Guild Magazine At The Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival Presented By Capital One

From October 11-14th, Capital One presented The 11th annual Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival at Piers 92 and 94 benefiting No Kid Hungry® and Food Bank For New York City. The festival, which has raised more than $11 Million to date to help end hunger, was attended by nearly 50,000 people, including media and industry professionals. The festival offered over 75 events, including parties throughout New York City, cooking classes, panel discussions by the chef celebrities of both networks, as well as signature tastings.

For its opening night, award-winning artists Natasha Bedingfield, and Martina McBride performed to an audience of 2,500 guests during an event featuring more than 25 of the nation’s top female chefs. Other notable events during the festival included Blue Moon Burger Bash presented by Pat LaFrieda Meats hosted by Rachael Ray, Coca-Cola Backyard BBQ presented by National Beef and Pat LaFrieda Meats hosted by Billy Durney and Pat LaFrieda, and the Grand Tasting Weekend to which Guild Magazine was invited to.

The Grand Tasting Weekend, presented by ShopRite, featured culinary demonstrations by 12 of the chefs from the Food Network and Cooking Channel, amongst them Aarón Sanchez, Giada De Laurentiis, and Andrew Zimmern.

Guild Magazine had the opportunity to sit down with Chef Aarón Sanchez before his cooking demonstration to a packed audience, and we discussed his beginnings as a chef, his future plans, and his advice for those wishing to enter the industry. The must-read interview will be available in our next print issue launching November 2018.

The Grand Tasting Weekend was a foodie’s dream-come-true, allowing guests the opportunity to sample hundreds of wine and spirits, as well as to taste unlimited dishes from the dozens of restaurants that presented their cuisine from around New York City, and the rest of the country. The event also offered an excellent opportunity for socialization, and to meet professionals in the food industry. Some of our favorites presenters at The Grand Tasting Weekend were Suyo Gastrofusion, a cocktail bar located in the Bronx specializing in Asian and Latin American cuisine, and with a fun and welcoming staff full of sazón, and Mums Kitchen NYC, a family-owned catering service specializing in delicious pastries. Fabrizia Spirits offers a memorable line of Limoncello cocktails that blew our minds and palates away, and Four Roses Bourbon took the spot for our favorite bourbon whiskey at the event.

If you did not have the opportunity to attend NYCWFF this year, make sure to save the date for next year’s festival. The annual Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival returns October 10-13, 2019! Remember, all proceeds benefit No Kid Hungry® and Food Bank For New York City. – GM