The 12th annual Deering Seafood Festival on Biscayne Bay will take place on Sunday, Mar. 20, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Deering Estate, 16701 SW 72 Ave. in Palmetto Bay.
This event promises to be fun for the whole family, so bring them and everyone can enjoy delicious Florida seafood, chef demonstrations and entertainment for the adults as well as the young ones.
Chef demonstrations presented by Whole Foods Market — Five local renowned chefs have been invited to present their culinary expertise at the Deering Seafood Festival this year. Quite a few people are excited to see the chef demonstrations, so remember, the demos are limited to 100 people each, first come, first served.
The chefs will present their favorite seafood recipes, using the freshest Florida seafood and accompaniments.
The chefs, along with their recipes and cooking times, are:
11:15-11:45 a.m.: Chef Damian Gilchrist from the Ocean Reef Club will be preparing Bamboo Jambalaya. Born in Louisiana, Gilchrist is executive chef at Ocean Reef Club and has worked in some of the finest restaurants in New Orleans as well as in Florida.
12:15-12:45 p.m.: Chef David Lesser will be cooking Smokey Shrimp & Cauliflower Fluff. Lesser is a Florida native and is the owner and chef at Munch Thyme, a farm-to-table meal delivery service, based on a 30-acre organic farm in Homestead.
1:15-1:45 p.m.: Chef Joaquin Ortiz will be serving up Peanut Crusted Wahoo with sweet chili sauce and genmaicha tea rice. Originally from Los Angeles, Ortiz is executive chef at Station 5 Table & Bar in South Miami and has been a fixture on the Miami hospitality scene for more than 15 years, twice winning the Mazola Calle Ocho Cooking Contest.
2:15-2:45 p.m.: Chef Luke Livingston, executive chef at the Deering Bay Yacht & Country Club, will present a dish of Deconstructed Shrimp and Smoked Corn Chowder. The Long Island native has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe and in many Florida restaurants before finding his home at Deering Bay.
3:15-3:45 p.m.: Chef Kareem Anguin will present the last cooking demonstration of the day, preparing a delicious open Blue Cobia Ceviche. Anguin, the executive chef of the Oceanaire Seafood Room, started out as a line cook at Shula’s Steak House at the age of 17, rising to become executive chef at Oceanaire by age 30.
Non-stop entertainment — Presented by Palmetto Ford Truck, entertainment will be ongoing throughout the festival and will feature Big Harvest, a Marley-style reggae band with an English-Spanish soul flavor; Caribbean Crew, an award-winning Orlando-based steel drum band, and the five-person band Blackstar, which specializes in favorite cover songs, from Top 40 to lost oldies.
Throughout the day you will hear the sounds of the steel drum and a Bahamian Junkanoo band while dancing with fanciful stilt walkers.
Activities for the kids — Your kids will be over the moon playing at the Li’l Shrimp Kids Zone, which features inflatables, creative activities, healthy tastings and a kid-friendly menu when hunger strikes. But there’s even more in store for kids this year.
First, there’s the Deering Discovery Cove Adventure with fun, educational programming that incorporates interactive event stations with microscopes, dissections, touch tanks and art, all geared to teaching the importance of the world’s oceans. These activities highlight the Deering Estate’s ongoing, hands-on environmental education programs and camps that serve more than 17,000 children annually.
In addition, there are activities for children unique to each of the world’s oceans: Children will get to experience squid adaptation and lionfish dissection (Atlantic Ocean); a hands-on lesson on coral reefs and sea grasses (Pacific Ocean); a storm surge experiment highlighting environmental services (Indian Ocean); a microscope and blubber experiment called “from plankton to whales” (Southern Ocean), and an eco-art interactive mural painting (Arctic Ocean).
The whole family can enjoy activities such as a rock-climbing wall, the Pelican Skipper pontoon boat rides to Chicken Key, and Artist Lane, featuring unique creations by local artisans.
A celebration renown for delicious catches from the sea, celebrity chefs and fun-filled adventures for the kids, the festival features Florida’s freshest fish and seafood, with area restaurants and caterers providing sumptuous delights along Seafood Alley, presented by Golden Rule Seafood.
Admission is adults, $15 in advance online and $25 the day of the event; children ages 4-14, $5. Deering Estate Foundation members enjoy complimentary admission. Ticket includes park entrance and all activities — excluding food, drink, pontoon rides and rock wall.
The festival takes place Sunday, March 20, 2016 from 10 AM to 6 PM at the Deering Estate, 16701 SW 72 Avenue, in Palmetto Bay (Miami).
For more information, visit www.DeeringSeafoodFestival.org, or call 305-235-1668, ext. 263.
Proceeds from the Deering Seafood Festival benefit the Deering Estate Foundation and are used for environmental education, preservation and programming. The Deering Seafood Festival is made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Council, and Miami-Dade Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.
