The fete will happen May 6 through 9. According to the festival's website, guests may purchase tickets for individual events — 16 hands-on cooking lessons and four gourmet meals held at various Bal Harbour hotels and restaurants — for $125 to $350.
Pierre-Henri Bovsovers, the general manager of W Verbier in the Swiss Alps, where the festival was founded in 2015, says that for the celebrity chefs, the Bal Harbour edition is a welcome break from the grind.
"For them, this is a chance to get together with friends and have a good time," Bovsovers says. "Last year, we kept hearing over and over again from guests in Miami how approachable and friendly the chefs were."
This year, expect the return of the six European chefs who led Miami's inaugural event, including two-Michelin-star chef Sergi Arola of Switzerland's Eat-Hola and LAB in Sintra, Portugal; and Thierry Drapeau, known for the fragrant, vibrant cuisine he serves at his eponymous restaurant in France.
The lineup was expanded to include members of the local talent pool. Chef Makoto Okuwa from Makoto will showcase his culinary artistry, as will Anthony Le Pape, executive chef of Ritz-Carlton South Beach, and Conrado Tromp, who oversees culinary operations at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort.
"Ideally, I would like for the event to gradually incorporate more Michelin-starred local chefs as well as American chefs so it could grow to be bigger and become an even more unique experience," says chef Anastasios "Tasos" Chasekioglou, executive sous-chef at the St. Regis.
The four-day event will begin Wednesday, May 6, with hands-on cooking sessions at the St. Regis Bal Harbour led by one-Michelin-star French chef Jean-Baptiste Natali of Hostellerie La Montagne, and classes at the Ritz-Carlton led by Alain Caron, a Master Chef Holland judge and owner of Café Caron in Amsterdam. That evening, guests will have the opportunity to taste a globally inspired menu by Okuwa and French chefs Joel Cesari and Thierry Drapeau at Le Zoo at Bal Harbour Shops.
The finest Michelin-starred chefs are set to return to Bal Harbour.
Photo courtesy of Haute Cusine Bal Harbour
"In the U.S., diners are not used to certain things that are common in Europe," Bovsovers explains. "Some people are enthusiastic about trying specialties like goose liver and frogs' legs for the first time, but others simply won't touch those dishes."
The itinerary for Thursday, May 7, includes classes with Okuwa and Drapeau. The evening will conclude with an art-centric dinner hosted by Conrado Tromp, Jean-Baptiste Natali, and three-Michelin-star chef Jacques Pourcelat at the Grill inside the St. Regis Bal Harbour.
On the event's third day, French celebrity chef Joel Cesari will demonstrate recipes and provide tips on how to create elaborate dishes at home. That evening, chefs Arola, Pourcel, Caron, and Le Pape will create a design-inspired dinner at Artisan Beach House inside the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour.
Saturday, all nine chefs will collaborate for a grand finale at Atlantikos at the St. Regis. The nine-Michelin-star dinner will be followed by a dessert-and-champagne soiree.
As Haute Cuisine's Swiss edition celebrates its fifth anniversary, Bovsovers says he has been approached with the idea for a similar event in Abu Dhabi. He's giving that one some thought. "Realistically, we would only be able to organize two or three events per year," he says. "The chefs are too busy."
Here's the full schedule of events:
Wednesday, May 6
- Noon - Chef Alain Caron will host an immersive cooking class at the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour.
- Noon - Chef Jean-Baptiste Natali will lead an immersive cooking class at the St. Regis Bal Harbour.
- 3 p.m. - Chef Alain Caron will host an immersive cooking class at the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour.
- 3 p.m. - Chef Jean-Baptiste Natali will lead an immersive cooking class at the St. Regis Bal Harbour.
- 7 p.m. - A fashion-themed dinner at Le Zoo at Bal Harbour Shops will offer a globally inspired menu by chefs Joel Cesari, Thierry Drapeau, and Makoto Okuwa.
- Noon - Chef Okuwa Makoto will lead an immersive cooking class at Makoto in Bal Harbour Shops.
- Noon - Chef Thierry Drapeau will host an immersive cooking class at the St. Regis Bal Harbour.
- 3 p.m. - Chef Okuwa Makoto will lead an immersive cooking class at Makoto in Bal Harbour Shops.
- 3 p.m. - Chef Thierry Drapeau will host an immersive cooking class at the St. Regis Bal Harbour.
- 7 p.m. - Chefs Jacques Pourcel, Jean-Baptiste Natali, Conrado Tromp will lead an art-centric dinner at the Grill in the St. Regis Bal Harbour.
- Noon - Chef Joel Cesari will lead an immersive cooking class at the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour with
- Noon - Chef Jean-Baptiste Natali will host an immersive cooking class at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort.
- 3 p.m. - Chef Joel Cesari will host an immersive cooking class at the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour.
- 3 p.m. - Chef Thierry Drapeau will lead an immersive cooking class at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort.
- 7 p.m. - A design dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour's Artisan Beach House will showcase a menu by chefs Sergi Arola, Jacques Pourcel, Alain Caron, and Anthony Le Pape.
- Noon - Chef Jacques Pourcel will lead an immersive cooking class at the St. Regis Bal Harbour.
- Noon - Chef Sergi Arola will host an immersive cooking class at the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour.
- 3 p.m. - Chef Jacques PourceI will host an immersive cooking class at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort.
- 3 p.m. - Chef Sergi Arola will lead an immersive cooking class at the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour.
- 7 p.m. - A closing dinner at Atlantikos in the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort will showcase a collaborative menu from all chefs, boasting a total of nine Michelin stars.
