Opening Bottles & Doors: Sarasota-Manatee Originals Celebrates 20 Years and its 17th Annual Forks & Corks Food and Wine Festival

By Tom Reese | Photos by Peter Acker

Imagine having an all-access pass to taste over 350 award-winning wines from all over the world and pairing them with a wide variety of mouth-watering foods from over 40 local independently owned restaurants. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, it’s not. 

The 17th Annual Forks & Corks Food and Wine Festival Grand Tasting recently took place at the world-renowned John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art on January 28, 2024. Nearly 1,800 people converged on the museum’s breathtaking courtyard to give their taste buds a ride and support the area’s best and most unique culinary innovations. 

This incredible annual event is hosted by Sarasota-Manatee Originals, a not-for-profit organization that serves as a collaboration hub for independently owned local restaurant owners to support each other and grow their businesses together.  The organization, also referred to as the “Originals,” was formed when members from the Sarasota and Manatee area’s independent restaurant community came together to unite for shared success and identify our region as a culinary destination. Today, over 60 restaurants from the tip of Anna Maria Island to the southern beaches of Venice proudly call themselves members of the Originals. The widely popular Forks & Corks Festival debuted in 2008, just a few years after the Sarasota Manatee Originals was born. 

“One of the things we do as an organization to promote our members, is provide them with many opportunities to literally get them and their food in front of people – their potential guests,” said Liza Kubik, who handles marketing and communications for the Originals. “Forks & Corks was designed as a world-class platform where we can showcase our member’s talents in the best possible way.” 

The Grand Tasting is just one of several events taking place in the five-day Forks & Corks Festival. Other events include an online food and wine auction, private food and wine pairing dinners hosted inside the organization’s Member Restaurants, retail tastings, wine classes taught by industry experts, and much more.

This year, over 4,000 people attended the various events at Forks & Corks. Winemakers from 14 different countries and some of the most prestigious wineries in the world flew in for the festival. This included 18 individual winemaker dinners hosted across the two counties in the Originals’ member restaurants. Over 250 people attended wine seminars led by these winemakers and other industry experts. These classes present a rare opportunity to learn about wine from those instrumental in crafting them and how to properly pair each wine with food. 

“We focus on the fact that this festival celebrates the expertise of our local chefs. And then the entire thing is supported by this roster of renowned international winemakers. Which really speaks to the festival’s allure, and the destination’s undeniable appeal,” says Kubik. 

In addition to Forks & Corks, the Originals host other various events and auctions to raise funds for the organization and promote their Members. The next event, Set the Bar, is a cocktail competition where guests can sample innovative and delicious drinks made by our area’s best bartenders. Set the Bar will highlight accomplished mixologists representing establishments from the Originals’ member restaurants. The winning libations will be decided by an expert panel, as well as event attendees, on flavor, appearance, presentation, and imagination. In addition to the sampling, guests at Set the Bar will enjoy live entertainment, an exciting auction benefiting Children First, and light bites from the Member Restaurants. This event takes place April 14, 2024 from 4-7 p.m. at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. 

Taste of the Bay, which last was held on October 22, 2023, is another tasting event hosted by the Originals that is like the Grand Tasting event of Forks & Corks. On a slightly smaller scale, this lovely event at The Oval at The Bay Sarasota featured live music and dishes from some of the best restaurants in Sarasota. The event coincided with the first anniversary of The Bay public park alongside Sarasota Bay. Taste of the Bay will shine again in 2024, so stay tuned.

The Originals also work directly with ABC7’s Suncoast View, an hour-long talk show hosted at 9 a.m. every weekday, to spotlight local restaurant chefs and their most exciting dishes. Each Wednesday morning, a chef from one of the Originals’ Member Restaurants joins the program in a studio kitchen and makes a scrumptious meal paired with the perfect wines. The segment, called Wine Down Wednesday, is both educational and fun and meant to inspire viewers to venture out to these local establishments. 

The purpose and mission of the Originals – promoting and supporting independent, locally owned restaurants in Sarasota and Manatee Counties – has never been more important and goes way beyond events they host. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants have been experiencing very trying times of change. Cost of product has been rapidly rising, as well as the needs of the average customer. The need for professional marketing and social media has never been greater. 

One of the key driving forces behind the Originals and Forks & Corks is Michael Klauber, a founding member and founding board president of the Originals, and owner of several businesses in the area, including the iconic Michael’s on East. Klauber’s connections in the food and wine industry span the globe have helped to elevate the Forks & Corks event to one of the most recognized food and wine festivals in the Southeast United States.

“I think the Originals are a big part of the backbone of our community when it comes to the hospitality industry and the dining scene. We believe there is a great culinary heritage in our region that we are all working hard to preserve and celebrate. Forks & Corks is a celebration of all of our great local restaurants partnering with some of the greatest wineries in the world and I love seeing our whole community out there enjoying it,” says Klauber.

The Originals use funds raised from their various events and donations to continue their marketing of their members and the entire local community of restaurants. Through advocacy, marketing and educational initiatives, the organization helps these businesses thrive and contribute to the unique culinary identity of the region. If you visit their website, www.eatlikealocal.com, you can review a list of all member restaurants, browse the blog, request a local dining guide, and sign up for their newsletter for news about local restaurants and events. This is the best way to stay up to date on next year’s Forks & Corks Food and Wine Festival and other special events to make sure you get tickets before they sell out.