Martha Stewart, Rachael Ray and Debi Mazar at South Beach Wine & Food Festival 2015

 Martha Stewart mingled with the well-heeled denizens at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s “Best of the Best” this weekend. One of her favorites at the gourmet gathering? The grilled jumbo octopus with potatoes, olives and salsa verde by Chef Jonathan Lane from nearby The Treymore Restaurant at The Metropolitan by COMO. She went on to host the famous Dolce Brunch on Saturday at Juvia.

Other fun news from the festival included the winner of Amstel Light’s Burger Bash—The Pincho Factory.  They won for “The Croquesta”, a brisket, short rib and chuck croquette-topped sandwich with a brioche bun. At the end of the event, the Coral Gables-based restaurant walked home with a $5,000 check presented by event host Rachael Ray.

Debi Mazar and her husband/chef Gabriele Corcos hosted Ronzoni’s 100th Anniversary Al Fresco Feast on the Beach on night that was a little more “fresco” than everyone bargained for, with a low mercury and big winds. But fortunately everyone stayed warm with the help of the tent and heaters and had bellies full of pasta. One of the favorite stations of the night was by Touché chef Carla Pelligrino. It wasn’t their only SOBEWFF appearance though, the pair went on to host the Tuscan Trio Dinner on Friday, along with Fabio Vivani.

Saturday night’s “Meatopia” had a 1960’s vibe with Blues Traveller playing live on the sands behind the Delano. The event was presented by the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, but thankfully, was not all the way out west. The evening brought out the city’s best grillers and meat aficionados including The Forge’s Christopher Lee with big boss Shareef Malnik nearby. The longest line was for Hawksmoor of London what was serving up tomahawk steaks everyone was turning positively Fred Flintstone for the oversize bones.

Before all those events, it was the Food & Wine Chef Kickoff presented by MasterCard Priceless Miami that got everything started on Thursday night at the Thompson. Party guests included Ted Allen, Michelle Bernstein, Geoffrey Zakarian, Guy Fieri, Robert Irvine and more. 

Photos by World Red Eye and Getty Images