12 OctOber 17-23, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | What’s the Catch? The South Beach Seafood Festival returns — with all-inclusive eats. BY RACHEL COSTA I t’s that fin-tastic time of the year! ‘Tis the sea-son for stone crabs, excellent seafood, and one of the most popular food festivals in Miami — the South Beach Seafood Festival. From October 23 through October 26, the 12th Annual South Beach Seafood Festival (SBSF) returns to Lummus Park in Miami Beach, marking the return of stone crab sea- son while offering locals a chance to taste South Florida seafood. This year, while the four-day festival follows its traditional lineup, cofounders Valerie and Tod Roy are spicing things up a notch. As always, the 2024 SBSF lineup begins with An Evening at Joe’s, followed by a chef collaboration dinner on Thursday, the VIP Chef Showdown on Friday, and the main fes- tival on Saturday. While the annual dinner at Joe’s Stone Crab is already sold out, guests can still score tickets for other wild events in the weekend lineup. Dinner and a Celebrity Chef Showdown This year, one of the best events at the festival is Crabs, Slabs, & Cabs, which takes place on Thursday, October 24, at the Loews Miami Beach. The event has been completely revamped and now features a six-course pairing dinner crafted and prepared by not one or two but eight renowned Miami-based chefs. The cherry on top? The event is hosted by popular Food Network star and chef Robert Irvine from Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible and Goya Food’s executive chef Fernando Desa. The featured chefs who will each contrib- ute a dish for the pairing dinner are Sean Bra- sel of Meat Market, Jose Mendin of Casa Isola and Pubbelly Sushi, Marco Cannata of Zuma, Peter Vauthy of Red South Beach, Juan Alfonso Urrutia of Osaka Nikkei, as well as venue host, Christopher Aguirre of Loews Miami Beach. Then, come Friday, October 25, Irvine will use his charisma and fiery personality to host everyone’s favorite event of all, the VIP Chef Showdown presented by Tequila Herradura. “I’m very excited for Chef Irvine to come and MC it,” says Valerie. “What he brings to the table is not only that night of entertain- ment that everybody looks forward to at Chef Showdown, but he gets into the nitty gritty of what the chefs are doing while they only have 15 minutes on stage. He puts the pedal to the metal, and he really keeps them on their toes while they’re up there.” This year, 22 chefs will wage 11 seafood bat- tles, each centered on a main ingredient, in- cluding “Battle Crab,” “Battle Shrimp,” “Battle Lobster,” and “Battle Sushi.” New additions in- clude “Battle Pasta” by Barilla and “Battle Taco East Coast vs West Coast,” featuring the cham- pion of Tampa’s Seafood Festival. While guests get to try all the dishes and vote for their favorite, each battle will take place on stage where chefs will serve a panel of judges: Chef Desa of Goya, four-time “Bat- tle Crab” champion Brian Nasajon, journalist Sara Liss, former executive chef of Joe’s Stone Crab Andre Bienvenu, producer Kiko Suarez, and BizBash journalist Tracy Block. “I don’t eat for a week before the festival,” Irvine jokes with New Times as he will also join the judging panel. “I get to host, play kind of the ‘bad guy,’ if you like, and judge, which I love the most,’” he says. “I’m just glad to be a part of it and lend my name to give some new chefs a leg up and the recognition they deserve. I don’t think peo- ple in Florida really under- stand they’ve got some of the best chefs across Flor- ida. So, I’m happy to do that because there are some phenomenal chefs participating, and I can’t say enough about the organization putting this together — they’re just great people doing great things.” The crowd will see some returning cham- pions, including Rusty Pelican Miami’s chef Fiorela Cornejo, Golden Rule Seafood’s chef Generric Kyles, Billy G’s chef Andres Garcia, and Cafe Bernie’s chef Bernie Matz who are joined by SBSF newbies who are ready to make a mark on stage. “The public will have a blast,” Irvine tells New Times. “All I can say is Miami better be ready for Robert Irvine. You never know what I’m going to do and how I’m going to do it. That’s the beauty of it.” Irvine will also attend on Saturday, Octo- ber 26, for the launch of his vodka brand Ir- vine’s Vodka and a culinary demonstration. An All-Inclusive Saturday Seafood Slam Saturday’s Seafood Slam is more epic than ever: Guests can say goodbye to general ad- mission and hello to an all-inclusive festival. “Every year, we’ve done a general admission and a VIP, but this year, it is one ticket price,” says Valerie. “Everything’s all- inclusive. This is an opportunity to have more restaurants out there, and now Saturday has also become a competition day, which everybody loves.” The new $160 ticket tier offers all-inclu- sive food from more than 40 restaurants par- ticipating in the event, plus access to all areas, including the new Stone Crab Lounge. This year, the lounge will serve discounted fresh stone crab hosted by Lobster Shack and CJs Crab Shack. (Pro tip from Valerie: Bring your phones and portable batteries because along with its usual dance parties, cooking demos, endless bites, and new open bar, guests will be on the lookout for their favorite bites of the day.) “We’ve been able to partner with First Hori- zon, so every tent will have a QR code,” she says. “So, you’re going to go eating, sipping, and then you scan the code to vote on which restau- rant you like the best. There’ll be a list of restau- rants, with a list of what they’re serving so that you remember, and it’ll make it very easy. We will also have a judge’s panel that will be walk- ing around to provide their educated guess on who they feel is best to win. At 4:30 p.m., we will bring them onto the main Jack Daniel’s Stage to announce who won Best of the Best.” Confirmed restaurants include Area 31, Barton G, Billy G Catering, Café Bernie, CalaMillor Gourmet Experience, Casa Matilda Steakhouse, Chef Anthony’s Smoked Fish Dip, CJ’s Crab Shack, Cilantro 27, Even Keel Fish Shack, Fresh Co Fish Market & Grill, Garlick, Goya Foods, Hoy Como Ayer, Jarana, La Pata Gorda, Lobster Shack, Lona Cocina, Mayu by Aromas Del Peru, Mouthgasm Sweet Shop, Old Lisbon, Olive & Sea, Playa, Playa Bowls North Miami Beach, Pubbelly Sushi, Red South Beach, Sala O’ Cuban, Social Club at Kimpton Surfcomber, Southern Kulture Grill, SuViche, Tacos and Tattoos, Tartufo Prestige, Tasty T’s Catering, Te Tequenitos LLC, TKL, Treats n Eatz, Viva La Pasta, Wynwood Parlor, Zeru, and Zigsters Fish Fry. “We have a lot of new things and a lot of excitement,” says Valerie. “Honestly, you know, 12 years in, and I feel like more than ever, the restaurant community needs us there. The expenses are high, and there’s so much going on, so we’re really excited to be back for this year.” South Beach Seafood Festival. Wednesday, October 23, through Saturday, October 26, at various locations; sobeseafoodfest.com. Tickets start at $160. [email protected] ▼ Café South Beach Seafood Festival photo It’s time to kick off stone crab season at South Beach Seafood Festival 2024. “I DON’T EAT FOR A WEEK BEFORE THE FESTIVAL.”