Weather 
After a winter full of family drama for Brooklyn Beckham, the celebrity scion is getting in some fun in the sun – co-hosting an event with Rachael Ray at Miami’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
Beckham, a chef and entrepreneur, and Ray are set to emcee a burger cookoff on Thursday, the opening day of the festival that is marking its 25th anniversary.
“We thought he’d cancel, given all the publicity,” festival founder and director Lee Schrager said of Beckham.
“I have been after Brooklyn for three or four years,” he told Side Dish. “But after he launched his hot sauce, I went back to him and told him, ‘This is your audience.’”
Beckham, who did not comment, participated in the New York City Wine & Food Festival in October, where he was “just as nice as could be,” said Schrager.
“Honestly, I was a bit surprised to get him for two festivals in a row,” he added. “But he’s back, and he’s excited. I’m looking forward to it.”
Amid a family feud in which Beckham accused his parents David and Victoria Beckham of trying to sabotage his marriage and prioritizing branding over relationships – allegations the star couple has denied – the son is scheduled to help oversee the burger competition in which Gayle King, Ashley Graham and more are set to be judges.
Brooklyn Beckham, who has 17 million followers on social media, will get to promote his hot sauce, Cloud23. The brand launched the day of his wedding to Nicola Peltz — before the family feud broke out — and was named in part after his father’s soccer jerseys.
Beckham is set to team up with one of the Big Apple’s favorite French bistros, Keith McNally’s Pastis, which now has a Miami outpost, to create a burger for the competition.
Diplo is also set to perform.
“We wanted something big, and we have it,” Schrager said.
That’s one of many events at the festival, moving this year from Miami Beach to areas including the Design District and Coconut Grove and featuring 500 participating chefs.
This is the first year that the festival will have a non-alcoholic event, called “Coffee Culture: A Miami Brunch Experience” and hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka.
Other festivities range from formal dinners to a casual ping pong-and-pizza event hosted by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the Miami Beach Edition Hotel.
“There are definitely people not drinking or drinking less and drinking differently, and we now have mocktails at every event,” Schrager said.
He founded the festival after attending the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colo., one year and loving it so much, he decided to bring a similar festival to the beach.
“I remember thinking it was the greatest thing in the world, with the beautiful mountains in the background. I thought, how could we do this on the ocean, instead? Miami wasn’t a culinary capital like it is today,” Schrager recounted. “Back then, there were just a handful of restaurants in Miami.”
Joe’s Stone Crab was on the southern tip of Miami Beach and the Forge, Miami’s second oldest restaurant, was on the other side.
The festival has seen plenty of antics since its launch. Gordon Ramsay skipped a $300-a-plate dinner he was scheduled to cook in 2003, Page Six reported at the time. In 2009, Chef Mario Batali made headlines for dropping the f-bomb in front of the king and queen of Spain. Another year, Willie Nelson gave an impromptu beach concert.
“At the start, we had to bring in the talent because we didn’t have enough chefs. Now there’s a plethora of restaurants with the greatest chefs in the world, from Jean-Georges [Vongerichten] to Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller,” Schrager said.
To date, the festival has raised more than $45 million for Florida University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and provided opportunities for students to meet and work with participating top chefs.
Schrager said the festival has been lucky to “ride the coattails” of the Food Network, which launched just five years before his event.
“They helped introduce us to their followers and talent and we evolved by having the greatest chefs in the world participate over the years,” he remarked.
Schrager adds that whether there’s a billionaires’ boom, like today, or a financial crisis like in 2008, ticket sales for the festival have been steady. Organizers said they sold 60,000 tickets this year.
“Even during the COVID years, people were so happy to be doing things outside,” Schrager said. “We’ve always been profitable, even during the bad years.
“Twenty-five years is a lot for anything — for a marriage, for kids. I’m excited about the turnout of talent and winemakers. We haven’t lost appeal. We are as popular today as ever, and maybe more.”
