A little information about Sef Gonzalez (aka Burger Beast):
- Sef’s family emigrated from Cuba in the early 1960s to New York. They would settle in Miami, Florida, in 1975.
- Beast was raised in the Westchester part of Miami, which he still proudly calls his hometown to this day. He gives a shout out to Westchester during his appearance on the Miami episode for Travel Channel’s Burger Land.
- Since September 2008, Burger Beast as he now goes by has celebrated anything and everything about comfort food in South Florida and beyond.
- Some of his other projects include the Burger Beast Podcast, The Grinder Web Show, and the Burger Beast App for iPhone & Android.
- He was awarded a Guinness Book of World Record for the largest parade of food trucks.
- Sef has also partnered with the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, where he currently curates one event per year.
- He has appeared on the Food Network, Travel Channel and has been featured on other food programs from Canada, England & Sweden.
- He has written for the Miami Herald, Edible South Florida, New Times, Miami.com, and Ocean Drive Magazine.
- Every year on April 7th, the city of Miami Springs celebrates Burger Beast Day.
- Sef’s first book was published in April 2019, All About the Burger.
- Most recently, his event “Croqueta Palooza“ was named by Yelp “One of the Top 28 Food Festivals in the United States“.
Table of contents
Events Created & Curated by Burger Beast
| Bacon Off – Orlando, Florida |
| Battle of the Burgers – Palmetto Bay, Florida |
| Burger Beast Burgie Awards – Ft. Lauderdale, Hialeah & Miami, Florida |
| Croqueta Palooza – Miami, Florida |
| Eat with the Miami Heat – Miami, Florida |
| El Main Evento – Miami, Florida |
| Food Truck First Fridays on Federal – Hallandale Beach, Florida |
| Food Truck Pile Up – Margate, Florida |
| Food Truck Rally at Seminole Casino – Immokalee, Florida |
| Food Trucks at ArtsPark – Hollywood, Florida |
| Frita Showdown – Miami, Florida |
| Hamburger House Party – Miami, Florida |
| Hot Dog Fest – Hallandale Beach, Jupiter, Plantation, & Miami, Florida |
| Isle Casino Food Truck Rally – Pompano, Florida |
| Lee Schrager’s America’s Best Breakfast Book Release Party – Miami, Florida |
| Luv Me Tenders – Miami, Florida |
| Miami Food Truck Rally at Hard Rock Hotel – Hollywood, Florida |
| Miami Food Truck Rally at Seminole Paradise – Hollywood, Florida |
| National Cheeseburger Day Celebration – Orlando, Florida |
| South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Croquetas & Champagne – Miami Design District, Florida |
| South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Croquetas & Cocktails – Miami Design District, Florida |
| South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Food Trucks on the Beach – Miami Beach, Florida |
| South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Trucks on Midtown’s Tracks – Midtown, Florida |
| South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Medianoche & Mixology – Wynwood, Florida |
| SugaPie – Miami, Florida |
| Top Turkey – Hollywood, Florida |
| Wheelin’ Dealin’ Food Truck Festival – Bonita Springs, Florida |
| Wheelin’ Dealin’ Food Truck Festival – Dania Beach, Florida |
| Wheelin’ Dealin’ Food Truck Festival – Miami, Florida |
| Wiener Bash – Miami, Florida |
All About the Burger Book Signings
| Big Sky Buckhead with NFA Burger – Atlanta, Georgia |
| Boyce General Store – Alvaton, Kentucky |
| Charm City Burger Company – Deerfield Beach, Florida |
| Dog ‘n Suds – Muskegon, Michigan |
| Gilbert’s 17th Street Grill – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida |
| Halo Burger – Flint, Michigan |
| Hamburger House Party – Miami, Florida |
| Henry’s Hamburgers – Benton Harbor, Michigan |
| Ivanhoe Park Brewing with A Lo Cubano Kitchen – Orlando, Florida |
| Kewpee Hamburgers – Lima, Ohio |
| PINCHO – Hialeah, Florida |
| Pinegrove Market & Deli – Jacksonville, Florida |
| Shake Shack – Coral Gables |
| White Castle – Columbus, Ohio |
TV Sightings
| Ohio’s Hometown Stations “Burger Beast signs copies of his book at Kewpee” |
| Sweden’s Världens bästa burgare Episode 4 Miami |
| Food Network Canada’s You Got Eat Here!, La Camaronera segment |
| Travel Channel’s Burger Land “Miami’s Cuban Frita” episode, El Mago de las Fritas & Pincho Factory segments |
| Food Network UK’s Andy Bates American Street Feasts “Miami Tropical Beach Flavours” |
| NBC’s 6 in the Mix (more than 10 appearances to discuss different Burger Beast events) |
| WSVN’s Deco Drive Burger Museum unwraps a tasty history |
| SoFlo TASTE on WPLG 10 The Burger Museum |
| 2010 NBC 6 Burger Battle |
Notable Press
| TimeOut | “Burger Beast’s limited-edition Feast Box“ | June 3rd, 2020 |
| Eater | “Burger Beast, to Debut His Own Burger Restaurant“ | June 17th, 2019 |
| Miami Herald | “First he built a burger museum in Miami. Now he’s opening his first burger restaurant“ | June 14th, 2019 |
| Sun Sentinel | “Nostalgia and history served at the Burger Museum“ | November 12th, 2016 |
| Escapism Magazine | “The Burger King“ | June 2015 |
| Thrillist | “22 Miami Instagrams You Need To Follow Right Now“ | April 7th, 2015 |
| Miami Herald | “South Florida Food 50: Sef Gonzalez of Burger Beast” | February 18th, 2015 |
| Miami Herald | “For Miami food blogger, Burger Brawl is the nature of the beast” | May 8th, 2014 |
| WLRN | “Burger Beast, His Frita Obsession And A Frita Showdown“ | August 16th, 2013 |
| Miami Herald | “Man vs. Meat: A burger fan makes it big in the blogosphere” | November 12th, 2009 |
Writings
| All About The Burger book by Sef “Burger Beast” Gonzalez, published on April 15th, 2019 by Mango Publishing |
| edible South Florida Winter 2018: “The Burger Beast’s Guide To Cuban Coffee Culture“ |
| Miami.com & Miami Herald in Print May 1st, 2018: “Eat a burger a day for National Burger Month.” |
| Miami.com & Miami Herald in Print May 2017: 5 Things You Should Do During National Burger Month, 5 Historical South Florida Burger Joints, 5 Most Miami Burgers, 5 Restaurants with Unexpectedly Great Burgers, and 5 Next It Burger Joints. |
| edible South Florida Fall 2012: “Ventanitas“ |
| edible South Florida Winter 2012: “Hey, Lee Schrager, What’s Going On?“ |
| Ocean Drive Magazine March 2011: Taste – The Burger Beast Edition |
| edible South Florida Spring 2011, Cover Story: “Let me tell you about the Frita“ |
Acknowledgments
| 28 Best Food & Drink Festivals ranked by Yelp #22 Croquetapalooza |
| April 7th is Burger Beast Day in the city of Miami Springs |
| New Times Miami’s Best Food Instagrams |
| New Times 2013 Best Blog – Reader’s Choice Winner |
| CBS Miami’s “10 Best Miami Foodies To Follow On Twitter“ |
| Guinness World Record for “The largest parade of food trucks“ |
| The305.com 2012 Blogger of the Year |
| New Times 2012 Web Awards Best Food Blog |
| Savings.com The Top 15 Burger Bloggers |
Company Collaborations
| Amstel Light Beer | Budweiser/Anheuser-Busch | Catalina Foods |
| CAWY Bottling Company | Chevrolet | Chifles Chips |
| City of Hallandale Beach | City of Hialeah | City of Hollywood |
| City of Miami Springs | Coca-Cola | Common Threads |
| Downstairs Markets | El Guapo Spices | Ft. Lauderdale Riverwalk Trust |
| Funky Buddha Brewery | Galeo Spices | Gay8 Festival |
| Goya Foods | Hatuey Beer | Heineken Light Beer |
| Heinz Ketchup | Hellmann’s/Unilever | Magic City Casino |
| Martin’s Potato Rolls | McCormick Spices | McDonald’s |
| MetroPCS | Miami Food Rescue | The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald |
| The Miami Heat | Miami Lakes Auto Mall | The Miami Marlins |
| Miami New Times | The Miami Seaquarium | Orion Fuels |
| Pepsi Cola | Samuel Adams Beer | Schweid & Sons/Burger Maker |
| Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Hollywood | South Beach Wine & Food Festival | St. Baldrick’s Foundation |
| Sunshine Bottling Company | T-Mobile | Thrillist |
| Tillamook | Tito’s Handmade Vodka | White Castle Restaurant |
| WISE Potato Chips | Yelp |
Judging Events
2019
- Gay8 Festival’s Best Sandwich – Little Havana
2015
- Seed Wine & Food Festival Plant-Based Burger Battle – Miami Beach, Florida
- John Offerdahl’s Gridiron Grill-Off – Pompano Beach, Florida
- Dessert Wars – Miami, Florida
2014
- Cuban Sandwich Festival – Tampa, Florida
2013
- Boca Burger Battle – Boca Raton, Florida
- Riverwalk Ft. Lauderdale Burger Battle – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
- Sunshine State Steak Cook-Off – Ave Maria, Florida
2012
- Pigs in Paradise (BBQ) – Immokalee, Florida
- Riverwalk Ft. Lauderdale Burger Battle – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
- The Grind Burger Battle – Wynwood, Florida
2011
- Seminole Hard Rock-N-Roll Beer-B-Que – Hollywood, Florida
- Riverwalk Ft. Lauderdale Burger Battle – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
- Taste of the Grove – Coconut Grove, Florida
- Johnson & Wales Burger Wars – North Miami, Florida
- JA Uncorked – Coconut Creek, Florida
2010
- 2010 NBC 6 Burger Battle – Miramar, Florida
- Riverwalk Ft. Lauderdale Burger Battle – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Contact
Got a question for the BEAST, ask away!
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