By:  Maryanne Salvat and Mary Jo Shore

The 14^th annual Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) presented by FOOD & WINEwelcomed more than 60,000 enthusiastic foodies to more than 75 different events throughout South Florida in February. To date, the Festival has raised approximately $22 million for the Wine Spectator Restaurant Management Laboratory and Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management located on Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay campus.   Below, we’ve highlighted some of our favorite events of SOBEWFF 2015.

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By: Dr. Mary Jo Almeida-Shore

Solange Knowles, Emily Ratajkowski, Jamie Chung, Padma Lakshmi, William Levy, Chelsea Leyland, Brendan Fallis, Kelly Framel, Gala Gonzalez, Hassan Pierre, Chef Carla Pellegrino and a few hundred of Miami’s influencers joined Veuve Clicquot champagne for a beautiful brunch on Saturday, February 7 at The Thompson Hotel in Miami Beach. The celebrities and socialites celebrated Clicquot Carnaval complete with a multi-course dining experience, Carnaval games and dancers and of course, lots and lots of bubbles. The action-packed afternoon started with a sophisticated Brazilian-inspired brunch followed by Carnaval entertainment including Samba dancers, steel drum bands, and capoeira performers, accompanied by seemingly endless flutes of Veuve Clicquot champagne. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the highlights of the South Beach Wine and Food Festival was the private dinner party held at a gorgeous waterfront residence in North Miami Beach to celebrate famed Uruguayan hotspot La Huella, which is opening its first stateside restaurant, Quinto- La Huella later this year at the EAST hotel in Brickell City Center. Hosted by Laurent Fraticelli, General Manager of EAST, who operated the exclusive Soho Beach House for several years, the La Huella party treated VIP guests to white glove service and exquisite signature Uruguayan dishes featuring a selection of prime grilled meats. A live band kept partygoers dancing while sipping on top shelf cocktails and glasses of Uruguayan Tannat and Caipiroskas. Read the rest of this entry »

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore

More than 600 well-heeled socialites shopped, sipped and savored in stilettos at the glamorous 4th Annual Wine, Women & Shoes luncheon presented by Sergio Rossi at the JW Marriott Marquis on Wednesday, February 4th.  The fun-filled afternoon raised more than $600,000 to benefit the children and families of Miami Children’s Hospital.

The stylish “ladies who lunch” spent a couple of hours shopping at an impromptu pop-up designer marketplace that was set up outside of the ballroom, featuring items by:  Ana Mari Ortega, Artesano, Cudesso, Dennis Basso, Eberjey, En Avance, Lostmarc’h, Monisha Melwani Jewelry, Neiman Marcus Coral Gables, Purificación García, Sergio Rossi, and Sirissima/Clement Willoch. Read the rest of this entry »

photo courtesy of World Red Eye

Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), which is as beautiful as the art it holds, held its annual fundraiser on January 17.  The gala, dubbed “Art of the Party” was presented by Louis Vuitton and showcased the architectural gem’s distinct, interconnected spaces with three unique celebrations in a single evening. Guests including supermodel Karolina Kurkova and Pitbull attended the sensational bash at the waterfront museum that pulled out all the stops for one of the most unique gala experiences to date.

South Beach Wine and Food Festival Founder, Lee Brian Schrager conceptualized the three-party-in-one-night concept, the navigation of which was, in itself an art form. For the occasion, Schrager flew in famed, fourth-generation Chef Thomas Troisgros, from Rio de Janeiro, to orchestrate the evening’s two distinct dinner parties, which were followed by a night of dancing under the stars on PAMM’s gorgeous terrace.  Read the rest of this entry »

Pitbull & La La Anthony

With a loud “Dale!,” and the charisma that has catapulted him to international fame- earning him the title “Mr. Worldwide,” Pitbull did not merely welcome 2015 at his New Year’s Revolution at the shiny-new Thompson Miami Beach hotel, Pitbull downright demanded the new year arrive with a BANG! And that it most certainly did. At the stroke of midnight, the 700+ revelers were doused by confetti shot from rooftop canons under what seemed like the world’s largest balloon drop. Pitbull’s co-hosts La La Anthony and Rocsi Diaz kept the crowd’s attention between exciting performances by Becky G., Enrique Iglesias, Fall Out Boy, Fifth Harmony, The Band Perry, and world-class magicians The Misdirectors. Ne-Yo surprised fans by joining Pitbull on stage for a live performance of their new hit, “Time of Our Lives.”  Also at the party were  a series of FOX stars, including Benjamin McKenzie (Gotham), Ed Weeks (The Mindy Project) Lamorne Morris (New Girl) and Taraji P. Henson (Empire, debuting this month). Director Lee Daniels and ABC’s The Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis and former Family Matters’ star, Jaleel White, (aka Steve Urkel) were also spotted in the party’s exclusive VIP section.

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