Every February, the Food Network hosts an event in Miami called the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, AKA SOBEWFF, where chefs from all over come to cook food and showcase the best wines. This year, it was hosted from Thursday, February 20th through Sunday, February 23rd. Originally, SOBEWFF was founded by students and professors from Florida International University (FIU) around 1997 as a one-day event called the Florida Extravaganza. In 2002, it was moved and renamed South Beach Wine & Food Festival, and a few years later, Food Network partnered with the festival, and it became the success it is today. Since FIU founded the event, FIU students get to volunteer. Multitudes of students volunteer at SOBEWFF events all over Miami every year, and I was fortunate enough to volunteer at three events this year.
Pre-Festival
SOBEWFF takes volunteer applications from September through to the day before the event. I submitted mine in late November and scheduled an interview in December. The interview is just about ensuring you’re a student and can volunteer. They then set your schedule and go over your “payment” and position(s). There are dozens of jobs, ranging from leading events to plating. I was assigned to be involved with registration, culinary, and event support. They also often move around events, so your schedule might be changes (this happened to me).
If you don’t have a car, then you’ll need to find someone to drive you or a group to split an Uber with. It’s not hard to find that, though; every volunteer is put into a Discord server with a carpool chat where people post their shifts and ask who can drive or split an Uber with them.
You also have to join a free class at FIU, which I’ll discuss later.
The Festival
The first shift I worked was spent doing registration for Burger Bash. This was, by far, my easiest shift. I clocked in and got my volunteer shirt. The other employees and I walked through the venue to the front of the admissions queue and were given a quick run-down of what we would be doing and how to efficiently get people in the queue. My job was to hold the Capital One early admission sign and make sure that the process ran smoothly. About halfway through the event, we got to take a few minutes to eat and walk around the crowded venue, then mingle with the other registration employees. We talked about classes and life, and making new friends was one of my favorite parts of the festival.
On my second shift, I was extremely nervous; I’d been assigned to the Tournament of Champions, working alongside the chefs to make food. I got to eat pasta and salad before being give a culinary uniform and my chef assignment. I was assigned to Aaron May’s team, where I spent my time scooping chile verde and cheese into small cups. The host of the event was Guy Fieri, so he was on stage and walking around. After the event, we stayed for an hour or two to clean up the extra food and the trays to be cleaned, and collect food to be donated to the homeless.
My last shift consisted of two events: the Drag Brunch and the Duff Goldman late-night dessert party. This was my longest shift, lasting around thirteen hours, but it was also my favorite shift.
At the first event, I helped vendors set up their equipment and put the attendee’s goodies in their spots. About four of us had to help with registration, and we all greeted guests and saw them to their seats. During the event, they got us pizza as a meal and then we got to watch the drag show. We were also allowed to go to the vendors and eat what they had left. I loved this. I had never seen a drag show before and found it so much fun! Once the event ended, we flipped to the next event and then ate burgers.
An hour before the next event started, Duff Goldman showed up. I was star struck. I grew up watching him on TV; Charm City Cakes and the Baking Championships are a staple in my household. He wanted the layout changed so it would be more intimate, so did as he asked and then went to greet guests as they came in again. Before the event started, Duff prepped and made half of what he was cooking at his show (his grandmother’s apple strudel). During the event, we got to watch and eat the desserts that the vendors offered. Duff’s show consisted of him talking to the audience about his life and rise to fame, which was so much fun. Once Duff was done, we had about thirty minutes left of our shift, so we started the cleanup process and then clocked out.
Post-Festival
Earlier, I mentioned joining a class. This is an online class where you complete an exit survey and write a brief essay about what you experienced and learned. You also get a stipend for the hours you worked based on the wages assigned to your shift. If you drive someone, you get paid an extra five bucks an hour, as well as up to twenty dollars a day for parking.
SOBEWFF is such a unique experience that I am so fortunate to have been a part of this year. I learned so much about networking, history, and the behind-the-scenes of restaurants and TV shows. You get to meet so many amazing people and make friends. I had so much fun and hope I can participate again next year.