It was 20 years ago that the Sarasota-Manatee Originals was founded: a collaborative of independently owned and operated restaurants and culinary innovators committed to celebrating the food and friendship that’s indigenous to our Gulfcoast lifestyle. Today The Originals are over 60 restaurants strong and provide diners with unique local flavor from the north shore of Anna Maria Island down to the southern beaches of Venice and every neighborhood in between.  We urge the community to support our local independent restaurants and to always “Eat Like A Local.”

In 2008, Forks & Corks was designed as a fun and engaging showcase of the enormous talents of our area’s locally-owned restaurants, highlighted by an esteemed cast of visiting winery owners and winemakers from literally all over the world. It is considered one of the area’s biggest social celebrations of the year.

Now in its 17th season, the multi-day Forks & Corks epicurean event is well established as the area’s premier food and wine festival and tickets will sell out fast. The celebration will include:

Forks & Corks Food and Wine Festival is hosted by the Sarasota-Manatee Originals and is our organization’s primary annual fundraiser, bringing critical marketing dollars to promote dining in local, independently-owned restaurants and encouraging locals and visitors to our area to always “Eat Like A Local.”