Andrew Carmellini’s Chicken Coupe a Smash with Free-Flowing Bubbly and Perfect Birds

There are the big events, Burger Bash, the Q, with lots of people and endless choices that the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival is famous for. Then there are smaller, dare we say, underrated events? We do. The best of which might just be Chicken Coupe, hosted by Andrew Carmellini, chef and proprietor of The Dutch at the W Hotel South Beach. At this intimate event in the W’s cozy ballroom, the ‘Coupe’ stands for the Riedel champagne coupe they give you to keep and fill endlessly at six champagne stations from French vinters Nicolas Feuillatte, Veuve Clicquot, Pol Roger, Bollinger, Henriot and G.H. Mumm.  Then, there was the chicken. Miami was well represented with chicken from Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, Eating House, Amaris Jones from South Street and of course, The Dutch.

Our favorite out-of-town chicken was Hill Country Barbecue Market’s out of New York. Chef Elizabeth Karmel made the trip to cook and serve, telling us about the “enormous shipment of buttermilk that came into the hotel, just for the chefs preparing their chicken.”

DJ Blaze Carreras provided what can only be described as retro neo-soul favorites that had everyone dancing a little while juggling their bird and bubbly. The best thing about the event, besides the carrot cake from Serendipity 3, was the vibe. There were no lines, everything was at arms reach and everyone really was… happy.