The Best Miami Book Fair 2017 Events for Foodies

The Miami Book Fair will take place this Sunday, November 12, through next Sunday, November 19. This year's festival will present more than 500 authors, 30 of whom will promote food-related books.

"We're very excited with the lineup of chefs this year," Lissette Mendez, director of programming, says. "Since the resurgence of food culture and the explosion of food in television, interest in the culinary cookbooks has been great!"

The fest has partnered with Miami Dade College's Culinary Institute, which opened in 2011, to offer the Kitchen at Miami Book Fair, which will present culinary events during the street fair November 18 and 19. "We started inside the Culinary Institute and eventually outgrew the space," Mendez explains. Last year, festival organizers created Kitchen Stadium, a large stage with a demo kitchen, and it will return this year so authors can once again treat fans to some of the specialties in their books.

From a Slow Food Miami dinner to celebrity chef demos, here are the best food- and drink-related events at this year's Miami Book Fair.

Happy Hour at the Porch. Kick off your fair experience with beer from Biscayne Bay Brewing, music from DJ Le Spam, and poems from the Miami Poetry Collective. 5:30 p.m. Sunday, November 12, at the Porch, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

First Draft. Most literary classics were conceived over a cocktail or two. Now it's your turn to imbibe and write. Swing by the Porch for a drink and a guided writing prompt. Enjoy an adult beverage and write a story while instructor Lynne Barrett gently critiques your work. 6 p.m. Thursday, November 16, at the Porch, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

Booking the Cooks. Slow Food Miami will launch the fair's culinary events with a fundraiser. Guests can enjoy farm-to-table creations by Norman Van Aken and Allen Susser, who are among the chefs presenting demos from their latest cookbooks at the fair. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, November 16, at Kitchen Stadium, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com. Tickets cost $60 each.

Drink & Draw at the Standard. For the second year, the fair pits famed comics authors and illustrators against one another in a battle for the title of Drink & Draw Champ. Host Conor McCreery will moderate comics creators such as George O’Connor, Kim Dwinell, Tillie Walden, and Matt Holm in a cocktail-fueled showdown. 7 p.m. Thursday, November 16, at the Standard Spa, 40 Island Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-1717; standardhotels.com/spa-miami-beach.

The Sullivan Street Bakery: A Demo. Jim Lahey started the artisan baking movement with New York's Sullivan Street Bakery. The James Beard Award winner, who recently opened a Sullivan Street location in Miami, will demonstrate recipes from The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook. 11 a.m. Saturday, November 18, at Kitchen Stadium, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

The Buying and Selling of Food in America: A Discussion. Author Michael Ruhlman will talk about America’s relationship with its food. Noon Saturday, November 18, at Kitchen Stadium, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

Cooking for Bros: A Demo. Josh Scherer‘s The Culinary Bro-Down Cookbook includes recipes for "brossential" food groups such as beer, fried things, tacos, and struggle snacks. 3 p.m. Saturday, November 18, at Kitchen Stadium, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

From Peppers to Pensacola: A Discussion. Maricel E. Presilla, author of Peppers of the Americas: The Remarkable Capsicums That Forever Changed Flavor, and Norman Van Aken, author of Norman Van Aken’s Florida Kitchen, will host a spicy conversation about peppers. 4 p.m. Saturday, November 18, at Kitchen Stadium, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

Culinary Achievements: A Discussion. Local author Linda Gassenheimer will promote her seventh book, The 12-Week Diabetes Cookbook, which offers 12 weeks of quick and easy dinner recipes. "My theory is, if you have the food in the house, then you'll cook. You shop one time a week; I give you the shopping list and tell you exactly what to buy according to departments in the supermarket." Gassenheimer will participate in a panel discussion alongside Adrianne Calvo of Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant & Wine Bar and Julie Voudry and Elaine Duran, co-authors of You’re Next! Turn Your Disappointment Into Destiny. 5 p.m. Saturday, November 18, at Kitchen Stadium, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

Tastes of New England: A Cooking Demo. Award-winning chef Matt Jennings‘s debut cookbook, Homegrown: Cooking From My New England Roots, honors the foods of his heritage. Noon Sunday, November 19, at Kitchen Stadium, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

Celebrate Like an Italian With Lidia Bastianich. The celebrity chef will participate in a discussion about her book, Lidia’s Celebrate Like an Italian: 220 Foolproof Recipes That Make Every Meal a Party. 1 p.m. Sunday, November 19, at Kitchen Stadium, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

A Return to Russian Cooking: A Demo. Bonnie Frumkin Morales will demonstrate recipes from Kachka: A Return to Russian Cooking and tell tales of celebrating like a Russian (with vodka). 2 p.m. Sunday, November 19, at Kitchen Stadium, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

Food as History: A Discussion. Adrian Miller, author of The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas, and Justin Spring, author of In the Gourmands’ Way: Six Americans in Paris and the Birth of a New Gastronomy, will discuss how food plays an important role in American history. 3 p.m. Sunday, November 19, at Kitchen Stadium, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-237-3258; miamibookfair.com.

Miami Book Fair. Sunday, November 12, through Sunday, November 19, at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami; miamibookfair.com. Admission to the street fair is free November 17 and costs $8 for general admission and $5 for kids aged 13 to 18 and seniors November 18 and 19.