<< previous   next >>

pot luck

“The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival is Coming Soon! (Here's your guide.)”

Making its debut this year is one of the most anticipated food and wine festivals in recent memory, both for its incredible content and line up of events, and its location—The Big Apple. You can thank Lee Schrager, Director of Media Relations for Southern Wines & Spirits of America (he's the savvy guy who brought us South Beach Food and Wine Festival) for the super playlist of celebrity chefs participating, from Food Network stars like Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence, and Alton Brown, to hometown favorites like Tom Colicchio, Alain Ducasse, Marcus Samuelsson, Alfred Portale, and many more who will be hosting dinners, doing culinary demos, and participating in panel discussions.

While many of some of the high-profile spotlighted events are selling out fast—including the Burger Bash hosted by Rachel Ray on October 10th, the RED dinner at Craftsteak and the Adour dinner party with Alain Ducasse (both on October the 11th), many of the events at the three-day festival are still available, are really reasonably priced (some are free), and are kid-friendly, too!

On Friday night, “Meatpacking Uncorked” gets it all started at 6pm ($40 a person), when the Meatpacking gets turned into a shopping haven, but one serving wine! Yes, you can shop and drink! Forty-three of the city’s chicest boutiques – stores like Diane von Furstenberg, Stella McCartney and Calypso to name a few - will play host to the premier wine tasting in New York City.

You might stop by ONO Restaurant for an in-depth sampling of high-end sakes; relive the glory days of “The Line at Le Cirque” with the Maccioni family and such luminary chef alumni as Terrance Brennan, Geoffrey Zakarian and Michael Lomonaco. In addition, you might visit the Special Greenmarket in the Meatpacking, located at the Apple Store at 401 West 14th Street, or check out a summit on beef with DeBragga and Spitzer, or a sit in on a wine class with Josh Wesson on how to drink on the cheap.

Over the three-day weekend there are also a number of free events planned as part of “Meatpacking Local,” including guided tours, demonstrations, and discussions. You can learn about how the High Line used to be the food artery for New York, or take in a talk by some of New York’s top young chefs. At Meatpacking Local it’s all about food, culture, and above all else, New York.

There’s a full line up of free Kids Get Cooking classes sponsored by Chelsea Market scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings beginning at 9am, with Alton Brown, Amy’ Scherber (of Amy’s Bread), and Sue Torres among others teaching kids a few of their culinary tricks. Kids will also have the chance to learn all about honey bees, decorate Eleni’s Bakery cookies in a rainbow of mouthwatering colored icings, take a “Mini Chef” Cooking Class at Paradou or sit back and watch the “Pumpkin Man” carve a mind boggling sculpture out of a 600 pound pumpkin!

As you can see, there are a ton of great events planned (thank you, Caryl Chinn) and I know there’s definitely an event that’s calling your name. So, check out the website and plan your weekend!

For more information on the roster of events and to reserve tickets please visit www.nycwineandfoodfestival.com or call 1-866-969-2933.

<< previous   next >>

Posted: September 25, 2008

Share ! Post a comment