THE SOUTH BEACH SEAFOOD FESTIVAL CELEBRATES THEIR 10TH ANNIVERSARY — PROFILE Miami
South Florida’s highly anticipated South Beach Seafood Festival is back for its 10th anniversary with a celebration that is gearing up to be the best yet with special programming, including a $10,000 chef prize and popular live musical guests. From Wednesday, October 19 through Saturday, October 22, the four-day festival is a curated culinary showcase that couples South Florida’s bounty of seafood with the region’s most notable chefs and restaurants.
The South Beach Seafood Festival, which also kicks off Miami Beach’s famed stone crab season, consists of four separate ticketed events taking place throughout the week. The festival begins on Wednesday, October 19th with “An Evening at Joe’s Stone Crab.” The already-sold-out five-course meal showcases Executive Chef Andre Bienvenue’s cuisine paired with fine wines curated by master sommeliers.
Next up, “Crabs, Slabs & Cabs,” takes place the following evening and offers a formal sit-down, five-course dinner highlighting ‘Surf n’ Turf’ reimagined by some of the Magic City’s leading chefs. The event is hosted by GOYA Foods’ Executive Chef Fernando Desa and includes participation from celebrated restaurateur and Pubbelly Sushi partner José Mendín; Fiola Miami’s Executive Chef Danny Ganem; Meat Market Executive Chef and Owner Sean Brasel; and a final chef to be announced on July 1st. On Friday evening, the gloves come off as 16 of Miami’s top chefs go head-to-head in eight competitive seafood rounds during the annually sold out “Chef Showdown,” coined the ultimate beach bash on South Beach.
To commemorate the festival’s 10-year anniversary, one participating chef with the most points of the night will take home a grand prize of $10,000. The series of nightly events builds up to the main celebration, the “South Beach Seafood Festival,” an all-day affair taking place on Saturday, October 22, showcasing a selection of pop-up-cafés by prominent South Florida restaurants, complimentary open bar stations, and packed with live musical performances, interactive experiences, and much more for guests to enjoy.
“It’s a momentous 10-year celebration for the South Beach Seafood Festival, and we are grateful for the opportunity to continue to support and shine a spotlight on South Florida’s talented chefs and restaurant community every year,” said Valerie Roy, Director of Marketing and Client Strategy at CI Management, the team behind the South Beach Seafood Festival. “We are amplifying our programming and doing things in a more significant way for year #10 to celebrate the heart of what makes South Florida a not-to-be-missed culinary destination, highlighting local culinary talent in a unique manner, adding a $10,000 prize for one lucky chef champ of our Chef Showdown event, as well as bringing in some amazing entertainment to ensure this is our best festival yet.”
Touted in previous years by USA TODAY as one of the “Top 5 Specialty Festivals in The Country;” by Forbes as the “Top 5 Things to Do This Fall;” and by the Travel Channel as the “Best Seafood Festival in the US,” the South Beach Seafood Festival is the place to be for the ultimate ‘sea foodies’. In addition to celebrating regional culinary talent, the festival annually supports CI Foundation’s EAT SMART program, a 501 ©(3) nonprofit program that provides healthy meals and nutritional guidance to the local community and Florida’s youth through programs in Miami-Dade County public schools.
