Eat, Drink, and Be Festive

The food scene in South Florida has been rapidly — and deliciously ­— evolving over the past decade. People who say you can’t get good this or that in South Florida have not been paying attention, and they should check out New Times’ food blog, Clean Plate Charlie, for evidence of just how very wrong they are. Or they could taste the revolution for themselves at the Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival all weekend long. This epic four-day event, from Thursday through Sunday, now in its eighth year, features food- and winetastings, cooking demonstrations, dinners, late-night parties, and live interviews with the best chefs cooking today. Set at the lavish Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach (2800 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach) on Palm Beach Island as well as various area restaurants, the festival begins Thursday with the official kickoff party at the Breakers Palm Beach (1 S. County Road, Palm Beach) as well as two collaborative dinners at Buccan (350 S. County Road, Palm Beach) and PB Catch (251 Sunrise Ave., Palm Beach). The festival wraps up Sunday with the eighth-annual Grand Tasting in the Mediterranean-inspired courtyard of 150 Worth Ave. in Palm Beach, where more than 40 of South Florida’s restaurants will serve samplings of their most celebrated dishes. In between, events include the annual Chillin’ N Grillin’, three industry panel discussions, a street-food competition between Palm Beach and Miami chefs, and two children’s cooking demonstrations. Featured food and wine elite include Daniel Boulud, Clay Conley, Lindsay Autry, Aaron Black, Virginia Willis, and many more. For a full schedule of events and a listing of all the featured chefs, sommeliers, and industry insiders, visit pbfoodwinefest.com. Individual event tickets can be purchased, as well as specially priced festival packages such as the PBFWF Passport Package with access to all events for $680, the Four Seasons TASTE Package for $267.25 to every Four Seasons-hosted event, and the Pick 4 Package, which allows guests to select four events. All packages exclude tickets to Kids Kitchens.
Thu., Dec. 11; Fri., Dec. 12; Sat., Dec. 13; Sun., Dec. 14, 2014