South Beach Food and Wine

Yesterday “S” and I got the great opportunity to head to the South Beach Food and Wine Festival down on the Miami Beach.  All thanks to Foodbuzz! About a month ago they had a contest/raffle to win two tickets to the festival.  All I had to do was answer this question: “Who is your favorite celebrity chef?”  Of course I entered not because I thought I would win, I never win anything, but because the question was too much fun not to answer.   Paula Deen is one of my favorite celebrity chefs.  I grew up in the south and pretty much was there until I moved away after college to pursue a job.  When I left, I was incredibly homesick but I found Paula one rainy day while living in SF and she reminded me of home.  Every since I have loved her!  She reminds me of many of the southern women I grew up surrounded by.  After answering who my favorite chef was I went along with things, again not thinking I would win.  Then in late January I got an email from Foodbuzz telling me I won the tickets!  I actually won!  I was so excited that I almost cried!  I know crazy right!?  Over tickets!  You have to understand though, I have been wanting to go to the South Beach Food and Wine Festival for several years but never got the chance.  Even more so after the girls arrived.  When Foodbuzz contacted me to tell me about winning the tickets I was overly excited and have been the days and weeks leading up to it.  And yesterday was all that I dreamt it would be!  What an amazing well planned out event!  There was food, wine, more food, and lots more wine!  Wow, I mean it when I mean lots of wine!  You have to really be careful because it can be a little overwhelming.  And now the food….wonderful!  Lots of different types of food from a lot of great local restaurants and chefs.  Some of our favorites from the day were (and some pictured above): Cheese and Pear Tortellini, Misha’s Cupcakes , Flank Steak Sandwich, Paula’s mixed green salad with pecans and fried shrimp, and blakened shrimp with fruit gazpacho.  There was a lot of great food and as I mentioned a lot of great wines.

Not only was there food and wine but a lot of Food Network celebrity chefs were on hand for book signings and cooking demonstrations.  It’s always neat to see some of the faces you watch on a daily basis in person.  The first two chefs we saw were Duff from Ace of Cakes and Michael Symon from Iron Chef.  Duff was there with the other Charm City Cakes personalities signing books while Michael was doing a cooking demo.  Some of the other chefs we saw that day were Bobby Flay, Paula Deen, Sandra Lee, Ingrid Hoffman, Rocco, Claire Robinson, Anne Burrell, and Guy Fieri.

Of course I was especially excited about seeing Paula and I think everyone else was too.  It was a packed house!  She was a little late getting there which actually was ok because Bobby Flay popped by while we were waiting to say hello.  Once Paula was there it was pure entertainment!  What a hoot she was!  She wasn’t afraid to say anything, and I mean anything!  I was crying at points because I was laughing so hard.  Michael joined her on stage too as well as her assistant Brandon.  Robert Irvine (from Dinner Impossible) also joined Paula on stage briefly.  He had stopped by and was watching from the side wing when Paula spotted him and pulled him on stage.  Paula was supposed to be doing a cooking demo, but it ended up being Paula talking the whole time while Michael and Brandon attempted to do the cooking behind her.  It was all a lot of fun.  I think everyone enjoyed seeing Paula.  She had everyone laughing.

It was a great day and luckily great weather.  Thanks Foodbuzz for this wonderful opportunity to attend a spectacular event!  Next year will be the 10 year anniversary and from what we overheard they have a lot of things planned.  So if you live in the area (or even need a great vacation) keep your eyes and ears open. 

Thanks SOBE Food and Wine for a spectacular day!