By Kristen Hernandez
The Dining Divas spiced up Fort Lauderdale with the debut of WE TV’s popular, ultra-chic foodie reality show. The red-carpet event at Sistrunk’s historical Smitty’s Wings, located at 1134 NW 6th Street, had all the right ingredients. It was a fusion of local celebrities, Florida politicians, food enthusiasts garnished with stars.
Dining Divas Season 4 is all about Fort Lauderdale’s top dining hideaways. It’s a modern, female-centric reality show marinated in cultural education, with a pinch of fashion and a dash of personality. Founder of WE’s Destination Empire shows, Christine Curran, is shaking up the lifestyle show industry by including women from different cultural backgrounds.
“There wasn’t enough diversity in the hosts that were showcasing food and craft concepts. We’ve taken over that niche in both food and travel,” Curran said. “The food shows on air today needed fresh faces. How many times can Gordon Ramsey have a show?”
Destination Empire currently has several shows accessible via the Destination Divas App and several more currently in production. Curran and her co-hosts have showcased unique dining concepts from places like California, Utah, New York and Columbia. But as a Deerfield Beach native, Curran now wants to serve up the best of her hometown.
A glimpse of what’s coming began at Smitty’s, which was simmering with gastronomy lovers, cocktails sponsored by Uncle Nearest Whiskey, cast members sporting fashion with finesse, influencers, and of course, Smitty’s famous wings. As the sun set behind the VIP red carpet, cameras were rolling while Smitty’s DJ pumped out music from the 90’s through today creating an atmosphere of energy tinted with the scent of savory barbecue sauce.
Sitting next to the cigar and whiskey bar was Smitty’s co-owner and silent matriarch, Helen Hinton, smoking a cigarette and occasionally shaking her hips to the music while patrons danced and partied. Hinton was released from a local hospital just two days before the Dining Divas taping, but she was determined to party with the community she serves while her restaurant rocked Sistrunk Boulevard.
“There’s a lot of hard-working people around this area who want a place to relax and eat good food after a hard day,” Hinton said. “Smitty’s is that place where the community comes to listen to the music and chill on the patio. No one is down and we turn them up. Sometimes, this is exactly what your soul needs.”
Filming their debut episode at Smitty’s Wings was all about highlighting the history, culture and renaissance of Sistrunk Boulevard. Follow up episodes will include Betty’s Soul Food, one of the oldest restaurants in the Sistrunk community, the Sistrunk Marketplace and YMCA’s rooftop lounge overlooking downtown Fort Lauderdale’s spectacular sunsets.
Sistrunk Boulevard is named after Dr. James Sistrunk, who helped establish New Provident Hospital, currently the YMCA/L.A. Mizel Community Center, which was the first hospital in Broward County to serve the Black community.
“Dining Divas is bringing sexy women from different walks of life together to celebrate food and culture,” Curran said. “We haven’t yet filmed in Fort Lauderdale because we’ve been traveling for both the Travel Channel and filming our destination show, Cruise Divas. Coming back and being able to shoot in my hometown is really exciting.”
Cast members of the spin-off series, Dining Dudes, also made an appearance. Dining Divas Season 4 will feature appearances by Lacey Mimms, The Sizzling Diva; Tamara Davis, The Saucy Diva; Christine Curran, The Spicy Diva; Kelly Desroches, The Savory Diva; Ingrid Morales, Succulent Diva; and Ana Reyes, The Sweet Diva.
“I wanted a show about women empowerment that brings diverse faces to the center of the business,” Curran said. “We’re the more modern and hip version of the foodie, lifestyle and travel tv shows. And we’re just getting started. The sky’s the limit on what we’re doing for Season 4. We’re going to take the audience on a wild ride. They’ll be able to come along with us while we turn the party up.”
Season 3 aired in January and Season 4 is currently filming in select Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Miami locations. The air date is scheduled for summertime 2024. With all the exciting shows yet to debut, the best way to keep up with all things Divas is to follow them on social media and subscribe to their channel. Episodes are available on the Dining Divas app.
