It’s not news that the 2008 South Beach Wine & Food Festival kicks off today. How many more articles about it do we need? But many, including me, question whether going to the festival is worth it (particularly at the prices).
My first time at the festival was in 2004 when I went to the then OleoMed Grand Tasting Village on Miami Beach with a friend from out of town. At the time, it was $60 to attend for one day if I recall correctly — this year it’s $187 and sold out. The tasting was far from glamorous. I stood on the sand out in the glaring sun watching cooking demos, and then lined up with hundreds of people outside the tasting tent only to be herded around the tasting tables like cattle by other eager tasters. There were also those people who would park themselves in front of a table and drink or eat away like they had never had food in their lives. That, I’ve heard, has changed, but after that first experience I decided if I were to spend money on the festival, it wouldn’t be on the grand tasting.
In 2006, I returned to an interactive cooking lunch at the Biltmore with some friends. Ms. Iron Chef Cat Cora was cooking lunch. When they said interactive, I didn’t think they meant it. But they kinda did. You sit at a table that’s set up with a cooking range, ingredients, recipes, and an FIU student who helps you along the way. It wasn’t bad actually and it got me thinking that the smaller events are a better option than the larger inaccessible ones, even if they cost a little more. Cooking with Cat Cora stripped me of $120.
Was it worth going? I had fun. Was I dying to go back? No. Has it changed? We’ll see, for this year I’m heading out with the tourists (I have yet to meet locals who like to go). So stay tuned …
Never been. Hate crowds, particularly fighting over food. Let us know how it is.
I’ll be there and (as a Miami food blogger) if I run in to you, I’ll definitely say hey!