Nancy Silverton and Rhonda Carano receive SOBEWFF honors

Nancy Silverton and Rhonda Carano were honored at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s February 23 tribute dinner. The event at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel brought the chef and restaurateur together with the Ferrari-Carano executive, with writer and former restaurant critic Ruth Reichl guiding the evening.

The selection placed women’s leadership in food and wine at the center of one of the festival’s most formal occasions. It also connected several ways of shaping hospitality: creating a restaurant, developing a wine business and explaining the experience through writing.

The dinner’s significance lies in those careers rather than a single night’s menu. Festivals are good at producing novelty, but a tribute asks audiences to consider sustained work and influence. This year’s event gave Miami Beach a setting in which to recognize that longer view, while the surrounding program continued to draw together chefs, professionals and enthusiastic diners.