people in need of tickets.

“We certainly did not envision it like this when we first started, but we are definitely not surprised,” said Schrager.

What began as a project to raise awareness and funds for the School of Hospitality and Management at Florida International University, exploded into a mega-event attracting big names like the Food Network, the official title sponsor this year.

“This is the first year that the Food Network came to us and asked if they could sponsor us,” said Schrager.

In other years, lots of individual calls had to be made in order to secure the participation of the network’s famous personalities.

The 2006 festival saw approximately 24,000 people throughout the four-day festival. This year about 6,000 tickets for each day of the Grand Tasting were sold. Given the success of the event, Schrager has already given some thought to taking it to another level.

“We have thought about expanding to other cities, but the South Beach Wine and Food Festival is staying right [on the beach],” said Schrager.

At press time, there were still some tickets available for a few events like the Food Network Awards Show, Belvedere After-Party and the Kidz Kitchen for both de Laurentiis and Duran.

The festival kicks off on Thursday, Feb. 22, with the Burger Bash at 6:30 p.m. and ends Sunday, Feb. 25. Call 1-877-762-3933 or visit www.sobewineandfoodfest.com.

— Robin Shear contributed to this story. Comments? E-mail letters@miamisunpost.com.

Might Makes Bite

Cindy Hutson	Marcus Samuelsson

Cindy Hutson is executive chef/co-owner of Ortanique on the Mile, the elegant Caribbean fusion restaurant she launched in Coral Gables in 1999. Hutson, not one to shy away from a challenge, has been pitted against hot young (34!) award-winning culinary star Marcus Samuelsson, the Ethiopian-born, Sweden-raised executive chef and co-owner of New York’s Aquavit (twice rated excellent by The New York Times), for one of this Saturday’s Iron Chef-like competitions during the South Beach Food & Wine Festival.

The SunPost offered Hutson a quick-fire round of questions, to which she served up answers in equally rapid fashion, via a color-coded e-mail no less, proving she has the speed and organization required to survive in her industry. Now she just has to make sure her New World tropical cuisine can beat out Samuelsson’s Scandinavian fare.

SP: How do you feel about the Iron Chef competition you are signed up for?

CH: I am very excited but I actually did not sign up. The committee asked me to compete.

Is it a fair match?

A self-taught chef, such as myself, against a world-renowned chef is a little scary.

How have you been preparing for it?

I have not thought about it as of yet — been too busy with booming business at the restaurant.

Why did you agree to do it?

It is a great opportunity to work with chefs in which I walk away with new ideas and future networking possibilities.

What do you hope is the “secret ingredient”?

Something indigenous to South Florida that I am familiar with.

What is your favorite food TV/cable show?

Unfortunately I do not have the time to watch TV but when I have the chance, I do enjoy watching Bravo’s Top Chef.

Name one of your food mentors/idols.

Graham Kerr, The Galloping Gourmet, from way back, because he captured my curiosity on cooking.

What is your favorite kitchen duty?

Prepping with my staff when we, together, creatively conjure up new dishes.

How old are you?

Fifty going on 30.

— Interview by Robin Shear