MIAMI BEACH (AP) — Some of the biggest celebrity chefs are in Miami this weekend for the annual South Beach Wine & Food Festival, including Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis and Martha Stewart. But behind the glamour and private dinners that can sell for as much as $500 a ticket, the festival has been quietly working behind the scenes to help restaurants struggling during the pandemic.
Last year's event, which fed more than 65,000 people at more than 100 events, was held just weeks before the COVID lockdown. Miami has long been a foodie town with hundreds of local chefs and restaurants contributing to the massive food festival.
As restaurants laid off staff and closed up shop, festival creator Lee Brian Schrager partnered with Florida International University to raise $1.6 million that went directly to the newly unemployed at over 500 restaurants and bars across South Florida. Schrager alone raised over $100,000 from the front porch of his Coral Gables home, hosting a series of bake sales last year.