DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — As food enthusiasts from across the country prepare to descend upon Miami for the 2015 Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF), the National Pork Board is preparing to serve up flavorful and unexpected pork-inspired surprises at the Festival, the nation’s largest of its kind.

Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140825/139403

The event runs from Thursday, February 19 through Sunday, February 22, 2015. The National Pork Board will participate in three signature events:

• Goya Foods’ Swine & Wine presented by the National Pork Board hosted by Marc Forgione, where the organization will introduce its first ever “National Pork Board Critics’ Choice Award“.
• Fun and Fit as a Family sponsored by Carnival featuring Goya Kidz Kitchen. Celebrity Chef Doreen Colondres will feature a LIVE interactive food demonstration in the Whole Foods Market Food Lab with pork as the main protein.
• The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino’s Meatopia: The Q Revolution presented by Creekstone Farms hosted by Guy Fieri curated by Josh Ozersky — an event the National Pork Board will serve as a pork sponsor.

“The Festival brings together a diverse multicultural audience – from food experts and chefs to those who just enjoy trying new things – and provides the perfect setting to showcase the wide variety of delicious and healthy pork-inspired recipes,” said Jose de Jesus, director of multicultural marketing at the National Pork Board. “It also introduces consumers to the versatility and joy of cooking with pork.” 

The following delicious pork-inspired recipes and activation will be featured at the SOBEWFF events:

Fun and Fit as a Family – the event is all about kids and having fun with food. Saturday, February 21, 2015 at Parrot Jungle from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

• Celebrity Chef Doreen Colondres will host a fun-filled, LIVE demonstration in the Whole Foods Market Food Lab from 1:30 p.m. – 2: 30 p.m., where kids will prepare two pork-inspired recipes alongside her.
• Participating children will turn into “Little Pork Gurus” (or “Pequenos Sabios del Sabor” in Spanish), an extension of the National Pork Board’s Sabios del Sabor ongoing Hispanic campaign, which promotes the versatility and nutritional benefits of pork, as well as inspirational and delicious recipes options.
• Recipes designed exclusively for the event by Chef Doreen Colondres: Pork Pita Pizza and Orange Honey Pork Meatballs. Recipes available at PorkTeInspira.com/recetas.

Meatopia: The Q Revolution – this is a meat lover’s dream and the National Pork Board is planning a takeover as a pork sponsor of the event. Saturday, February 21, 2015 at Delano Hotel from 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Goya Foods’ Swine & Wine presented by the National Pork Board hosted by Marc Forgione – this is the biggest celebration of pork during the Festival. Sunday, February 22, 2015 at The Biltmore Hotel from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

• Swine & Wine exclusively features pork dishes prepared by more than 20 acclaimed chefs.
• “The 2015 National Pork Board Critics’ Choice Award” – 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place – will be presented to the best pork dish, judged by National Pork Board Ambassadors Chef Doreen Colondres of The Kitchen Doesn’t Bite and Chef Jose Mendin of The Pubbelly Restaurant Group. In addition, other distinguished chefs and celebrities will serve as judges, including acclaimed Chef Juan Mari Arzak, Goya Foods’ Executive Chef Fernando Desa, Chef James Tahhan of Telemundo “Un Nuevo Dia,” Marc Forgione, restaurateur and Food Network Iron Chef, and Raul De Molina, host of Univision’s “El Gordo y La Flaca.”
• The National Pork Board will also host an entertainment and social media lounge at the event, Chef Colondres and Chef Mendin, together with a promotional team will be on hand to engage attendees with Pork wisdom and give-aways to dare attendees express, share and celebrate Pork as true flavor gurus.
• Chef Jose Mendin of The Pubbelly Restaurant Group has developed a Braised Pork Pastelon recipe for PorkTeInspira.com, the National Pork Board’s Spanish-language website. The recipe will be added to the Pubbelly restaurant menu during the week of the Festival. Recipe available at PorkTeInspira.com/recetas.

The 14^th annual edition of SOBEWFF, America’s favorite wine and culinary extravaganza, will once again benefit Florida International University’s (FIU) Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center. To date, the Festival has raised more than $20 million for the School. Tickets for these select events and others are available at www.sobefest.com, and via phone at 877-762-3933.  

For more information on National Pork Board, including new recipes, information on choice and lean cuts, health and safety information, cooking tips and promotions, visit PorkTeInspira.com. To join the conversation, like our Facebook page at Facebook.com/PorkTeInspira, and follow us on Twitter.com/PorkTeInspira and Instagram @PorkTeInspira, using #SabiosDelSabor.

The National Pork Board has partnered with Beeler Pork and Hormel Foods for the pork contribution of this sponsorship.  

About National Pork Board
The National Pork Board has responsibility for Checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. Through a legislative national Pork Checkoff, pork producers invest $0.40 for each $100 value of hogs sold. Importers of pork products contribute a like amount, based on a formula. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, technology, swine health, pork safety and environmental management.  For more information, visit Pork.org.

PorkTeInspira.com is a resource of pork information and inspiration, including mouthwatering recipes, nutritional content of pork, choice cuts, health and safety information and cooking tips.