PBFW 2023 brings star-studded events to Palm Beach County restaurants

Liz Balmaseda, Palm Beach Post
·1 min read
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Mingling star chefs. Multicourse feasts. Multitudes grazing. Mucho wine. If you made it to this year’s Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival, which swept through the county from Dec. 7-10, chances are you experienced some of the above.

If you missed it, here are some highlights:

• Longtime friends and fellow chefs Daniel Boulud and Marcello Fiorentino teamed up for a legendary dinner at Fiorentino’s La Sirena restaurant in West Palm Beach on Friday, Dec. 8. They stirred up risotto, shaved truffles, bantered all night, posed for selfies and delivered an impeccable six-course feast.

Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud shares truffles with longtime friend Marcello Fiorentino during a Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival dinner at Marcello's La Sirena restaurant in West Palm Beach.
Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud shares truffles with longtime friend Marcello Fiorentino during a Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival dinner at Marcello's La Sirena restaurant in West Palm Beach.

• Food Network superstar Robert Irvine mingled with festgoers at Okeechobee Steakhouse’s events facility Thursday, Dec. 7, during a walk-around tasting event. It would be the first of several festival appearances by the celebrity chef and philanthropist.

Celebrity chef Robert Irvine autographs a bottle of his Irvine's Spirits during a Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival event at a Okeechobee Steakhouse-related banquet hall Thursday, Dec. 7.
Celebrity chef Robert Irvine autographs a bottle of his Irvine's Spirits during a Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival event at a Okeechobee Steakhouse-related banquet hall Thursday, Dec. 7.

• James Beard Award-winning Miami chef Michelle Bernstein, who once owned an eponymous restaurant in Palm Beach, joined fellow celebrity chef Ben Ford (Harrison Ford’s son) in creating lunch at La Goulue French bistro in Palm Beach on Saturday, Dec. 9. They were not the only stars in the room — reality TV celebrity Tyler Cameron (former contestant on ABC's “The Bachelorette”) was among the guests who enjoyed the five-course lunch.

Saturday lunch: Celebrity chefs/restaurateurs Michelle Bernstein of Miami and Ben Ford (actor Harrison Ford's son) of Los Angeles headline a Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival event at La Goulue.
Saturday lunch: Celebrity chefs/restaurateurs Michelle Bernstein of Miami and Ben Ford (actor Harrison Ford's son) of Los Angeles headline a Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival event at La Goulue.

• An up-and-coming local chef named Diego Suero won the annual Grand Chef Throwdown during the festival’s big closing event, the Grand Tasting at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on Sunday, Dec. 10. Suero, a chef at Lindsay Autry’s Honeybelle restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens, donated his $10,000 prize to The Post’s Season to Share charity drive, which assists needy families and individuals in the county.

Sunday Grand Tasting: Chef Diego Suero of Honeybelle restaurant holds up his prize belt after winning the Grand Chef Throwdown during the 2023 Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival.
Sunday Grand Tasting: Chef Diego Suero of Honeybelle restaurant holds up his prize belt after winning the Grand Chef Throwdown during the 2023 Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival.

That’s just a nibble. There’s much more to see in our festival photo gallery.

Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at lbalmaseda@pbpost.com. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Celebrities at PBFW restaurants: Son of Harrison Ford; Tyler Cameron