Miami Mingles Around Food, Wine

By COLlive reporter
Photos by Sagette Van Embden

You didn’t have to travel far to discover a world of flavor and tastes…

The Kosher Food & Wine Miami, which took place last month, gave its sizable audience a culinary experience like no other at Gulfstream Park’s Sport of Kings Theater in Hallandale Beach.

It served up over 200 exotic wines from more than 30 wineries from around the world and samples from some of the best food from kosher restaurants and caterers from around South Florida.

“Miami’s vibrant and flavorful energy along with great company and delicious kosher food and wine was the perfect recipe for an exciting evening,” said Sandra Dunn, Chairperson of the festival, organized by WIZO Florida in partnership with the Israeli Wine Producers Association.

Dunn noted that “There is clearly a high demand for premium kosher food and wine. Kosher has changed drastically in the last few years, we want to give the masses the opportunity to experience Kosher in the highest tier possible.”

Mingling with the crowd were Michael Oren, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Bal Harbour Rabbi Shalom Ber Lipskar, Gainesville Shliach Rabbi Berel Goldman and others.

For Jana Falic, co-president of WIZO USA, the festival was more than just eating and mingling. “It provided us a unique opportunity, for the second year in a row, to advance the close bond between South Floridians and Israel,” she said.

Falic and her husband, Simon Falic own the Duty Free America chain and are known for their philanthropy for Jewish and Israeli causes, including Chabad. She said the event would help fund social service programs and educational facilities in Israel.

Participants were also treated to an up-close encounter with one of Israel’s most known foodies – Moshe Segev. The celebrity chef who hosts the cooking TV show “Segev Comes to Cook” presented some of his favorite offerings.

“There’s only two such type events in the country – in New York City and now in Miami,” says Joseph I. Waks, an organizer from Bal Harbour. “We had the goal of changing public perception about kosher food and introducing people to the wide variety of delicacies and products available today.”