Hess Select South Beach Seafood Festival
The Hess Select South Beach Seafood Festival, a first of its kind, recently launched their inaugural crowd-pleasing event on Ocean Drive in South Beach, and helped kick-off Miami’s premiere stone crab season, featuring a wide array of signature seafood cuisine in full South Beach style.
The event, attracting nearly 7,000 to South Beach, featured over 70 sponsors, mini café’s from 10 hand-selected high-end local restaurants, full bars, live entertainment, retail, kids zone, fitness by Equinox, interactive activities by Warren Henry Range Rover and Goya, and the Badia Spices Demo Zone with demonstrations from local chefs and mixologists. Each restaurant proved to be a hit among event-goers, with students from Le Cordon Bleu, assisting with event preparations. Participating restaurants included: Tarpon Bend, Red the Steakhouse, City Hall, A Fish Called Avalon, CJ’s, and Catch, among others.
The Hess Select South Beach Seafood Festival was produced by CI Management and CI Foundation and hosted in partnership with Hess Select and Premier Beverage, along with Bacardi, Stoli, and Herradura, and presented by Gold Coast Beverages and Blue Moon, Peroni, Crispin, and Coors Light. The event successfully created a buzz among foodies in Miami, and has proved to be a sensation for all food-lovers and party-goers alike, with something for everyone.
The weekend kicked off on Thursday with a limited seating dinner for major event sponsors at the famous, Joe’s Stone Crab. The evening was celebrated with an educational experience in Jesse’s Private Room by General Manager, Brian Johnson, along with tables filled with Joe’s signature menu items at each of the four-courses, including pounds of stone crabs and more. Dinner included a spectacular pairing experience at each course by Master Sommelier, Andrew McNamara, who educated guests on Hess Collection wines, and, Juan Diaz, of Tenth and Blake Brewery, adding additional knowledge about Blue Moon, Peroni, and Crispin. Celebrations continued Friday with a three-course seafood experience hosted at Smith and Wollensky before kicking off the event on Saturday.
“It was great fun and a wonderful opportunity to spread the word about sustainable wines and sustainable seafood,” said Derek Bromley, Chief Marketing Officer for Hess Select. “We look forward to helping to make the South Beach Seafood Festival one of the most memorable events of the year in South Florida.”
“We came out with a mission to show our support for the community and feature everything we love about Miami.” said Tod Roy, President of CI Management and CI Foundation. “With the help of our sponsors, we were able to do that and more and fulfill our commitment to support a variety of initiatives to continue traditions such as these in Miami Beach. We have no doubt that this South Beach event will become a staple that people look forward to every year to kick off the season.”
A portion of event proceeds helped support the Miami Beach Education Foundation as well as CI Foundation. Both entities focus on educating future leaders to continue celebratory traditions such as this one.
