Visit Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival 2027: Marcus Samuelsson Headlines a Week of Fort Lauderdale Tastings, BBQ at the Beach and the Grand Tasting

Fort Lauderdale gets a whole week of this. The Visit Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival runs January 18 to 24, 2027, for its 8th year, with events spread across Greater Fort Lauderdale and a headliner who knows how to run a room. Marcus Samuelsson tops the bill. A full week of eating and drinking in Fort Lauderdale is not work. I'm calling it work anyway.

The big day is Saturday, January 23, when the Grand Tasting takes over Las Olas Oceanside Park, right off 3000 E Las Olas Blvd, from 12 to 4 PM. The deal is simple and dangerous: unlimited food and beverage tastings, live music, and a cooking demo pavilion where Samuelsson closes the day at 3:15 PM. Before him, Eddie Jackson and Jason Smith demo at 2:15 PM and Hannah Flora at 1:30 PM. That's a front row seat to four working chefs with an open tasting floor in front of you and the ocean a few steps behind you.

A full week of eating and drinking in Fort Lauderdale is not work. I'm calling it work anyway.

Moe Train

The week around it hits restaurants all over Broward County, plus wine and cocktail seminars during the week, which is where my Certified Wine and Spirits Professional credential earns its keep. General admission early bird tickets for the Grand Tasting start at $99, and the event is strictly 21 and over. A portion of festival proceeds benefits Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, so the eating does some good while you're at it.

Seven days, one beachside park, and a demo stage stacked with chefs I'd happily interview between bites. Broward County, I'm on my way.

Coverage plans include:

• Chef interviews across the week, starting with the demo pavilion lineup at the Grand Tasting
• Full Grand Tasting coverage from Las Olas Oceanside Park, station by station
• Daily recaps on Moe Train Eats from the restaurant events, seminars, and tastings around Greater Fort Lauderdale