Fit for a King

Fresh from their trip to Pensacola, where they helped commemorate the 450th anniversary of the first Spanish settlement in Florida, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia presided as special guests of honor at a dinner given at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. Emceed by New York superchef Mario Batali, the evening provided a royal kick-off to this weekend's South Beach Wine & Food Festival, in Miami. After a lavish food and wine tasting in the Spanish mission-style courtyard of the Biltmore, guests proceeded to the hotel's regal banquet hall, where they dined on courses prepared by several of Spain's most noted chefs, each of whom presented a course. The wizards of cuisine included Pedro Subijana, Daniel Garcia and Francisco (Paco) Torreblanca. Culinary master of ceremonies was José Andrés, whose brand of molecular gastronomy continues to captivate diners in our nation's capital and most recently, at Bazaar in Beverly Hills. Among the celebrity guests who turned out to sample la comida españa were singers Julio Iglesias and Gloria Estefan. Neither one performed, which we thought was a shame. The king and queen would surely have enjoyed a mash-up of "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" and "Rhythm is Gonna Get You."

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