The short version of this Pebble Beach Food & Wine 2024 tale can be told in two words.
It’s back.
And soon. The four-day festival, with its uplifting effect on the Pebble Beach brand, the Monterey Peninsula community and its hospitality industry, returns April 4-7, the first installment since 2019.
The longer story would dip into the illustrious history of the Masters of Food & Wine that set the table for PBFW in the first place; then then swashbuckling decade-plus stewardship by Coastal Luxury Management that made PBFW a world-class brand complete with its own chef hall of fame dotted with Thomas Kellers, Daniel Bouluds and Masaharu Morimotos; and the sheer quantity of butter, Wagyu and sabered Champagne enjoyed along the way.
While Pebble’s previous role in the festival and current ownership meant any renaissance would be easier, VP of Food & Beverage Bryan Anthony sounds surprised how smoothly the other pieces fell into place.
“It was overwhelming how quickly chefs and wineries wanted to get back on,” he says. “That is validating, and exciting.”
Some 189 chefs and purveyors will descend for dozens of seminars, tastings, panels, lunches, dinners and successive Friday and Saturday after parties at Spanish Bay, hosted by Republic National Distributing Company and Southern Wine & Spirits, respectively.
A few activities among them catch my appetite’s attention, namely From the Cellar: A Michelin-Star Showcase dinner featuring large-format bottles, diSHEd Lunch: A Celebration and Conversation of Food, Wine & Women and The Art and Legacy of Tequila with Casa Obsidiana.
Meanwhile, 150 wineries join in, including Kosta Brown, Heitz Cellar, Testarossa, Opus One and Calera. Wine-inspired sessions range from 100 Years Of Napa History In One Day: The TOR Seminar to Verité Estate: The timeless traditions of France with the limitless possibilities of California.
Plenty of changes also arrive with PBFW 2024.
One big change: Pebble Beach Company Foundation, which wasn’t previously involved, now runs the show, generating greater financial transparency and accountability, while renewing an emphasis on charity support and connectivity. (Thanks to events like Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and the U.S. Women’s Open, PBCF donates an average of $1.5 million annually to more than 95 local nonprofits, with an emphasis on youth education.)
In that vein, a partnership with the Roots Fund—empowering BIPOC in the wine industry with educational scholarships, wine education, mentorship, and job placement—will infuse crisp insight and energy as its sommeliers staff a swath of panels and tastings.
Teamwork with the James Beard Foundation, meanwhile, will give Opening Night fresh expression. Thursday evening will unleash 25 JBF-recognized chefs like Heena Patel, Jonathon Sawyer, Stephanie Izard, Charles Phan, Jeremiah Tower and Keith Corbin, with a portion of proceeds underwriting JBF’s mission.
Another NGO collaboration happens Friday as Andrew Zimmern, James Beard Award-winning chef, author, and TV personality, teams with Rancho Cielo Culinary Academy students on a multi-course paired affair that’s already sold out despite a $1,500 price tag.
“Pebble Beach is one of largest festivals we’ve been involved in,” says a21 VP of corporate operations Myah Holmquist. “Obviously with a new event, it’s a learning experience—and it’s been an amazing experience.”
At a media preview lunch, Pebble Beach Company and a21 emphasized the updated two-day flagship that is the grand tasting, now titled the Tasting Pavilion.
A restructured layout with 30,000 additional square feet, an outdoor patio, living cypress tree, VIP lounge, a faux iceberg water station, and raised cabanas will all factor in.
“It will be a huge surprise to everyone,” Holmquist teases. “I think attendees will be blown away.”
Pebble Beach Company CFO and PBC Foundation treasurer Judah Matthews likes how the new pavilion assembly taps into a long-held festival strength.
“It will be a Del Monte Forest type of tasting experience, as opposed to a big white tent which could be anywhere,” he says. “There will be a lot more sense of place.”
As far as other adjustments, cooking demos are out for 2024, and alternatives to the Tasting Pavilion, like Saturday’s “Lunch with Scott Conant, Shirley Chung & Claudette Zepeda,” and Sunday’s buzzed about “To the South, With Love: A Southern Jazz Brunch Hosted by Rogelio Garcia,” are in.
Way back in 2017, on the occasion of PBFW’s 10th annual, I asked decorated chef Nancy Silverton—who’s hosting Thursday’s opening night James Beard showcase—what would surprise guests most about a production like Pebble Beach Food & Wine.
“I think consumers have high expectations,” she replied. “The surprise might be that, even with those expectations, they’re not going to be disappointed in the food and the wine.”
In talking with organizers, gourmands, purveyors, chefs, PR reps and Pebble execs ahead of the festival, cautious optimism that expectations will be met made for the overriding theme.
My hope is that, amid a move toward a more charity-, sponsor- and corporate-centric approach, organic and authentic interaction with gifted tastemakers remains a PBFW pillar.
Matthews is on the same page.
“So many people think about the Grand Pavilion tent, this big event with all these people going station to station,” he says. “In my experience, the best events are seminars, which are a bit more quiet, and getting to talk to chefs, wine makers, wine producers, in a more one-on-one way. Those stand out as special experiences.”
More at pebblebeachfoodandwine.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.
