Every year, at the end of October, The Food Network hosts a
four day Food and Wine Festival in New York City to benefit No Child Hungry.
Hundreds of restaurants, supporters, vendors, volunteers, and of course,
foodies, flock to the events to eat well, drink deep, and meet Food Network
personalities. For the past five years, I’ve attended the event, sometimes as a
volunteer, sometimes as a ticket holder. For those who have visited my kitchen,
you know that I collect pictures with famous food personalities. Many of those
signatures and photos came from this event.
I arrived in NYC Saturday morning. After checking in with
the volunteer desk, I wrist banded numerous guests to the Chefs + Jets event
and the Grand Tasting. Chefs + Jets was on the rooftop of Pier 92. Think of it
as the ultimate tailgate. One of the few events where people under 21 could
attend, the rooftop was packed with families, beers, BBQ, Jets players, grilled
foods, Jets cheerleaders, food served in a bun, a live marching band, and
football paraphernalia. The Grand Tasting, an event that lasts both Saturday
and Sunday, spanned piers 94 and 95. The picture below only shows about a third
of the things to taste and see. Wine from all over the world, cocktails of
every spiritual base, grocery stores, and restaurants, everyone had something
to hand out, either to consume, or to put in your orange Buick logo’d bag. I
wandered the aisles, methodically trying to sample, ensuring that I would be
able to taste everything. With, literally, hundreds of different bites to try,
there is no way I could recount them all, but there were some highlights that
stand out.
To the left of the entrance, rather than a simple booth as
you see above, this vendor set up their space like the interior of a European
delicatessen. Cheeses, charcuterie, pickles, jams, and mustards were all laid
out to try, my favorite being a roasted balsamic fig that paired perfectly with
a crumbling blue cheese. Near the middle, a restaurant laid a slice of beef
carpaccio on top of field greens, splashed it with herbaceous olive oil, and
topped it with a tete de moine (Monk’s head) cheese curl and fresh ground
pepper. In the back, liquid sugar was being pumped through tubes to construct
blue raspberry flavored, 3D printed candy. Oh yeah, and I also got a picture
and a hug from Paula Dean
I walked from the tasting to the Times Building to attend a
talk with Rachel Ray and Tom Colicchio. They spoke passionately about solving
America’s problems related to child hunger and nutrition. Their main point
being that when people are on such a strict budget, they go for cheap food,
which also happens to be the unhealthiest. Calories are cheap, nutrition is
expensive. Without changes to legislation that currently supports corn and corn
products, the problem won’t go away.
Saturday evening, I helped at Tacos and Tequila, hosted by
Bobby Flay, again on the roof of pier 92. With the sun down, the chill began to
set in, making us all line up for the tortilla wrapped goodness. Pork was most
prominent as the filler, but my favorite was a duck confit, complete with
crispy cracklings on top. The duck was juicy and rich, lightened by the pickled
slaw and garlic aioli.
Sunday, after another round of volunteering at the Grand
Tasting, I headed back up to Pier 92’s rooftop for Meatopia X, hosted by
Michael Symon. Transformed again from the night before, every booth offered carnivorous
treats. 1” square cubes of maple smoked bacon possibly had the longest line,
but if you headed to the back, the roasted quail might have been my favorite. Near
the front, sitting atop a 10’x10’ grill was a whole cow. The skull on a spit, it was an oddly primordial
foreground to a New York City backdrop. As pieces were finished, they were
carved and served with truffle mash potatoes and BBQ sauce.
Stuffed to the gills (for about the third time that weekend)
I walked to the bus stop for the long ride back to Hartford. Another successful
year, both for me and No Child Hungry. Can’t wait till next October.
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