Fun & Fit as a Family, the first-time South Beach Wine & Food Festival event aimed at combating childhood obesity, brought Food Network stars Rachael Ray and Jamie Oliver to Jungle Island Saturday.
There were a slew of health-promoting activities (an obstacle course, for one) and a ''Tour de Pants'' with that guy Jared who slimmed down eating Subway, but early in the day, it was Ray the kids were clamoring to see.
Clad in a screaming yellow blouse and skirt, she whipped up Banana Pseudo Sushi in the venue's overstuffed Serpentarium auditorium. Fans stood four thick along the upper perimeter and balanced precariously on railings, straining to see her demo.
''The fitness part is how long your calves can hold you,'' joked Howard Inerfeld of Davie, there with his wife and two kids, as he perched on a railing trying to eyeball Ray.
''When you eat well, you can eat more!'' she crowed, popping a piece of peanut-butter flavored ''sushi'' into her mouth.
We're not sure that's the right message for overweight kids, but festival organizers were serious about the health thing. Parking -- free, amazingly -- was in a field across the MacArthur Causeway, which meant a mile hike up and back. We know this because Blue Cross handed out free pedometers.
-- HOWARD COHEN
