How social media killed the food festival stars. And created others

MIAMI (AP) — Lesley VanNess hasn’t missed the South Beach Wine and Food Festival in almost 10 years. seaside grocery store Celebrities, drinks and bites, with tens of thousands of attendees paying hundreds to thousands of dollars to attend.

It was about access, it was about the chance to chat and gab with people like Rachael Ray. Bobby Flaypeople one would normally only experience from the Food Network’s hands-on perspective.

“I would pick up Food Network Magazine and there would be ads for it. ‘Oh my God! Can you go to this? Can you go to these cool events and meet these celebrity chefs?'” said VanNess, a 44-year-old former restaurant owner from Iowa. “I thought,” he said. “I’m in!”

This was in the golden age of the food festival; It was a decade-long period that began around 2010, when copycat events popped up everywhere, creating a circuit-like scene for A-list chefs (and plenty of wannabes).

Then came social media, such a power fused barriers among fans and food celebrities. People like VanNess realized they could text Flay instead of packing into football field-sized tents to chat with him.

Or better yet, perhaps they can join the online #instafood chat to discover the next meal. ray or Flay, a whole new level of social reputation has been unlocked.

VanNess hasn’t returned to South Beach since at least 2020. “I’d rather see them on social media or go to their restaurants,” he said.

This past weekend, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival turned 25 years old, making it one of the biggest on the festival scene, along with its sister events, the New York City Wine and Food Festival and Food and Wine Classics in Aspen, Colorado. From every angle, all three are getting stronger. But many smaller festivals have disappeared, victims of the pandemic: a decline in ticket sales, rising food and labor costs, and apathy from chefs.

So are food festivals still relevant?

“South Beach and New York are filling a void, and I can see them continuing indefinitely. But food events and food festivals are going in a whole other direction,” said Mike Thelin, co-founder of the now-closed Oregon festival Feast Portland.

The success of festivals has long been tied to the need for chefs, wineries, mixologists, food producers and those now known as food influencers to reach a broader audience. In 2026, this is an outdated concept.

“They wanted to get on the map in 2010,” Thelin said. “They don’t need it anymore.”

This doesn’t mean festivals are dead. He explained that a recalibration had occurred. A not-so-subtle reference to what many call “white tent events” along the sands of South Beach across the Atlantic is fading.

“If I’m going to a certain area, I want to know what makes that area special,” Thelin said. “If I’m in Washington or Tennessee, I don’t want to go into a giant white tent devoid of geography and drink a bunch of California wine.”

Are you taking their place? A series of small, hyper-focused activities based on people and place. Events like AAPI Food & Wine, a 3-year-old festival based in Oregon and New York City that highlights the work of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

“The food world has changed a lot,” said Lois Cho, one of the founders of the event, which attracts about 1,000 participants a year. “People didn’t realize wine, black bean noodles, izakaya, all these different Thai dishes; they had no idea that they matched. Creating a different narrative and community where you can connect with people, those are the kinds of events we’re going to see now.”

Social media has unlocked many overlooked voices, she said.

“And a lot of people didn’t realize that because there were so many ordinary things that happened in the last 20 years,” he said.

It was a similar story for the Southbound Food Festival, which celebrates Birmingham, Alabama’s culinary scene. The event, which starts in 2022 and spans a week every autumn, receives support not only from chefs but also from the region’s art and music community.

“There’s less interest in these TV chefs today. Great chefs are everywhere,” said Nancy Hopkins, one of the event’s founders. “People come to celebrate and uplift Birmingham.”

Still, as Thelin says, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival and its New York sibling, white tents, Food Network faces and all, aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Nearly all of the 110 events in South Beach featuring more than 500 chefs and food experts are sold out this year. Over its quarter-century, the festival has raised more than $45 million for Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Lee Schrager, the force behind the two festivals, said the South Beach plan remains valid today.

“There’s something about DM’ing Bobby Flay that’s very different from going to an intimate dinner with a table of 10 that sells out in three days,” Schrager said. “Social media has made it accessible to everyone, but can you touch it and feel it?”

The first South Beach event, attended by just 10 chefs, was little more than a wine tasting. More than 30,000 people attended this year. Martha Stewart hosted a luncheon at Joe’s Stone Crab, Italian celebrity butcher Dario Cecchini tossed slices of beef to the eager diner crowd, and Ray replicated the Burger Bash, where everything from Kool-Aid pickles to foie gras was topped with smashed wagyu patties on potato buns.

Schrager acknowledged that most smaller festivals can’t operate the way he does, including hosting events that he knows will sell tickets even if they eventually lose money. He said he sold $7 million in tickets this year, earned $6 million in sponsorships and made just over $1 million in revenue.

“That’s a good number in the festival world, but not a great return if you’re running a profit-making business,” he said.

Ray, who attended almost every South Beach and New York festival, continues to take the stage. It’s about loyalty to Schrager, who took it seriously at a time when most of the food world didn’t. But it’s also about in-person access to fans.

“I love talking to people, being with people, having people climb on you, hit on you, compliment you,” he said. “I love being in a real-life experience.”

JM Hirsch is a food and travel journalist and former food editor for The Associated Press.