You'll get all this — and more — during the Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival, which returns December 10 to 13 at event locations throughout the Palm Beaches. The annual foodie-focused festival will bring together a series of events over four days and features new and returning celebrity chefs, culminating with a refresh of the festival’s iconic event, the
The chef lineup is promising to be star-studded, with returning chefs Robert Irvine, Marc Murphy, Christina Tosi, Jeff Mauro, and Elizabeth Falkner. This year, they'll be joined by additions Hugh Acheson, Gavin Kaysen, George Mendes, Dena Marino, Michael Ruhlman, Brad Kilgore, and Beau MacMillan, alongside Palm Beach County favorites Clay Conley, Tim Lipman, Sean Brasel, Tory Martindale, Lindsay Autry, and Aaron Black.
Headquartered at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, the festival will include a number of intimate dinners, wine, and cocktail tastings, cooking demonstrations, books signings, and seminars discussing the latest culinary trends — and many featuring some of the world’s most renowned chefs and industry leaders.
Here's the full 2015 Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival event schedule.
Thursday, December 10
- Sustain: Chefs Johnny Iuzzini, Mike Lata, Jonathon Sawyer, Stephen Stryjewski and Aaron Black bring sexy to ocean sustainability in Sustain, a seafood-inspired dinner hosted at PB CATCH Seafood & Raw Bar. ($160 per person; 7 p.m.)
- The First Bite: Expect to taste the unexpected at The First Bite with chefs Hugh Acheson, Gavin Kaysen and George Mendes joining Clay Conley at his
open-kitchen concept restaurant, B?ccan. ($160 per person; 7 p.m.)
- Miami Takeover: Miami flair meets Palm Beach sophistication with this event featuring chef Meat Market co-founder and chef Sean Brasel who welcomes fellow Miami chefs Daniel Serfer, Dena Marino, Brad Kilgore, and Giorgio Rapicavoli to serve up lunch specials at his Palm Beach establishment, a
spin off of his South Beach flagship. ($95 per person, noon) - Get Served: The annual chef volleyball battle, Get Served!
, will take place at the Four Seasons beach. Teams consisting of sommeliers, chefs, and other festival participants will battle it out in a different way — not kitchen skills required — to determine the champions. (Free, 2 p.m.) - Kick Off Chef Welcome Party: The official kick-off soiree Chef Welcome Party presented by Cheney Brothers returns to The Breakers Resort Palm Beach with the resort’s executive chef Jeff Simms at the helm. Expect a unique theme for the many food stations, passed bites, wine, and specialty cocktails. ($125 per person, 7 p.m.)
- Late Night Rock: Turn up the volume with Late Night Rock hosted by Jeff Mauro. The party at the Four Seasons Resort returns as Food Network’s Mauro, self-proclaimed karaoke extraordinaire, hosts fellow chefs and guests to an evening of cocktails and karaoke gone wild. ($75 per person, 11:30 p.m.)
- Kids Kitchen: Presented by Whole Foods Market, Kids Kitchen encourages children to become the next generation of top chefs. Chefs Robert Irvine and Jonathon Sawyer guide mini sous chefs in hands-on classes held at the Four Seasons Resort. ($45 includes 1 child and 1 adult; 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.)
- Chef Talks: Presented by VerTerra Dinnerware, Chef talks offers compelling culinary insights from some of the country’s most inspiring foodies. Two distinct panels made up of Hugh Acheson, Christina Tosi, Anita Lo, Ken Oringer, Elizabeth Falkner, Mike Lata, Johnny Iuzzini, Stephen Stryjewski and more will provide key conversations about the hospitality business. Hosted at the Four Seasons Resort, the panels will be moderated by award-winning author Michael Ruhlman. Panelists are subject to change. (Media only; 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.)
- Chillin' N' Grillin': Chillin' N' Grillin' presented by The Gardens Mall challenges Robert Irvine, Hugh Acheson, Beau MacMillan, Timon Balloo, Jeff Mauro, Christina Tosi, Gavin Kaysen and Tory Martindale to reimagine how they grill up their favorite dishes. This event is held at the Four Seasons Resort’s poolside oceanfront terrace. ($125 per person, 12:30 p.m.)
- Street Food: Presented by SYSCO, Street Food brings out the competitive side of our culinary participants. In this street food competition held in front of the Four Seasons Resort, Manhattan-based chefs (Marc Murphy, George Mendes, Ken Oringer, Anita Lo, and Elizabeth Falkner) will take on five Palm Beach chefs (Clay Conley, Lindsay Autry, Tim Lipman, Dean Max, and Tory Martindale). Prizes for People’s Choice and Judge’s Best Bite will be awarded. Special guest judges include Robert Irvine. ($125 per person, 7 p.m.)
- Daniel & Friends: This event will take Sunday brunch to the next level. Internationally renowned chef Daniel Boulud will open his restaurant, Café Boulud at The Brazilian Court Hotel for a mid-morning meal along with chef Rick Mace and sommelier Mariya Kovacheva. ($125 per person, 11 a.m.)
- The 9th Annual Grand Tasting: Presented by Stoli, the Grand Tasting will receive a facelift this year with a new location at The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens. The event will feature more than 60 of South Florida’s hottest restaurants to serve up their celebrated dishes. Throughout the venue, guests will encounter music from local bands and DJs, a main stage full of action, celebrity chef book signings, holiday-inspired displays, a beer and liquor garden, runway fashion show, and more. This year
expect a greater variety of tastings with more participating restaurants and wineries. For the grand PBFWF conclusion, the crowd will cheer on three local chefs as they compete in Grand Chef Throwdown Finale for the $10,000 prize. ($75 per person, 5 p.m.)
Nicole Danna is a food writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.
