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

MIAMI (AP) 鈥� For nearly 10 years running, Lesley VanNess never missed the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, a of celebrities, booze and bites that tens of thousands of attendees pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to join.

It was about access, the chance to nosh and gab with the likes of Rachael Ray and , people she otherwise could experience only via the hands-in-pans purview of the Food Network.

鈥淚鈥檇 get the Food Network Magazine and there would be advertisements for it. I鈥檓 like, 鈥�0h my god! You could go to that? Go to these great events and meet these celebrity chefs?鈥�,鈥� said VanNess, a 44-year-old former restaurant owner from Iowa. 鈥淚鈥檓 in!鈥�

That was during the food festival heyday, a decade-long stretch starting around 2010 when copycat events popped up everywhere, creating a circuit-like scene for A-list chefs (and ample wannabes).

Then came social media, a force that between fans and food celebs. People like VanNess realized that instead of crowding into football field-size tents to chance a chat with Flay, they could just DM him.

Or better yet, they could tune in to online #instafood chatter to perhaps discover the next or Flay, a whole new level of social cred unlocked.

VanNess hasn鈥檛 been back to South Beach since at least 2020. 鈥淚鈥檇 rather see them on social media or go to their restaurant,鈥� she said.

What chefs and foodies want

Last weekend, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival turned 25, cementing it as one of the elders of the festival scene, along with its sister event, the New York City Wine & Food Festival, and the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado. By all accounts, all three are going strong. But many smaller festivals have disappeared, victims of the pandemic, slumping ticket sales, soaring food and labor costs, and chef disinterest.

So, are food festivals still relevant?

鈥淪outh Beach and New York, they fill a niche and I can see them going on forever. But food events and food festivals are going in a whole other direction,鈥� said Mike Thelin, one of the founders of the now shuttered Oregon festival Feast Portland.

Festivals’ success long hinged on the need of chefs, wineries, mixologists, food producers, and what only now are known as food influencers to reach a wider audience. In 2026, that鈥檚 an antiquated notion.

鈥淚n 2010, they wanted to get on the map,鈥� Thelin said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 need that anymore.鈥�

Seeking that local connection

That doesn鈥檛 mean festivals are dead. There鈥檚 a recalibration happening, he explained. What many call 鈥渨hite tent affairs,鈥� a not-so-subtle nod to South Beach鈥檚 events that stretch along the sands of the Atlantic, are fading.

鈥淚f I鈥檓 going to a certain region, I want to know what makes that region special,鈥� Thelin said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to go into a giant white tent that鈥檚 devoid of geography and drink a bunch of wines from California if I鈥檓 in Washington or Tennessee.鈥�

Taking their place? A host of small, hyper-focused events grounded in . Events like AAPI Food & Wine, a 3-year-old Oregon and New York City-based festival that highlights the work of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

鈥淭he foodie scene has changed so much,鈥� said Lois Cho, one of the founders of that event, which draws about 1,000 attendees a year. 鈥淧eople didn鈥檛 realize wine and black bean noodles and izakaya and all these different Thai dishes 鈥� they had no idea they paired. Creating a different narrative and community where you can connect with people, those are the types of events we鈥檒l see now.鈥�

Social media, she said, unlocked so many overlooked voices.

“And a lot of people haven鈥檛 caught on because it鈥檚 been a lot of cookie-cutter events for the last 20 years,鈥� she said.

It鈥檚 been a similar story for the Southbound Food Festival, which celebrates the culinary scene of Birmingham, Alabama. Started in 2022 and stretching over a week every fall, the event pulls support not just from chefs, but also the region鈥檚 art and music scenes.

鈥淭here鈥檚 less appeal today with these TV chefs. Great chefs are everywhere,鈥� said Nancy Hopkins, one of the event鈥檚 founders. 鈥淧eople come to celebrate and uplift Birmingham.鈥�

The OG festivals still draw crowds

Still, as Thelin said, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and it鈥檚 New York sibling aren鈥檛 going anywhere anytime soon, white tents, Food Network faces and all. Tickets to nearly all of South Beach鈥檚 110 events, which featured 500-plus chefs and food personalities, sold out this year. In its quarter century, the festival has raised more than $45 million for the Florida International University Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Lee Schrager, the force behind the two festivals, said the South Beach blueprint remains relevant today.

鈥淭here鈥檚 something very different about DM鈥檌ng Bobby Flay than going to an intimate dinner at a table of 10 that he鈥檚 doing that鈥檚 sold out in three days,鈥� Schrager said. 鈥淪ocial media has made everyone available, but can you touch and feel it?鈥�

The first South Beach event, attended by only 10 chefs, was little more than a wine tasting. This year, more than 30,000 people attended. Martha Stewart hosted a luncheon at Joe鈥檚 Stone Crab, Italian celebrity butcher Dario Cecchini tossed slabs of beef into an eager dinner crowd, and Ray reprised her Burger Bash, where everything from Kool-Aid pickles to foie gras adorned smashed wagyu patties on potato buns.

Schrager acknowledged that most smaller festivals can鈥檛 operate the way his do, including hosting events he knows will sell tickets even if they ultimately lose money. He said he sold $7 million in tickets this year and brought in $6 million in sponsorships 鈥� and netted just a little over $1 million.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a good number in the festival world, but it鈥檚 not a great return if you鈥檙e running a profit business,鈥� he said.

Ray, who has participated in nearly every South Beach and New York festival, continues to show up. It鈥檚 about loyalty to Schrager, who took her seriously when much of the food world didn鈥檛. But it鈥檚 also about in-person access to fans.

鈥淚 love talking to people, being with people, having people climb all over you, hang on you, give you a compliment,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 love being in the real-life experience.鈥�

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J.M. Hirsch is a food and travel journalist, and the former food editor for The Associated Press.