{"id":264574,"date":"2025-09-29T19:24:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T19:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/264574\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T19:24:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T19:24:14","slug":"san-diego-food-wine-fest-returns-with-james-beard-partnership-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/264574\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego Food + Wine fest returns with James Beard partnership \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Over the past two decades, the San Diego Food + Wine Festival has gradually grown and evolved, with an expanded focus on South-of-the-border cuisine, the debut of industry panel discussions, a one-day culinary trip to Baja California, last year\u2019s film festival partnership kickoff and more.<\/p>\n<p>That evolution continues with three new festival additions this year, a partnership with the James Beard Foundation, a \u201cwellness weekend\u201d event in Encinitas and a \u201cForkcast\u201d summit meeting featuring food industry changemakers. The festival, which runs Nov. 2 through 11 at multiple locations, draws about 11,000 attendees each fall.<\/p>\n<p>Festival co-founder Michelle Metter described this year\u2019s festival as a \u201cwatershed moment,\u201d saying the new events help make the festival \u201cas forward-thinking as it is celebratory. San Diego has become one of the most exciting culinary crossroads in the country and this year\u2019s festival embodies that spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mng-gallery-initialized mng-gallery-slider\">\n<li data-index=\"1\" class=\"mng-ge mng-gallery-active\" id=\"mng-ge-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Tara Monsod, a 2024 and 2025 James Beard Award nominee...\" class=\"size-article_inline\"  \/>\n<p>Tara Monsod, a 2024 and 2025 James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: California, serves up tastings at the 2024 San Diego Food + Wine Festival. She will return to the festival this year. (San Diego Food + Wine Festival)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"2\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Diners and drinkers at the 2024 San Diego Food +...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/sut-l-dine-sdfoodwine-01.jpg\" \/>\n<p>Diners and drinkers at the 2024 San Diego Food + Wine Festival\u2019s Grand Tasting event at the Embarcadero. (San Diego Food + Wine Festival)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"3\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A tasting of wines from Baja California at the 2024...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/sut-l-dine-sdfoodwine-03.jpg\" \/>\n<p>A tasting of wines from Baja California at the 2024 San Diego Food + Wine Festival. (San Diego Food + Wine Festival)\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 3<\/p>\n<p>Tara Monsod, a 2024 and 2025 James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: California, serves up tastings at the 2024 San Diego Food + Wine Festival. She will return to the festival this year. (San Diego Food + Wine Festival)\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Through its partnership with the James Beard Foundation, which honors chefs and restaurant industry professionals with prestigious awards akin to the Oscars of the culinary world, many of this year\u2019s participating chefs have been honored by the Beard Foundation, or by the Michelin Guide.<\/p>\n<p>Some of this year\u2019s local participants are Elijah Arizmendi of the newly opened Lucien fine-dining restaurant in La Jolla; Roberto Alcocer of Michelin-starred Valle in Oceanside; two-time James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: California Tara Monsod of San Diego\u2019s Animae and La Coq restaurants; Drew Deckman of Michelin-starred Concha de Piedra in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico, and San Diego\u2019s 31THIRTYONE by Deckman\u2019s; and \u201cYes, Chef!\u201d TV competition champion Emily Brubaker of Omni La Costa Resort.<\/p>\n<p>Also attending are 2024 James Beard Best Chef winners Maynard Llera of Kuya Lord in Los Angeles and Matt Vawter of Rootstalk in Denver; Suzette Gresham of Michelin two-star Aquerello in San Francisco; \u201cNext Level Chef\u201d winner Pyet DeSpain; chef Ruffo Ibarra of Tijuana\u2019s Michelin-recommended Oryx and a Bocuse d\u2019Or team member, and many more.<\/p>\n<p>The full schedule and tickets can be found at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegowineclassic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sandiegowineclassic.com<\/a>. Here are some of this year\u2019s major events:<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Wellness weekend:<\/strong> Fox Point Farms will serve nutrient-rich dishes, low- or no-alcohol beverage pairings, movement pop-ups and activations by wellness brands. Nov. 2 at Fox Point Farms, Encinitas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Forkcast: The Future of Food Summit:\u00a0<\/strong>Chefs, policymakers, activists, scholars and industry leaders will discuss the interseciton of food, policy, equity and sustainability. Nov. 6. Location has not been announced.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegowineclassic.com\/event\/les-amis-de-bernard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Les Amis de Bernard Louis Latour Signature Dinner:<\/a> <\/strong>Former San Diego chef Bernard Guillas returns to cook with some top culinary friends. 6:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina hotel.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegowineclassic.com\/event\/mister-as\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">David Arthur Wine Dinner at Mister A\u2019s:<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>San Diego\u2019s iconic rooftop restaurant hosts a five-course dinner with pairings by the Napa Valley vineyard. 6:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at Mister A\u2019s, Bankers Hill.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegowineclassic.com\/event\/culinary-cinema\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Culinary Cinema Series<\/a>:<\/strong> The Coronado Island Film Festival once again hosts\u00a0 screenings of food-inspired films with panel discussions featuring filmmakers, film stars and chefs. Nov. 6, 7 and 9 at John D. Spreckels Center, Coronado.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegowineclassic.com\/event\/grand-decant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Grand Decant<\/a>: <\/strong>Friends of James Beard Foundation presents this opening-night event featuring award-winning wines and spirits paired with chef-prepared bites. 6-9 p.m. Nov. 7 at JULEP, San Diego.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegowineclassic.com\/event\/grand-tasting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Grand Tasting<\/a>:<\/strong> The festival\u2019s biggest event features tastings by more than 200 wine and spirits purveyors and more than 80 chefs. Noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 8 at Embarcero Marina Park North, San Diego.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegowineclassic.com\/event\/grand-fiesta\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Grand Fiesta<\/a>: <\/strong>The festival-closing party celebrates Baja cuisine, chefs and wine, and includes the annual Taco TKO competition, live music and more. Noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 9 at Ingram Plaza, Liberty Station\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bad Boys BBQ:\u00a0<\/strong>Bad Boys of Culinary Director Tony Bennett heads up a team of top barbecue chefs for this Brand Beet dinner. Date and time TBA. Ranch 45 restaurant, Solana Beach.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s Cool! Try &amp; Buy Shoppe:<\/strong> A free-entry retail pop-up with food, beverage, art musicl and shopping options. Ages 21 and up only. Nov. 8-9 at Malibu Farms, Seaport Village, San Diego.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the past two decades, the San Diego Food + Wine Festival has gradually grown and evolved, with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":264575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,20947,2105,1370,988,3549,3550,7264,1072,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-264574","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-dining","12":"tag-food-and-drink","13":"tag-latest-headlines","14":"tag-restaurants","15":"tag-san-diego","16":"tag-san-diego-county","17":"tag-sandiego","18":"tag-things-to-do","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115289226915895089","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}