At the majority of events at the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, celebrity chefs whip up gourmet burgers, lobster rolls and even dim sum for their fans. Last night, the tables were turned at the Barilla Interactive dinner at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. At this gathering the people behind the stove weren't named Emeril, Rachael or Guy. Instead, the guests were doing the cooking for the likes of Lidia Bastianich, Philippe Ruiz and Joe Bastianich.

The ornate Biltmore ballroom was the scene of this impromptu Italian cooking experiment. Each table was equipped with a gas burner, frying pans and assorted cooking tools. A student chef from Coral Gables Senior High School partnered up with each table to guide us through the process.

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The Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village is the "meat and potatoes" of the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival. It is an opportunity for people to sample mass quantities of gourmet snacks, sip a wide variety of libations and mingle with fellow foodies. It is truly a village, with tents stretching along the beach with interactive stations for KitchenAid, Moet & Chandon, Diageo, Evian, American Express and Home Shopping Network.

Adding to the excitement of the Grand Tasting Village are the hourly chef demonstrations. Everyone from Emeril Lagasse and Rachael Ray to Sandra Lee and Ming Tsai prepared their food live in front of their fans. The sights, sounds and smells of these toques cooking was better than watching any TV show.

We were able to spend some time with Top Chef hottie Fabio Viviani at the Bertolli olive oil booth. The season five contestant is the new spokesperson for Bertolli, and was on-site to prepare three of his tasty recipes. Each dish utilized the flavor profiles of Bertolli's three olive oils, Classico, Extra Virgin and Extra Light. First was Fabio's orecchiette pasta with rapini and sausage. This ear-shaped pasta was flavored with rapini, ground sausage, garlic, white wine, chicken stock, pecorino cheese and Classico olive oil. Lighter was his sea bass with spinach pesto and mango salad. Fittingly, he added Extra Virgin olive to the mix. Lastly, there was a lamb loin over salad with Extra Light olive oil.

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Star chefs were making the scene at the second night of the 2010 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, from the Perrier Jouet BubbleQ to Wine Spectator's Best of the Best. Over the years, both events have consistently been foodie favorites, however, they differ in their approach and vibe.

At the more casual Bubble Q, the combination of grilling and champagne made for a memorable evening. Hosted by telegenic chef Emeril Lagasse, there were smoked meats, flowing bubbly and a lively band. Lagasse presided over an impressive roll call of toques including Michelle Bernstein, John Besh, Todd English, Tim Love, Tony Neely, Norman Van Aken and Susan Spicer.

While we didn't hear Emeril utter his "Bam" catchphrase, he did make a major announcement at the BubbleQ concerning his new line of steaks with presenting sponsor Allen Brothers. Called Emeril's Red Marble Steaks, these high-quality cuts of beef (bone-in rib eye, filet, rib roast and hangar) will be available to consumers in the spring. Moreover, as the host of the event, Emeril's booth was the biggest and most impressive. He served a Creole pulled pork sandwich with spicy coleslaw, kicked-up bbq sauce and homemade pickles. For this signature dish, he went through 475 pounds of pork butt.

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The 2010 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival kicked off with a carnivorous bang at the Amstel Light Burger Bash, which was presented by Allen Brothers and hosted by Rachael Ray. The fourth annual Burger Bash, which was held in a tent behind the Ritz-Carlton South Beach, was a smashing success with 27 entries spanning celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay, Rocco DiSpirito and David Burke. Nearly 3,000 revelers chowed down on gourmet burgers and spuds, drank truckloads of beer and gawked at Rachael Ray.

The biggest line could be found at Morimoto's station, where the Iron Chef was serving a pork "Kakuni" burger with glazed pork belly. Over at Shake Shack's booth, the New York stalwart tried to ingratiate themselves to the Miami scene (they are opening a local outpost here in the spring) with free t-shirts, shakes and their famous burgers.

Women were swooning over Rocco DiSpirito, who spent more time posing for photos than dishing up his Pork and Chow Chow Slider, which was a mini pork patty, wrapped in bacon and served with chow chow and pickled beets. While Guy Fieri turned heads with his blond, spiky coif, fans weren't able to get too close to him as he was flanked by bodyguards all night. We were able to chat up the festival's founder and director, Lee Brian Schrager, whose top pick of the evening was Morimoto's porcine-themed burger.