Getting psyched for South Beach Wine & Food Festival this week? We sure are. There's so much buzz about all the new events underway, but there's one in particular that us Short Order folks are really anticipating: Trucks on the Beach. It's the official Festival closing party taking place on Sunday night starting at 6:30 and the man behind the scenes, Randy Fisher of Culinary Related Entertainment and Marketing (that's CREaM for you acronym lovers), gave us a bit of dish to drum up excitement.
Thanks to the folks at Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida and Brustman Carrino Public Relations, we have three sets of tickets to give away, too, so we asked Fisher to come up with some fun stats to make you work for the freebies. Check back tomorrow and over the course of the week for the Truck Trivia blogs.
In the meantime...
New Times: What is CREaM?
Randy Fisher: We produce large-scale culinary events around the nation. Most of our [projects] are very challenging.
How did the company come about?
We started after Year Three with the festival. I got involved early with Kids Kitchen Year One. We've been running that for six years. Year Two we did Burger Bash in South Beach and also in New York. Last year we started an event called Best Thing I Ever Ate. This year, new to the festival, will be Trucks on the Beach. CREaM is producing three of the large-scale events for Lee [Schrager]: Best Thing I Ever Ate, Burger Bash and Trucks on the Beach. Lee outdoes himself very year. He's an absolute genius.
So why food trucks?
We looked at the business model two years ago and there were six trucks. There are over 60 trucks now [in Miami]. We had to select which trucks were the best to put forward. We wanted to make sure we have a good sampling of different food types, making sure the guests get a sampling of the best street food possible. We work with a phenomenal host, Andrew Zimmern. He really understands food. The offering is super compelling.
What are your top considerations when creating an event like this?
We look at it in a holistic way. We're driven by the hospitality experience of the guests and spend a lot of time to make sure the talent is happy, the sponsors are super happy and the guests say, "Wow."
Any politics?
Certain chefs don't play nicely with certain sponsors.
Can you give some examples?
I'd rather not.
Tell me about the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, since it's not from Miami.
Doug and Brian, two great guys, they have hit a stride with a funky presentation of ice cream. Picture a Mister Softee truck with a great twisted flavor profiles. They have a great flavor called the Salty Pimp: olive oil, vanilla ice cream, sea salt and dulce de leche. Bigger than life. They have a cult following.
Who else isn't from here?
C&S Brisket Bus. They have the quintessential brisket sandwiches. These guys are all about slow and low cooking and they put it on artisinal breads and put a nice ladle of gravy on it. We don't have [that] down here.
Wait! Isn't it illegal to have a food truck on the beach in Miami?
It's against city ordinance. We had to get a permit from the city. Remember, this is a private event.
Was that your biggest challenge?
No. The biggest challenge for us how we position the trucks so the propane is in the right position for the tent making everyone who has safety concerns happy. [And] guests need to see the sides of the trucks so they can easily tell what each truck is offering.
Think this will be your favorite event?
My all-time favorite event is Burger Bash. It's an event I absolutely love it. It speaks to everybody... unless you're a vegan.
Check back tomorrow for your first chance to win tickets to Trucks on the Beach!
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