25 Years of SoBe: How Lee Schrager Changed the Culinary World

When Lee Schrager first planted the seed for what would become the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, few believed a food and wine festival on Miami Beach could be anything more than niche. Schrager saw something bigger: culinary culture as cultural spectacle. Through persistence, deep relationships, and an instinct for unforgettable moments, he turned an ambitious idea into a global phenomenon.

What began as six events drawing 6,000 people grew into a four-day engine attracting over half a million visitors and more than 500 chefs, musicians, and stars. Along the way came the legends, the downpours, and the rise of chefs from scrappy newcomers to icons.

Today, celebrity-chef weekends and influencer-fueled food tourism are everywhere. That collision of food, fame, travel, and spectacle? Schrager built the blueprint. He convinced the biggest names to bet on Miami, mixed Michelin with music, and blurred the line between tasting and entertainment—bringing everyone from Rachael Ray to Bobby Flay to Diplo to DJ Khaled onto the sand.

Now SoBe Food & Wine is the gold standard for modern culinary tourism. We congratulate Schrager—our second favorite Schrager—for shaping an era and making history, again and again.

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