The wait is over, the must-attend foodie event of the season is here. Tampa Bay’s inaugural Wine and Food Festival kicks off on Wednesday, April 13, ushering in four days of culinary extravagance and first-class entertainment in Tampa Bay.
Featured as one of the top reasons to visit Tampa this spring by Travel + Leisure, the festival has four unique events prepared for the region, including a private evening at the stunning Tampa Club on Wednesday and a one-of-a-kind evening in Hyde Park Village on Thursday.
On Friday evening, the legendary Chef Showdown will see Tampa Bay’s top chefs compete in ultimate cook-offs judged by attendees and VIP judges (including Tampa Magazine’s very own Group Publisher, Shawna Wiggs.)
The organizers have performed a feat in making handcrafted dishes from 14 of Tampa Bay’s top chefs available to guests for the evening. Featuring chefs from The Tampa Edition, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Cru Cellars, Haiku, Hales Blackbrick and more – the competition lineup is verifiably stacked with the region’s best.
“I’m so excited to see all the hard work we’ve put in for months pay off. We have all the notable chefs and top brands of the region’s hospitality industry coming together to put on an incredible festival for the community,” says Valerie Roy, Director of Marketing and Client Strategy at CI Management, producers of Tampa Bay WFF. “Most importantly, it’s an opportunity for the Tampa Bay area’s leading chefs to get out of the kitchen and come together as one to show off and mix, mingle, and feel proud of what they’ve accomplished together so far with many more years of growth to come.”
The organizers of this event are the minds behind the acclaimed South Beach Seafood Festival, a Florida foodie staple for over ten years, and the Las Olas Wine and Food Festival.
“We brought the same concept to Tampa Bay – restaurant dinners paired with national brands that bring that extra unique experience to the table to highlight the local talented chefs with celebrity partners and brands, and then bigger festival days so there is a little for everyone at every price point,” Roy explains. “Friday’s Chef Showdown is typically the most popular event out of the festival. It’s always a sellout night because it’s a live television cook-off right in front of your eyes. What could be better?”
And, it’s not just the organizers and attendees that are excited. The chefs are getting ready to bring their A-game and the competition is heating up.
“We’re so excited to be part of the Tampa Bay Wine + Food Festival. Our team at Next Level Brands feels a commitment to this community. We want to provide great hospitality venues, with everything from family-friendly dining to Saturday night hotspots. We felt the Tampa Bay Wine + Food Festival was a great opportunity for our community, so we wanted to participate. We hope that this becomes an annual event for the Tampa Bay region,” says Forbici’s Executive Chef, Fernando Sanchez. “At Forbici’s booth, guests can expect to see a miniature version of our very own house-made meatballs and a twist of a classic Focaccia appetizer showcasing an aged prosciutto.”
Recent participants at the iconic South Beach Wine + Food Festival, Chef Sanchez and his team are looking forward to bringing the festival flavor home to Tampa Bay.
“Chefs aren’t always able to engage with the community, but sharing our craft at festivals like these allows us to interact with our neighbors so we’re looking forward to it,” he adds.
While tickets are nearly sold out for Friday’s event (there are still a few left, snag them here), the culminating event for the weekend takes place on Saturday, when foodies will coalesce upon Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park for the grand tasting, featuring an extensive array of food and drink from Tampa Bay’s leading restaurants.
The lineup includes Allelo, American Social, Authentic Jerk Chicken, Azure at EDITION, Brick Street Farms, Counter Culture, Datz, DeVito’s Italian Specialties, Forbici Modern Italian, Gather TPA, Haiku, Hales Blackbrick Chinese, King of the Coop, Kona Grill, M&R Café, Mata’s Philippine Cuisine, Meat Market, Oddfellows Ice Cream, Oxford Exchange, Palazzo Pizza, Predalina, Red Mesa Cantina, Rusty Pelican, Splitsville Southern + Social, Tacos Las Californias, Tanya & Matt’s Ice Cream Shop, The Battery, The C House, The Liberty Smokehouse, The Library, and Soulfull Biscuit.
Attendees can sip on internationally recognized wine, cocktail, and brewery experiences, enjoy live music from featured Florida bands, and participate in interactive experiences from leading national brands. Voters also have a chance to win a 7-day Caribbean cruise courtesy of Celebrity Cruises.
The organizers of this event have been preparing for months, going all out to bring together the region’s top chefs and restaurants for a weekend that celebrates Tampa Bay’s talented and diverse foodie scene.
No stranger to the Tampa Bay culinary scene or the food festival circuit, Chef Sean Brasel from Meat Market has participated in the South Beach Seafood Festival and the Palm Beach Food and Wine and is the inaugural event’s honorary chef host.
“This is the first of the growing culinary scene in Tampa, a chance for all chefs to meet and unite to heighten the culinary ambitions of the Tampa market,” he says. “I feel so special that I can be an integral part in supporting this event and I am looking forward to many years to come to grow this into a nationwide culinary festival.”
With so much to indulge in and enjoy, the Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival is the ultimate destination for foodies. With a variety of events to choose from and an abundance of flavors to savor, this inaugural festival is not to be missed.
See the full schedule and purchase tickets here.
