The Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival is set to return Dec. 10-13, 2026, with more than 20 culinary events spread across eight cities in Palm Beach County, organizers announced. The lineup includes James Beard Award winner Daniel Boulud, Chopped host Maneet Chauhan, Food Network star Robert Irvine and a roster of other nationally recognized chefs, sommeliers, mixologists and hospitality leaders.
According to WPTV, the festival will hold events in Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Lake Worth Beach and Lake Park, offering exclusive multi-course dinners, walk-around tastings and wine pairings. Tickets range from $50 to $350, and organizers say some experiences have limited availability. The festival also includes family-friendly and interactive experiences, such as a Kids Kitchen at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach.
How the Four-Day Run Unfolds
The festival kicks off with a dinner at Florie's at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach featuring chefs Mauro Colagreco and Lauren Bodden, per the station's report. That same weekend, The First Bite dinner takes place at Būccan in Palm Beach, featuring chefs James London, Dean Neff and Jonathon Sawyer alongside Būccan's own Clay Conley. Conley, a multiple James Beard Award nominee, was among the original local culinary leaders who helped launch and establish the festival's signature dining series nearly two decades ago, according to New York Social Diary.
The festival's kick-off party, featuring chefs Timon Balloo, Ashley Christensen, Marc Forgione and Damaris Phillips, is set for The Belgrove Resort & Spa in West Palm Beach. The Marriott Autograph Collection property sits along Lake Mangonia and is known for its British Caribbean-inspired architecture, five-star amenities and three pools, according to The Belgrove Resort & Spa. Other stops on the schedule include HMF Social at The Breakers in Palm Beach, An Evening With David Burke & Friends at Seahawk Prime in Lake Park, Maneet's Bollywood Experience at Ela Curry & Cocktails in Palm Beach Gardens, and Par-Tee at the Park in West Palm Beach.
A Grand Finale and a Longtime Charity Partner
The festival wraps up with Daniel & Friends at Cafe Boulud and the 19th Annual Grand Tasting at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, per the same account. The Grand Tasting features food, wine and spirits from chefs and beverage experts from around the country and typically draws over 2,500 attendees, with dishes from 50 to 60 top regional restaurants and pours from more than 100 wineries, according to Shanken News Daily. The finale also hosts the annual Grand Chef Throwdown, a live cook-off on the Publix Culinary Demonstration Stage in which three local chefs compete for a $10,000 prize donated to a charity of the winner's choice, as reported by Digest Miami.
The celebrity chef roster also includes Stephanie Izard, Tiffani Faison, Michelle Bernstein and Jose Garces, joining Boulud, Colagreco, Chauhan, Irvine and Christensen throughout the four-day run, per WPTV's report. A portion of ticket sales benefits Els for Autism Foundation, a Jupiter-based nonprofit founded in 2009 by golfer Ernie Els and his wife Liezl. The organization operates a 26-acre campus that includes public charter schools, therapy facilities and adult vocational programs for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, according to Forbes. Wines poured across the festival's dinners and tastings must also carry a minimum score of 90 points from Wine Spectator's editors, a standard maintained under a partnership established in 2019.
Part of a Bigger Culinary Moment for the County
Palm Beach County continues to expand its reputation as a culinary destination, and large-scale food events like this one generate visibility for local restaurants, hotels and nonprofit organizations throughout South Florida. The county welcomed a record 10.6 million visitors in fiscal year 2025, generating $11.3 billion in total economic impact and $1.32 billion in hotel room revenue, according to Discover The Palm Beaches. That growth has coincided with a wave of high-profile hospitality investment in the region, including NYC hospitality group Ketchy Shuby's 13,000-square-foot West Palm lease, the largest food and beverage lease signed in the county last year.
The Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival began in 2007 as a single-night tasting event co-founded by event producer David Sabin and James Beard-nominated chef Lindsay Autry, before growing into the multi-day, multi-city showcase it is today, according to Palm Beach Illustrated. Nearly two decades later, the December event remains a fixture on the county's culinary calendar, pairing star chefs and five-star venues with a charitable mission that has stayed constant since its earliest years.
