The Miami-born Black Pepper Food & Wine Festival returns to Miami's historic Overtown at the Urban on Saturday, August 26, offering event-goers the opportunity to explore a variety of cuisines from some of the area's top Black-owned restaurants and vendors.
"I think being able to provide an event where there's such a wide range of generations, from children to millennials to older people, is really important," the festival's cofounder Alexis Brown tells New Times. "This is a true community event, and food is certainly one thing that brings people together no matter your age or race."
The Black Pepper Food Festival has evolved since its launch in 2019 when just 20 restaurants and vendors participated in the event Brown and cofounder Joel Franklin built based on their previous experiences in the industry organizing, hosting, and producing events.
Founder of South Florida-based experiential marketing firm Socialxchange, Brown is responsible for helping to launch initiatives such as the "Basel Bae," a Black art experience, and SocialXcapade, a similarly themed travel experience. Franklin, founder of Phuse Cream and Dope Smoke Shop, was also well-versed in creating community-focused events.
"The beginning was a lot of calling, a lot of convincing," shares Brown. "After the first year, the restaurants sold out, and they had a really good experience."
Check out New Times' list of Ten Black-Owned Miami Restaurants for more information about the festival's participating establishments.
After two successful events, Brown says Black Pepper Food Festival can be more selective when curating its vendor lineup, allowing for a more diverse range of cuisines, including vegan options, Caribbean fare, and non-traditional African-American food.
This year the festival is set to have more than 25 vendors with participating local establishments like Lil Greenhouse Grill, Phuse Cream, Perry Wings, Rejoice African Restaurant and Bar, Ty's Hometown Cafe & Bistros, Fannoh Flavor, Tropical Oasis Food Truck, Smokey Bear's Barbecue, Upper Tea, and Food Dude Fresh Jerk Grill.
The festival officially kicks off Friday, August 25, a day before the festival with the launch of the festival's new chef cook-off. The event, which takes place from 8 p.m. to midnight, is a partnership with EatWell Exchange, a Florida-based nonprofit committed to empowering those in lower socioeconomic communities with the access and knowledge needed to eat a nutritious diet within their food culture.
"People often feel like they have to stop eating their cultural norm foods to eat healthy," adds Brown. "EatWell Exchange works to debunk that myth, so we decided to partner with them to offer their services during our festival weekend."
Chefs from different cultures will receive a mystery box with the same three ingredients to make a dish of their choice. Confirmed chefs include Lo Taylor (Jamaica), Sunni (Ecuador), and Patrick Thezan (Haiti).
The event is free to attend, but a $50 ticket is needed for anyone who would like to sample the food prepared during the cook-off. Each ticket is good for a plate of food from each chef and preferred seating at the front of the stage. A portion of proceeds from the cook-off ticket sales will benefit EatWell Exchange.
On Saturday, festival-goers can expect cooking demonstrations, mixology demonstrations featuring popular Black mixologists in South Florida, live entertainment, music, wine education, and tastings hosted by the Hue Society.
This year, the nonprofit Black Girls Cook, whose mission is to empower and inspire inner-city adolescent girls of color through culinary arts and urban farming, will host complimentary kids' cooking classes during the festival.
According to Brown, because of the support from sponsors of the event — including the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), Miami-Dade County Chairman Oliver G. Gilbert, and the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust (MDEAT) — the festival remains free to all members of the community.
As the event grows, Brown says the goal is to offer more diversity while promoting more ways for the community to share food from Black-owned restaurants. For example, she hopes to host more Black Pepper Festival events starting next year.
"We'd like to have the festival as many as two, possibly three times, during the year," sums up Brown. "With multiple festivals, it's our hope to normalize the experience as part of the food culture of South Florida."
Black Pepper Festival. 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday, August 26, at the Urban, 1000 NW Second Ave., Miami; blackpepperfoodfest.com. Admission is free with RSVP via eventbrite.com.
