Atlantis Wine & Food Festival Features Big Culinary Names and a Miami Connection

If you've recovered from the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and are looking for more celebrity chef sightings, you might want to spend a weekend in the Bahamas.

The inaugural Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Food Festival hits the shores of Paradise Island this weekend, offering taste-around events, dinners, and cooking demonstrations with big names such as José Andrés, Andrew Zimmern, Alex Guarnaschelli, Alon Shaya, Aaron Sanchez, Michael White, and more.

If these names sound familiar, it may be because you recently saw many of these chefs on the sands of Miami Beach at the recent South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Lee Schrager, the founder of SOBEWFF, was asked to help curate the talent for this new festival.

"I worked with the team to lock in the talent," Schrager tells New Times. "They turned to me for some advice, and I was happy to do it."

Schrager, who plans to attend the festival, added that asking chefs to spend a weekend in the Bahamas is not a hard sell. "It's still freezing cold in New York, where most of the talent live. Plus, the resort is really taking great care of the chefs flying down for the festival."

Schrager also acknowledged that the Atlantis resort has close ties to some of the chefs hosting dinners at the festival. "José [Andrés] has a restaurant at the property, and Alon Shaya and Michael White are opening restaurants on site."

The SOBEWFF founder says there's always room for more festivals that put a spotlight on the culinary world. "I don't think of it as competition as much as growing the community. I was happy to be asked to advise and to help put together a robust program." And, as any good parent will do, Schrager can't help but praise SOBEWFF. "Although some of the talent is the same, we have significantly more events and, after 20-something years, continue to attract tens of thousands of people to Miami."

Since the Atlantis festival is more intimate, it stands to reason that some of the activities will be more intimate. To help ensure success, the festival tasked Randy Fischer and his Coconut Grove-based culinary event company, Cream, to help produce the event. Fischer also produces SOBEWFF.

Some of the events at the first Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Food Festival include wine and lunch with Alex Guarnaschelli; tacos & tequila with Aaron Sanchez and DJ Kim Lee; a cocktail clinic with master mixologist Tony Abou-Ganem; and a morning coffee talk session with Andrew Zimmern and José Andrés.

The festival will delve into the flavors and culture of the Bahamas and the Caribbean with a "Jerk Jam" featuring Wyclef Jean, a "Rum Runners" walking culinary history tour in Downtown Nassau, and two sunset dinner cruises.

Chef Michael White, the former chef/owner of New York's Michelin-starred Marea, is looking forward to hosting a lunch and mangia — an Italian food journey for the family — at the festival. White, who is overseeing construction on his new restaurant, Paranza, at the Cove in Paradise Island, also cohosted a dinner at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. "I actually just got home from Miami," he tells New Times, adding that he's looking forward to his hosting duties in Paradise Island. "These are very unique events in a smaller place, so the guests will be able to interact with the chefs a little bit closer." As an example, he cites his cooking class for 25 attendees. "It's more intimate, and I'm not on a stage, so it's fun for the guests."

White has been spending a lot of time on Paradise Island and says it's a beautiful setting for a food festival. "I think it's going to be amazing. There are so many wonderful things to do: the beach, the marina, swim-up bars, and a casino. It really is a paradise."

If you're traveling to Paradise Island for the weekend and want to interact with the chefs, White has an idea of where you might find them in between dinners and demos. "In the afternoon, when the sun sets, the place to be is the Dilly Club. It's an amazing new cocktail bar in Marina City." And if you're not into sunsets and cocktails? "They also make great coffees, so get up early, grab a beverage, and walk on the beach."

The Atlantis Wine & Food Festival. Wednesday, March 15, to Sunday, March 19, at Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas. For ticket information and a full schedule of events, visit atlantisbahamas.com.