The famous South Beach Wine and Food Festival, which benefits FIU's very own Hospitality Program, hit Miami this year with a bang. It was a fun-filled event, with all of our favorite Food Network and Cooking Channel stars in attendance. Big names like Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri were part of the events, and FIU students were there, taking part of the action as volunteers, making connections, or as guests.
However, out of all the events at SOBE WFF, there was one that truly made the biggest impact. This year, SOBE had its very first Family Ice Cream Social, hosted by none other than Duff Goldman, only our favorite Food Network judge ever! On Sunday, February 25th, the Loews Miami Beach Hotel was packed with both adults and kids, ready to eat all kinds of frozen, sugary ice cream. This was one of the only events that involved kids; pretty much every other event involves wine, and therefore, is 21+.
The atmosphere of the event was amazing; there were many people, kids running everywhere trying out different ice cream flavors, and incredible music. There truly was so much to see and do, not to mention to taste! We were both in attendance working at the front of the house for registration, as well as event support, and had a fabulous time.
After we finished our shifts, we got the opportunity to go into the event and sample all the ice cream! What a variety...there was ice cream for all kinds of ice cream lovers: cones, sandwiches, and even sundaes. It seemed like all of Miami's top ice cream shops were in attendance, giving out samples of their delicious treats. Here are some of the many!
Serendipity Creamery
Serendipity Creamery was one of the ice cream stores at the event and they brought their delicious Pecan Pie ice cream. It tasted just like pancakes! It had the perfect blend of milk, sugar, and syrup, and it came in the cutest little cones. And those candied pecans...let's just say we wanted to eat an entire handful!
Sweet Melody Crafted Ice Cream
If this "Let it Brie" sundae looks appetizing to you (on the right), then Sweet Melody Crafted Ice Cream is a must! This was a scoop of baked brie apricot ice cream, topped with a fig compote and marcona almonds. It's safe to say it was absolutely life changing, and I would go back for more in a heartbeat.
Lifeway
Every ice cream lover needs a good dose of healthy probiotics! Lifeway displayed their probiotic strawberry blend at the event, and it was basically like drinking a delicious strawberry milkshake! You'd never know how many amazing benefits are in there. Yum!
Graeter's
Graeter's was a brand we'd never heard of, but we were dying to try their succulent chocolate ice cream sandwiches when we saw them. And good thing we did, because we were definitely different people after we tried them. The softest, chewiest cookies, and the creamiest chocolate ice cream sandwiched in the middle of those cookies, made for the best ice cream we'd ever tried! The taste just makes your taste buds dance.
Overall, the experience working the Ice Cream Social was amazing; it was such an honor to be able to volunteer and give back to our school, and then be given the chance to try some cold ice cream on a warm Miami Sunday alongside an incredible celebrity chef and all of our FIU Hospitality family. We can't wait to do this all over again next year!