More deals may be made at the annual Food Network South Beach Food & Wine Festival (SOBE) than any other event of this type in the United States. Margaret Rose Caro talks here with SOBE founder Lee Brian Schrager, who has extensive hotel food and beverage experience and is now director of special events and media relations at Southern Wine & Spirits of America. Learn how—in just six years—he grew a small but respectable university-sponsored one-day “extravaganza” into a national star-studded fourday weekend destination event sponsored by the Food Network.

Before going further, are you related to Ian Schrager, another hospitality innovator?
No, I am not. I am the other white meat.

How did you become involved with food and beverage and, eventually, a special events planner?
was always interested in food. But when I graduated from high school in 1977, I didn’t know schools like the CIA existed. It wasn’t a fashionable career path like it is today. I graduated from the CIA and wanted to know how to cook and wanted the background, but I didn’t want to cook for a living. I thought I might open my own restaurant. So after the CIA, I returned home to Florida and went to work at a hotel.

Why a hotel?
I loved hotels, loved the show business aspect ... I always knew I’d go that route.

What was your first hotel food and beverage experience?
While attending Florida International University, I worked as a room service attendant at the Bahia Mar Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, owned by Omni at that time. I took a passion to the catering department, so when the catering department lady quit, I said, “I can do it. I can run the catering department.” By the time I was 21, that was my job. It was a small hotel, but the job tasks were not that different [from a larger property]. I love doing special events, and I fell into it easily. I’m also a natural salesperson, so combining a passion for food and sales was a fit.

What was your next move?
When Omni opened its big hotel in Miami, I was transferred there and went from being in charge of catering at a 200-room property with 7,500 feet of catering space to an 800-room property with 50,000 square feet of catering space. That’s what put me on the map.

Then, the glamorous Pavillon opened. Miami’s most extravagant hotel at the time, made of travertine marble, was developed by Ted Gould. He hired a talented chef from France, Guy Gateau, to open the Pavillon Grill—for which the hotel became famous. I was in love with the restaurant. And when I got a call from Gould saying, “I’m told I have to hire you if I want to make a go of it,” I went to work at the Pavillon. So at 24, I was in charge of catering at the Pavillon. Ultimately, the hotel went into foreclosure and fell into the hands of InterContinental. I stayed at the InterContinental for 17 years, working my way up to VP of catering.

Any thoughts on hotel catering?
A good catering department and banquet space make all the difference—if done well. And space isn’t the only criterion. It must be good space. Who wants a lot of bad space? It must be well managed and offer a good product. I was making more money than the GM because I had the numbers—had local connections, weddings, bar mitzvahs.

Why did you leave InterContinental and go to Southern Wine & Spirits?
When I turned 40, I needed a challenge. I knew I could stay [at InterContinental] for the rest of my life, but I didn’t want to wake up at 65 not having done anything else. I was the guy they sent to Paris, Japan, and New York to set things up. I knew it would be nothing more than this. So I wrote a letter to Wayne Chaplain, CEO of Southern Wine & Spirits, saying, “I love wine, food, and spirits; I love Miami; I’m good at event planning. I don’t know what I want to do, but I’d be a good addition to the company.” It was a natural thing for me because I knew the owner, did his wedding, had worked with the family ... knew they were big and everyone who works there stays. A few weeks later, I got a got call from a gentleman who asked, “When are you starting?” I didn’t know what I was doing, and money didn’t matter.

What was your first task?
Southern Wine & Spirits had built a beverage management center at FIU’s Biscayne campus, and nobody knew about it. Through this, there was already a one-day event called Florida Extravaganza for the students at FIU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. It consisted of 30 or 40 tables of wineries pairing foods with about 15 restaurants. The restaurant chefs and students worked side by side, and it attracted mostly just wine aficionados. It raised about $20,000, and that was it. Wayne wanted me to take what they had and call attention to it. It’s what I do best. I know the media. I create something special, and I bring [the media] down.

Who was this designed to benefit?
On no uncertain terms was it to be about the brand or exposing the university. And what unfolded was a win, win for everyone. The university, the students, the brand— and the participants and attendees.

When was the first SOBE?
Right after 9/11, in February 2002. The first thing I did was move it to the beach. South Beach makes it sexy. It was expanded to 70 or 80 wineries, 50 restaurants, and turned into a two-day event. We honored the Baroness de Rothschild. It attracted about 7,000 guests to a series of dinners, seminars, the Grand Tasting, and a live auction, and we charged $75. That was how it started.

How have the numbers changed?
Year one, we raised $63,000; year two, $700,000; and year six, $2 million. We now have a full-time staff of 8 and a committee of 45. We have 300 exhibitors, and it is no longer exclusive to wine and spirits but includes chocolate, olive oil, cheeses, and other gourmet items from around the world. We charge exhibitors $3,500 for the weekend per table. No one can sell anything but can provide information. Fifty-four events are planned for this year, and 35,000 people are expected to attend the four-day event.

What is the pricing structure for the events?
Each event has a charge, and the prices vary. For example, the Grand Tasting is $187.50 per person; the Bubble Q is $300 per person.

The Bubble Q is a very popular event. How did it come about?
It’s all about Champagne and barbeque. I knew Steven Raichlen, author of The Barbeque Bible. His wife is my best friend, and we wanted to bring him into it.

How did the Food Network become the title sponsor?
The first year for the Food Network sponsorship was 2007. I had worked with them over the years to add credibility to the event. Five years later, they asked, “How do you have all of our talent down there?” They then became a sponsor.

Who attends SOBE, and how does it differ from Aspen Food & Wine Classic, for example?
Other festivals are smaller, and the attendees are more serious and educated about food. SOBE has all of the serious foodies plus the others. But how do you measure if someone is serious about food...if you spend $300 to attend the Bubble Q, are you serious? We offer something for everyone. Cocktail clinics, freestanding wine seminars, Best of the Best, and much more.

Who can attendees meet and learn from?
We have the pop culture and the great classic chef side by side. That’s what we are most successful with, pairing the two. Last year, to name a few, we had Martha Stewart, Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Giada De Laurentis, Al Roker, and Norm Van Aken on the culinary side. On the wine and spirits side, we had talent such as Robert Mondavi, Tony Abou-Ganim, and Alpana Singh. This is the short list.

Is this a good place to find new talent?
I’d have to say that more deals are made at SOBE than any other food and wine festival. Best of the Best is where you’ll find 50 of the world’s finest wineries paired with two dozen real working chefs. It’s Spring Break for Chefs. Plus, we are lucky because it’s the middle of February where it’s cold most everywhere. We have great weather, a great destination, a beautiful beach, and the biggest names in the industry.

What’s new at SOBE 2008?
What we do reflects society’s changing tastes. The health emphasis is huge. I had a South Beach health food restaurant, Chow, in the 1980s, so I’ve always been committed to that. Eating is a whole experience and lifestyle because the Food Network has made food so accessible. We only had the Galloping Gourmet when I was growing up, but chefs are now rock stars. This year, for example, we have added Fun & Fit as a Family; Sugar Shack with Emeril, a Champagne party paired with all of the pastry chefs; and Paula’s Poker, a late-night poker party. We created the very popular Rachael Ray Burger Bash last year. We couldn’t have done that five years ago.

When do tickets go on sale?
They go on sale October 15 and are gone within nine weeks.