Next week, Fort Lauderdale becomes the center of the South Florida food scene. That’s when “Visit Lauderdale Food and Wine Festival” takes over the town.
Seven days of sublime sips and extraordinary eats. Here’s a taste of what to expect.
Things will be hot in Broward when Visit Lauderdale Food and Wine Festival sets up shop.
Kate Reed, All Eyes On Broward: “Our mission has always been to highlight Broward County and the Greater Fort Lauderdale area and all its chefs, mixologists, the hospitality industry in general.”
This is a go-to event for foodies connected to So-Flo.
Kate Reed: “And we do have some national talent coming in, but they all have ties to Florida, so they all spend at least part of their time in Florida, so that was important to us as well.”
This year’s soiree is set to be bigger and better than ever.
Kate Reed: “We’re expanding the festival we have 23 events over seven days. Our biggest events are Barfight, a spirited competition.”
Tony Boukhari,There’s A Battle Brewin’: “It’s a show to see what our creativity factors are, and all of us represent different bars, different brands and different social media sites.”
That’s just a sample of what to expect.
Kate Reed: “We have barbecue battle, which includes 15 pitmasters.”
The big happening of the week is the grand tasting at Las Olas Oceanside Park.
Locals and visitors can keep their plates and glasses filled all day long.
Kate Reed: “Grand Tasting has over 60 restaurants and about a hundred different beverage brands, so it’s a great opportunity for us to show off everything this area has to offer for people that are coming in from out of town.”
Boatyard is sending its executive chef to the grand tasting. He’s going to show off a little hometown magic with his latest deep-sea delicacy.
Chef Richard Harris: “One of our new menu items at boatyard is the charred octopus.”
Chef puts together cauliflower puree, wilted escarole, blistered grape tomatoes, charred octopus in chimichurri and tops it with pancetta.
Chef Richard Harris: “We’ve had a lot of great feedback. It’s a terrific dish.”
Visit Lauderdale Food and Wine Festival is the tastiest way to get to know Fort Lauderdale.
Kate Reed: “It is the best of the best in Broward County. If there’s a favorite chef that you have, there’s a very good chance that they’re going to be there, so you get to try food from all of these different restaurants, try all of these different beverage brands.”
The event runs from Jan. 9 to Jan. 15.
If you want to go to the Grand Tasting for free, send you name and phone number to giveaways@decodive.com.
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