The FoodTV Network’s annual South Beach Wine and Food Festival fills local hotels, restaurants and bars with the biggest names in the culinary industry, making South Florida the center of the Celebrity Chef Universe for one delicious February weekend. With live cooking demonstrations by day and star chefs’ dinner parties by night, the myriad opportunities for foodies to get up close and personal with their favorite TV stars drives the event’s success. Much like a rock star’s concert tour, online ticket sales for the a la carte events are announced in early fall and most of the programs sell out months in advance. Once the chefs arrive on South Beach, truly dedicated fans (with a little high tech ingenuity) can follow their favorite chefs on Twitter, which makes it easy to find the stars out drinking, dancing or dining at the Raleigh Hotel pool.
Reality cooking shows like “Chopped” on FoodTV, BravoTV’s “Top Chef” and Gordon Ramsay’s “Hell’s Kitchen” attract millions of devoted viewers to a genre that used to be considered one notch below soap operas on daytime television. When Julia Child first started demonstrating her French cooking techniques on public television in 1963, the show was largely regarded as an afternoon diversion for suburban housewives.
By the 1980’s, caterer-turned-cookbook-author Martha Stewart rocketed to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List, appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Larry King Live” to promote her publications before taking to the airwaves with her own lifestyle program in 1993. By the time the 1995 cover of New York Magazine named Stewart the “Definitive Woman of Our Time,” the notion of a global culinary brand name was born. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia – which became a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 1999 – currently covers cooking, crafts, catering, wedding planning, home & garden design, organizing tips and branded housewares, all neatly promoted through her successful magazine, merchandise catalogs, popular website and syndicated television programming.
Today’s celebrity chefs like Rachel Ray host popular daytime chat shows, prime time cooking competitions and nighttime travel series where chefs Tony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern roam the world in search of unique ethnic foods. Their faces beam from the covers of best selling cookbooks, tell-all memoirs and glossy magazines. Their pricey cookware gleams on department store shelves and their name brand restaurants fill posh resorts from Las Vegas to Dubai. Oddly enough, some of the most recognizable chefs on television today find their schedules so filled with book tours and personal appearances, there is little time left for actual cooking (unless there is a camera on the scene).
Miami foodies have a passion for celebrity chef culture and flock to restaurants where the chefs work on site or have helped to develop the menus. For travelers who love to watch their favorite chefs on television, here is our quick guide to the top toques cooking up some big name chow in Greater Miami right now.
As Julia Child would say, “Bon Appétit!”
Scott Conant & Alan Yau
Fontainebleau Resort & Spa
4441 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL
One of the perks of celebrity chef stardom is the lucrative opportunity to lend your name to a rich variety of restaurants that stand in support of your worldwide brand. Celebrity chefs are some of the most important draws in Las Vegas and the appeal of Scott Conant & Alan Yau make the dazzling updates at the fully renovated Fontainebleau Resort all the more significant.
Five star dining is the hallmark of a luxury travel experience and guests at Miami Beach’s largest resort can enjoy the breathtaking Asian oasis Hakkasan or the rustic simplicity of Scarpetta’s signature Italian bistro.
London’s first Michelin-starred Asian restaurant made it’s US debut at the Fontainebleau serving upscale riffs on traditional Chinese dishes including a wildly popular weekend dim sum brunch that’s one of the best in town. Chef Scott Conant has attained super star status for his humble pastas in New York City where great Italian restaurants are easy to find.
Recognized everywhere for his role as a judge on FoodTV’s “Chopped,” Conant’s mushroom polenta, braised short ribs and signature spaghetti with tomato and basil are now stars in their own right at his elegant seaside dining room. Always popular with celebrities and socialites, the Fontainebleau makes it easy to taste these world famous chef’s dishes at some truly elegant restaurants.
Jean-Georges Vongerichten
J & G Grill at the St. Regis
9701 Collins Avenue, Bal Harbour, FL
Jean-George Vongerichten (JoJo, Vong, Prime Steakhouse, Spice Market) launched J & G Grill, a dazzling poolside restaurant and bar at the tony St. Regis Bal Harbour. Patterned after his successful ABC Kitchen in Manhattan – which was named Best New Restaurant by the prestigious James Beard Foundation – J & G is one of a handful of upscale waterfront dining destinations in South Florida.
ABC Kitchen serves fresh, organic and local ingredients in an artfully-designed dining room under the daily direction of Executive Chef Daniel Kluger. Designed by the ABC Home creative team, over 70% of the menu comes from within 90 miles of the busy kitchen.
Showcasing local produce drives Miami’s best restaurants like Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink and MC Kitchen to great success, so this formula makes J & G Grill a top spot in Bal Harbour. Chef de Cuisine Richard Gras crafts a curated selection of Jean-Georges’ most popular recipes to pair with fresh local seafood and meat, making J & G Grill the haute new spot to experience Contemporary American fare with a proud local influence. Jean-George’s Fern Restaurant takes pride of place at the St. Regis’ luxurious Bahia Beach Resort property in Puerto Rico.
Built from the ground up on the original site of Morris Lapidus’ Americana Hotel, the new Bal Harbour property comprises both luxury oceanfront residences and upscale hotel rooms. Guests may dine indoors or alfresco in full view of the pool deck and the sparkling Atlantic coast.
Makoto Okuwa
Makoto at the Bal Harbour Shops
9700 Collins Avenue, Bal Harbour, FL
There’s no doubt a pretty daunting shadow cast by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto as he vanquishes his opponents at TV’s Kitchen Stadium season after season. Standing right by his side for 13 episodes, Sous Chef Makoto Okuwa went on to help Morimoto launch successful Japanese restaurants across the globe.
Working as an executive sushi chef, Makoto recently kicked off another venture in Los Angeles before taking the spotlight at restaurateur Stephen Starr’s 200-seat haute Japanese venture at the Bal Harbour Mall. Finally taking center stage, Makoto’s menu showcases modern riffs on cooked Japanese dishes plus his own signature sushi creations, boutique sakes and a full robata grill. The indoor/outdoor space is sexy and sophisticated, but definitely designed to keep the focus on the food.
Standing by Makoto’s side during the opening months, Top Chef All Star Dale Talde serves as the Director of Asian Concepts for the Starr Organization where he and Makoto helped to open Morimoto together in New York. Chef Makoto remains on site as his first eponymous restaurant develops a strong Miami fan base.
Daniel Boulud
db Bistro Moderne at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel
255 Biscayne Boulevard Way, Miami, FL
Downtown Miamians in need of a little extra lunchtime pampering were recently thrilled to learn that celebrity chef Daniel Boulud’s db Bistro Moderne has added a gourmet sandwich bar serving upscale $15 soup and sammie combos including a house made bratwurst, a mojo-roasted pork “Croque Señor” (think Cuban sandwich with a French twist) and a Cape Cod-worthy lobster roll.
This latest innovation from Miami’s exciting new Franco-American bistro adds a bit of wiggle room to the 5 star dining experience which spans a lofty main dining room, a stylish bar and lounge space as well as a street level terrace facing the busy Miami River. Popular for lunch, Sunday brunch, and the Lucky Seven Happy Hour (where everything is $7), db Bistro captures the sizzle of Miami but never loses sight of our decidedly casual lifestyle.
Appealing to the working man, the pleasure cruiser and a growing Downtown residential population, db Bistro Moderne knows how to gain traction in the highly competitive Miami restaurant scene.
In recent years, star chefs like David Bouley, Fabio Viviani and Masaharo Morimoto have opened and closed very high profile restaurants here in South Florida. For dedicated foodies, it is easy to see that time and tide wait for no (hungry) man. Some of the most promising restaurants on the culinary horizon include Katsuya and The Bazaar by James Beard Award-winning Chef José Andrés at Sam Nazarian’s SLS South Beach Hotel. Miami’s “Top Chef” Michelle Bernstein opened Seagrape, a Floridian brasserie at the Thompson Hotel and reopened the former Michy’s Restaurant in the MiMo District as Cena.
Food TV Network’s “Chopped” Chef Scott Conant debuted Corsair Restaurant at the Turnberry Isle Resort and world-renowned Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten brings his culinary magic to the Matador Room at the Miami Beach EDITION Hotel. Nearby, celebrity Chef Alex Guarnaschelli just launched the Driftwood Room at the landmark Nautilus Hotel on South Beach. In a town of flash and fantasy like Miami, big names remain big business.
South Beach Magazine helps keep you posted on who might be cooking in Miami next year! Don’t forget, the Annual Food TV Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival takes place every February on the sunny sands of South Beach bringing the most important names and famous faces in the culinary cosmos right to our shore.
