There will be a familiar face from Southwest Florida among the stellar lineup of chefs at the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami Beach Feb. 19-22.
Celebrated pastry chef and chocolatier Norman Love will take part in one of the top events of the star-studded 14th annual festival: Wine Spectator’s Best of the Best sponsored by Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, which takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20 at Fontainebleau Miami Beach. Love will offer his dazzling chocolates and macaroons at his tasting booth during the festive evening that features food and confections from 60 top chefs. Wines rated 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator will be poured by the winemakers or proprietors of 70 wineries.
“It’s an honor to take part in such an exciting event with so many talented chefs and vintners,” said Love.
Tickets to the sold-out Best of the Best were $350 each. It is one of more than 75 events during the four-day festival at locations throughout South Florida. Other events include wine dinners, cocktail competitions, tastings, culinary demonstrations and more. For a full listing of events and ticket prices, visit www.sobefest.com.
The festival is presented by FOOD & WINE and benefits the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management’s Wine Spectator Restaurant Management Laboratory and Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center at Florida International University.
The award-winning Fort Myers-based chocolatier has been lauded more than a dozen times by a leading consumer ratings magazine, including recognition six times for producing the best ultra-premium chocolates in the nation. Forbes.com included Norman Love Confections BLACK line on its list of the nation’s top 10 truffles; The Huffington Post listed it among the six best U.S. destinations in its Chocolate Lover’s Travel Guide; and USA Today named Love as one of its top 10 entrepreneurs for 2014.
Norman Love Confections creates and distributes handcrafted artisanal chocolates from its Fort Myers corporate headquarters that encompasses both production and retail operations. Chocolates, gift baskets, sipping chocolate and Love’s new book, “Artistry in Chocolate, A Story of Love,” also can be ordered online at www.normanloveconfections.com.
Norman Love Confections has Chocolate Salons in Fort Myers, Estero and Naples, and Artisan Gelato by Norman Love is next door to the Fort Myers salon, off Daniels Parkway east of I-75. In addition, Norman Love Confections chocolates and desserts are offered on 18 Princess Cruises’ ships through the “Chocolate Journeys” partnership.