Slow Food

If you love farm-to-table dining, community vibes, and supporting the Slow Food Movement food education, the Slow Food Miami Snail of Approval Tasting Party is one event to keep on your radar.

Hosted under the stars (and a bit of wind!) at the iconic Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach, the evening brought together a curated lineup of Miami’s most talented chefs, restaurants, artisans, and purveyors—all recognized for their Slow Food movement commitment to clean, fair, and local food. The event was hosted by Chef Hinson Lau, who recently joined Eden Roc Miami Beach as their new Complex Executive Chef.

Scroll down for extra photos from the night…

Complex Executive Chef & event host Hinson Lau, Eden Roc and Nobu.

Guests roamed the poolside tasting stations, sampling everything from locally-sourced small bites to craft desserts and sips. It was a celebration of food that not only tastes good—but does good, too. Love this Slow Food Movement!

Supporting the Edible School Garden Program

Proceeds from the evening benefit the Edible School Garden Program, an initiative that teaches young students where real food comes from by getting them involved in growing it themselves. As someone who believes deeply in food education, I love seeing programs like this take root (literally!) in our local schools.

Chef Chats & Behind-the-Scenes Moments

Throughout the night, I caught up with a few of the chefs to find out what drives their culinary creativity. Spoiler: I had no idea at the time, but I ended up chatting with the chef who took home the win that evening—glad I caught that moment on camera!

Watch the Reels & See More Moments

Check out my Instagram Reels here for behind-the-scenes chats and more foodie moments —you’ll want to bookmark this one if you’re planning to attend next year.

Want to Get Involved?

Learn more about the mission and how to support future Slow Food movement events at Slow Food Miami.

Winner of last night’s Snail of Approval Award went to Chef Paula Dasilva, 1500 restaurant for her OUTSTANDING Crispy pork belly in a crispy wonton wrapper. The execution of this dish was truly sensational. I knew the minute I bit into it she’d be the winner!

Slow Food Miami’s 2012’s Snail of Approval Awards Party last night was held at the newly renovated Miami Beach Botanical Gardens in South Beach! Fourteen Chefs using locally sourced quality ingredients competed for title Snail of Approval. Judges included Lee Schrager, Bruce Seidel, Chef Art Smith and Victoria Pesce Elliott, with event ambassador, Chef Michael Schwartz. There was a nice variety of dishes from an exotic Yucca Gator Croquetta to a simple Feta Cheese Mousse. As I’m not a chef or a foodie, I was worried I wasn’t going to meet anyone I knew there so was pleasantly surprised to see 2 guests who were both chefs and had attended my classes!
What a beautiful setting and perfect weather for this inaugural Awards Party to help raise funds for the Edible School Garden Program. I’m all for encouraging kids at a young age to have a healthy, respectful attitude towards food. That’s why getting to meet Chef Art Smith, founder of Common Threads was one of the highlights of this evening. I so enjoyed teaching a Common Threads class, their mission is similar to this Edible School Garden Program. Find out how you can get involved with Common Threads here. The other highlight was meeting Bruce Seidel, now with Electus. He developed Food Network Star and Iron Chef America and is now heading up Youtube’s new food channel beginning July. I’m working on a video of Bruce, so stay tuned.