The plant-based food trend has taken over South Florida, and now Miami is hosting their very first food and wine festival based around healthy living. 7’s Belkys Nerey plants the seed in tonight’s Style File.
It’s easy being green in South Florida. Just look around and you’ll see an explosion of vegan and vegetarian restaurants.
Alison Burgos, Creator, Seed Miami: “This is not a fad; this is the future of food.”
The movement is so big, Miami is sprouting its first plant-based food and wine festival called “Seed.”
Alison Burgos: “We don’t think that everybody is going to come out and become completely vegan. We just want you to realize that living a healthier life can be delicious, it can be fun, it can be sexy.”
Seed kicks off October 15th with a cast of celebrity chefs and health experts like actress and vegan Alicia Silverstone. And just like any regular foodie festival, there will be plenty to eat.
Alison Burgos: “Everything will be plant-based, fresh ingredients and fresh herbs. You will be blown away.”
The five-day celebration will be full of gourmet dinners at local restaurants, and the big festival day, which is Saturday, October 18th.
Alison Burgos: “We have a hundred vendors celebrating plant-based living.”
At the all-day event, there will be:
– Cooking demonstrations
– Wine, beer and cocktail tastings
– Yoga
– Lots of local products to sample
Austin Allen, Tio Gazpacho: “Tio Gazpacho is a new line of drinkable organic gazpachos that we make right here in South Florida.”
Alina Zhukovskaya, OnJuice/Deliver Lean: “We’re going to have a variety of raw and cooked meals, Oriental noodle bowl, we’ll have a chia pudding. We’re going to do onion blings. They’re actually onion rings that are good for you.”
Chef: “These are our lettuce cups that we’ll be serving at the Seed Festival. And we have a mushroom confit that we cooked slow in a little bit of coconut oil, and then we toss it with a little bit of garlic, ginger and scallion.”
Even top local chefs from meat-focused restaurants are getting involved, plating up feel-good foods at the festival.
Jamie DeRosa, Chef, Tongue and Cheek Restaurant: “Vegetables being the center of the plate can be created just like a great protein can. They can be cooked the same way, braised, roasted.”
Todd Erickson, Chef, Haven South Beach: “I said yes immediately. Haven isn’t a vegetarian restaurant, but we’ve got a bigger following, like just over the last couple of years. The demand has been higher.”
Give it a try. It’s one festival where you won’t feel guilty about overeating.
Seed Food and Wine Festival is October 15th through the 19th. Tickets start at $10. Festival day tickets at the Midtown Miami tents are $45.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Seed Food and Wine Festival
October 15th-19th
seedfoodandwine.com