June 21, 2023 – Pebble Beach Food & Wine landed—and expanded—in such a dramatic way that it was hard for hyperbole not to come along for the feast.
But this is no hyperbole: The co-authors of its onrushing reinvention already direct two of the best food-and-drink festivals in the country.
That means they might be the best suited out there to summon PBFW back to full blast, and beyond.
That will happen April 4-7, 2024, with Pebble Beach Company adding new operating agency a21.
Self-described as a “full-service experiential marketing agency,” a21 is well-versed in event operations, production, corporate sales and brand activations for immersive in-person events.
The two aforementioned events are Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival and New York City Wine & Food Festival.
Its culinary credit extends from there. With offices in Miami, New York and London (with offshoots in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Denver and Monterey), they also do Atlanta Food & Wine and the Heritage Fire and Whiskies of the World National Tours.
Brett Friedman is a21’s CEO and founder.
“We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with Pebble Beach Resorts, one of the greatest properties in the world, in returning one of the premier culinary events to the market,” he said in a release. “We are collectively determined to produce a world-class event on the grounds of Pebble Beach.”
James Velarde, who helped launch and cultivate PBFW over more than a decade, started working with a21 post-COVID. He’ll team with the likes of long-time PBFW “chef-whisperer” Dorothy Maras in providing connective tissue to the festival’s traditions.
Maras emphasizes: 1) her role will be small and supportive; 2) she’s wildly optimistic about the collaboration.
“They’ve got some fresh new ideas, and they want to handle this baby carefully to make sure it remains as brilliant as it has been,” she says. “I don’t want to keep using the word ‘enthusiastic’ but they are—and they’re young, smart and driven.”
With one finger on the pulse of local fine dining and another on the wider American culinary landscape, she adds a thought: The recent influx of standout chefs from elsewhere will soon access an opportunity that went away when the pandemic descended.
“This area has such a wealth of talent, and PBFW was an event that provided that spotlight, while bringing so much more talent to the area,” she says. “We’ve heard locally, from previous partners, and from chefs in the state and throughout the culinary world, ‘When’s it coming back?’ ‘We miss it.’”
“There’s been a vacuum here. Now it’s: Here we go. Let’s do it.”
More about a21 at teama21.com.
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, Edible Monterey Bay's managing editor, appears on "Friday Found Treasures" via KRML 94.7 every week, a little after 12pm noon. Reach him via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
