Jason Koerner/Getty; Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty
TheSouth Beach Wine & Food Festivalcelebrated 25 years in style.
Rachael Ray,Brooklyn Peltz Beckham,Guy Fieri,Bobby Flay,Sofía Vergara,Ashley Grahamand other stars gathered in Miami for SOBEWFF, which ran from Feb. 19 to 22.
Culinary competitions, live versions of Food Network favorites, beachside tastings and music performances were all part of this year's mix.
Here were some of the highlights from the four-day festival, which featured more than 105 events.
Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty
On Thursday, Feb. 19, Ray and Beckhamteamed upto co-host Mike's Amazing Burger Bash.
"Brooklyn is amazing," Ray told PEOPLE, noting that he's "warm" and "takes time with every person at every station" at the walk-around tasting event. She also called him "a very thoughtful, smart, kind person."
Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty
Graham, Gayle King and Bert Kreischer were among the judges at the meaty competition, which saw La Birra Bar take the People's Choice award for favorite burger.
On Friday, Feb. 20, Fieri hosted a live version ofTournament of Champions,in which five teams led by past winners Brooke Williamson, Maneet Chauhan, Tiffani Faison, Mei Lin and Antonia Lofaso went head to head, with Lofaso taking top honors.
Jason Koerner/Getty
Fieri told PEOPLE his favorite part of the festival was "to see all the young chefs that are aspiring to go to the next level, to see here and to celebrate them and to see them get their moment onstage, their moment in time to be recognized by the world."
Williamson dished on who she was most excited to hang out with during the festival.
"So many of my closest friends are here, and I've seen a big handful of them, obviously, in the last couple of days," she told PEOPLE.
Advertisement
Maneet Chauhan/Instagram
"I mean, Antonia [Lofaso] obviously is like my evil twin, my bosom buddy," she said. "My friend Casey Thompson is here, who I don't get to see very often. Shirley Chung is here. All of theTOCchamps, they're some of my closest girlfriends, and it's like a girls' night out tonight, which is super fun."
"And I get to be here with my adorable boyfriend, so that's fun, too," she added of Flay.
Brooke Williamson/Instagram
Williamson shared a photo with Flay and her fellowBobby's Triple Threattitans, Michael Voltaggio and Ayesha Nurdjaja. "Thank you @sobewff for another spectacular family reunion 💛🌴," she wrote.
On Saturday, Feb. 21, Goya Foods' Grand Tasting Village offered live cooking demos from Food Network personalities, including Flay.
TheBeat Bobby Flaystar told PEOPLE he enjoys "so many different parts" of the festival.
"This year, I did a Table of Ten 10-course dinner, which was really fun because it was very intimate," he said. "I got to talk to everybody all night long and cook for them, so that was fun."
Jason Koerner/Getty
"I do like the demos because it really ... I think it encompasses what the South Beach Wine & Food Festival is all about. It's on the beach. People are lively. I usually do mine before one o'clock, before people get completely intoxicated with all the beautiful wine on the beach."
Jason Koerner/Getty
Vergara and her son, Manolo, shared hosting duties for the marquee event, in honor of their empanada brand Toma and Vergara's Dios Mío! Coffee.
On Saturday night, Tyler Florence brought back his Masters of Fire event for a flavorful evening of grilling and barbecue.
Jason Koerner/Getty
The annual festival also serves a good cause. Proceeds from ticket sales benefitFlorida International University(FIU) and its students preparing to work in the hospitality industry. Past years have already raised more than $45 million total for the school.
Read the original article onPeople
