Tampa Bay Wine and Food Festival

4 Day Wine and Food Festival coming this Spring to Tampa Bay

A new 4-day food and wine festival is coming to Tampa! This event will bring the best restaurants and chefs in the region together for one massive event! 

This festival was created by the South Beach Seafood Festival and Las Olas Wine & Food Festival producers. It will demonstrate culinary and world-class entertainment, sponsored by Breakthru Beverage Florida and its partners. This festival will run from Wednesday, April 12 to Saturday, April 15.

CI Management is about to organize this event to honor Tampa Bay's finest restaurants and creative talent, all while educating the area's future hospitality leaders through Community Initiatives' annual EAT SMART campaign.

There will be 4 separate ticketed events during the 4-day festival, a private, invite-only ticketed event called "An Evening at The Tampa Club" will kick off the festivities on Wednesday, April 12. The following evening will be the "Experience Hyde Park" event at one of the region's most beautiful outdoor dining destinations, where 4 local restaurants partner with TAMPABAYWFF to present a unique 4-course pairing dinner at their favorite restaurant. Participating restaurants include Timpano, an ultimate brunch destination, Forbici, an authentic Italian eatery, and Meat Market, a decadent meat market.

On Friday night, Tampa Bay's best chefs compete in the infamous "Chef Showdown" competition, which takes place on Florida's west coast. It will be up to the attendees to decide which dishes and cocktails deserve to be champions while enjoying endless dishes and refreshing cocktails.

It is expected that ticket holders will attend the "Grand Tasting" at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park on Saturday, the festival's last day, for a variety of flavor-packed bites and refreshing libations from Tampa Bay's top restaurants, paired with a VIP wine, cocktail, and brewery experience. 

As Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park takes over the entire festival grounds, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy bites from Tampa Bay's top restaurants. The restaurants are arranged according to neighborhoods and zones so guests can find their favorite local hot spots after the Grand Tasting. The event will also include an endless array of cocktail and wine pavilions featuring some of the best varietals along with interactive activations from national brands. As guests gather from all over to indulge while listening to local live music, the Grand Tasting at one of Tampa's riverfront parks will be a great day to enjoy hundreds of food and drink items.

“As the honorary chef host, I am honored to help bring this event to the Tampa Bay area to celebrate Tampa, St. Petersburg, and all our surrounding area restaurateurs”, says Chef Sean Brasel, Executive Chef and part-owner of Meat Market. 

“We are ecstatic to bring an unforgettable four days of fun and food to the Tampa Bay area to spotlight the Tampa Bay area’s leading chefs and booming restaurant community,” said Valerie Roy, Director of Marketing and Client Strategy at CI Management (the team behind the Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival). “Our production team, as well as the culinary visionaries involved in the festival, have crafted an impressive lineup of events that reflect the spirit of the region through its gastronomical offerings and we look forward to the start of this annual event that will bring locals and tourists to join together in celebration of the area.”

The festival celebrates regional culinary talent as well as the EAT SMART program, a nonprofit organization that provides healthy meals and nutritional guidance to locals through schools and non-profit partners at the event destination. Over $1 million has been raised for South Florida non-profits since the program launched. 

Those interested in purchasing tickets, and learning more about each event, can visit the event’s official website.