Vanessa James has never needed anyone’s permission to celebrate Caribbean culture she simply built the room herself. The Trinidad-born media personality, voiceover artist, and entrepreneur spent nearly two decades in corporate radio, freelance media, and brand storytelling before channeling everything she had into Food, Wine, and Fête, a sold-out Caribbean cultural festival set against the historic backdrop of Virginia Key Beach in Miami.
Now in its fourth year, the festival drew 1,500 attendees and representations from islands across the diaspora, from Barbados and Grenada to Antigua and St. Martin. As founder and CEO of Vanessa James Media, James has built a platform rooted in Caribbean excellence, community, and the firm belief that the diaspora no longer has to wait for others to tell its story.
Tell us about Food, Wine, and Fête and what this year’s event was like.
Saturday, May 16th, we just wrapped Food, Wine, and Fête. Festivals are a six-month minimum build, and then you have the pre-event, the event day, and then people don’t realize especially as a festival founder our team is still loading out for up to a month. Putting everything back where it’s supposed to be, color coordinating flowers so we can easily access them next year, all the press recaps it’s a whole process and system.
Food, Wine, and Fête is our love letter to Caribbean culture here in Miami. It is a passport to the Caribbean until you can get there yourself. Whether you’re hopscotching across Grenada, Barbados, Nevis for Mango Festival, or St. Martin this was our love letter to celebrating the diaspora in a really incredible way, with soca music as the driving force. It’s a really awesome, eclectic space in Miami where we can come together, share community, and share that eclectic story of Caribbean-ness.
Everybody had a chance to eat their belly full, sip on incredible cocktails from around the Caribbean, and then party and wind down to the ground. We started in 2019 as a pilot project, coming from Trinidad Carnival and bottling up that incredible euphoria, asking, how can we bring this to Miami? Here we are four years later sold out, 1,500 people, and growing every year.
What inspired you to create this experience, and what gap were you hoping to fill?
As a person who grew up in South Florida, I understood there was a huge, vibrant melting pot of Caribbean culture here, but there was still nothing that really allowed us to come together in such a unique way. You could get dressed up and all of that, but you could also take your shoes off and just be yourself.
I saw that the gap was there and no one was filling it especially in a feminine way. Bringing in that uniqueness and vibrancy of the Caribbean that only a Caribbean woman could do, I felt. The gap was missing, and I was so excited to fill it. It’s a huge team and a lot of work, but it feels really nice to do something that’s for us, by us, that I can say with my chest so proudly.
How intentional were you about ensuring different Caribbean voices and experiences were represented?
Incredibly intentional. Food, Wine, and Fête will always be a place where all are welcome and all of the diaspora is welcome. Tourism boards understood that each island has its own vibrant touchpoint and its own special sauce. We gave them the breathing room and activation space to say, do with this what you will show people what you’re about.
Barbados came and showcased why they are the birthplace of rum, bringing two mixologists to present their vibrant cocktails. Grenada, known as the Spice Island, came with their jab-jab juvets and showcased why they’re emerging as one of the biggest carnivals of the summer. Antigua brought gorgeous masqueraders and a big, beautiful pop-up celebrating everything Antigua. St. Martin brought two chefs with an incredible array of dishes oxtail croquettes and more. We gave them room, and they came and showed out.
What does Fête mean, and what should first-timers know before attending?
Fête, in the Caribbean specifically in Trinidad is derived from the French Caribbean. It’s very much a soiree and a play on that culture, immersing all the things: steel pan, mocho jumbies, live drums, incredible food and drinks, all set on the beach of historic Virginia Key, which is a historically Black beach. That’s on purpose they’re our partner, and it’s very important for us to be there to also celebrate them.
In terms of what to wear, you wear whatever you feel most beautiful in. It’s a place to come dressed up in the most vibrant colors you have, but also a place of no judgment. When you’re ready to go to the front of the stage and wind down low, ain’t nobody judging. Everybody’s there to have a good time just like you. People literally left their problems at the door as soon as they heard the steel pan, the rhythm section at the entrance, and were greeted by mochajumbies stilt walkers and then just got hit with sound and joy and amazing cocktails and jerk chicken and roti and doubles.
Year 5 is a milestone. What can attendees look forward to?
Year 5 is monumental for us, especially for how far we’ve come. We’re going to be very intentional about celebrating our community an ode to everybody that’s been with us since day one, and also a bigger footprint for more brands and more experiences.
For the first time, we’re going to be opening up a market where you can come and showcase your products, whether you’re a small batch body butter or jewelry line, or whether you’re Fenty. Caribbean beauty is having a real moment, and we skew 65% women it’s a highly feminine event so there’s a place for those brands too.
What impact do you hope Food, Wine, and Fête has on future generations of Caribbean creatives and entrepreneurs?
I want people who come to this festival or even just see it through our Instagram to feel that it’s a place where all are celebrated. All Caribbean islands, from Belize to St. Lucia to Puerto Rico to Haiti to Aruba to Curaçao to Trinidad and Tobago, my homeland, and everywhere in between.
For so long, creatives from across the diaspora have said they felt like they didn’t quite belong not African American enough, or their story somehow became an asterisk. And that’s a real thing. Until now.
Finally, we have the breathing room to say we are perfect in our uniqueness, and our Black story is important and worth celebrating too. We are not waiting anymore for others to celebrate us. FWF is going to be a place where you come and feel celebrated, be celebrated, or celebrate others from our chefs to our brands to our community. We’ll continue to lead with that torch and also pass the baton.
What entrepreneurship lessons have surprised you most, and what would you tell someone in transition?
It’s very simple. You have to go through those things, feel all those feelings, and understand that it’s very important to always come back to yourself. Knowing yourself, knowing what you believe in, knowing what legacy you want to leave regardless of whatever job you have in the moment as long as you know the reason you’re creating every day, you always come back to self.
She said, because when you’re impeccable at what you do, you’ll always be in demand. Once I started to really build that confidence and understand that, I stoorrying about things missing me. I stopped worrying when someone else got the opportunity I was going for, and I started celebrating other pped wpeople that got the work. Voiceover trains you to do that 15 people are auditioning for one thing.
What voiceover taught me about life is this: go in, give your best, and it’s going to be what it is. Move on to the next thing. Operate your life that way don’t hold onto things too long, let things be what they are, and don’t miss the moment of being present. Feel all the things, but be present. Focus on what you want to leave in the world not just how things look, but how they feel to you.
Rapid fire
Favorite Caribbean dish that feels like home: Roti and curry chicken and pumpkin from my mommy.
One island everyone should visit at least once: Trinidad and Tobago February, Carnival.
The ingredient that defines Caribbean cuisine: Peppa. Everybody’s got their own version.
Wine, rum, or cocktail: Rum.
Most underrated Caribbean destination: Grenada. They’re having their moment in the sun right now incredible beaches, the warmest and most friendly people, and there’s an electricity when you go to Grenada that you don’t feel anywhere else.
One word that describes this year’s festival: Incredible.
Follow Vanessa James and Food, Wine, and Fête on Instagram for updates on year 5 and Caribbean cultural programming year-round.
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