Tamron Hall, Angela Yee and JJ Johnson took to the stage at last year’s Bacardi Presents The CookOut: Hip… [+] 50th Anniversary of Hops
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The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival, presented by Invesco QQQ (NYCWFF), has announced its official lineup for its 17th year. Taking place from October 17-20, 2024, this year’s festival will feature a ton of new programming, new venues, and of course, the return of many fan-favorite events and chef personalities.
As one of the largest food festivals in the nation, NYCWFF celebrates the culinary scene in and around New York City throughout the weekend with a variety of events spotlighting incredibly talented chefs, bartenders, sommeliers, Food Network favorites, social media personalities and more who will participate in tasting walks, intimate happy hours, once-in-a-lifetime dinners and more.
This epic event will benefit NYCWFF’s charity partner, God’s Love We Deliver, the only organization in New York City that provides life-sustaining meals and nutritional counseling to people living with serious chronic illnesses. Fancy a long weekend of eating, drinking, and giving back? We hope so!
This year’s festival is based in Brooklyn
There are big changes happening this year, but one of the most notable is the shift to and focus on Brooklyn, meaning a series of signature events like the Grand Tasting and Peer Party will take place in a sprawling 450,000-square-foot covered venue at the new Invesco QQQ campus in Brooklyn Army Terminal.
“This is a long time coming,” says festival founder and director Lee Bryan Schrager, “and we think having everything on one campus will create a better experience for our guests and give us better control.”
Pier 86 during last year’s NYCWFF event
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In recent years, Pier 86’s signature events have been marred by rain, making it difficult to fully enjoy the event. “Having the event in a covered space will be a game changer,” Schrager said. “If we’re lucky, we’ll keep getting lucky.”
Schrager said the move is also a testament to the thriving innovative culinary scene in one of New York City’s largest boroughs, and a full-circle moment since the festival actually got its start in Brooklyn. “We started Burger Bash in Brooklyn, but within two years it had outgrown it,” Schrager said. “Brooklyn was the perfect location for the event, so we’re excited to bring it back, knowing that it’s truly grown into one of the hottest foodie destinations.”
For easy access from downtown Manhattan, ticket holders will have access to the NYC Ferry, a special transportation option just for the festival. This ferry runs continuously back and forth, allowing guests to seamlessly take in the event from both Brooklyn and Manhattan, and is just 12 minutes from Wall Street. In addition to the new location, a new headquarters hotel will also be opening. This year, the Wall Street Hotel will be the perfect home base for NYCWFF attendees.
NYCWFF Adds A Great Lineup of New Events
To celebrate the festival’s new home, NYCWFF will kick off on Thursday, October 17 with a new main event, Brooklyn Eats & Beats, featuring Brooklyn’s biggest chefs, including Esther Choi, Billy Durney, Sean Feeney, Mark Iacono, and Michael Solomonov, as well as 25 of Brooklyn’s iconic restaurants (plus Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre will be serving up ready-to-drink gin and juices.) The event was small last year but showed signs of quickly getting bigger.
“The time for a refresh is now,” Schrager said. “We know that to keep our consumers and sponsors excited year after year, we need to keep it fresh and new.”
Burger Bash 2023 scene
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Nearby, at The Lawn Club at The Seaport, actress and Betty Boos founder Blake Lively will host The Betty Boos Harvest Happy Hour. The usual drag brunch will elevate to Drag Disco, a late-night party hosted by David Birkat and Neil Patrick Harris. Caviar connoisseur? At Caviar & Cocktail Affair, a new event hosted by Scott Conant and Antonia Lofaso, you can make your champagne wishes and caviar dreams come true as you watch the sun set over the New York skyline from the Aspire One World Observatory on the 102nd floor of One World Trade Center.
Put on your dancing shoes, because this year Bobby Flay will be hosting a Triple Threat Dance Party presented by Treasure Cave with Tiffany Deley, Michael Voltaggio and Brooke Williamson. All attendees will receive a free copy of Bobby’s latest cookbook, “Bobby Flay: Chapter One.”
Fan-favorite events are also making a comeback
Rachael Ray returns as host of Pat LaFrieda Meats’ Blue Moon Burger Bash, Fratelli Beretta’s FoodieCon® is back and bigger than ever, and Robert Irvin will continue to host his favorite steak & whiskey event, and of course agave-infused tacos & tequila.
The festival will close with the returning JJ Johnson’s The Cookout: A Hip Hop Celebration, featuring some of the region’s best Black-owned restaurants and celebrating all things Black cuisine and hip hop.
Rev Run returns for closing event of the year
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For those who prefer a more sophisticated atmosphere and want a truly one-of-a-kind dinner experience, there are numerous (30+) intimate dinners available as part of the Bank of America Dinner Series.
The presale period will begin on Wednesday, July 10 at 9 a.m. ET and run through Sunday, July 14, offering 20 percent off tickets to the event at the Invesco QQQ Campus at Brooklyn Army Terminal. All other tickets will go on sale on Monday, July 15 at 9 a.m. ET.
