Food Network & Cooking Channel NYC Wine & Food Festival

What we tried was great but they ran out of food at the Lightner Martinez Intimate Dinner.

Zero star. I went to the dinner from the intimate dinner series and it was a disaster (Virgilio Martinez and Matthew lightner). Courses were missing, we had to stand up at least six times from the table to complain, we kept complaining and they did not bring the correct courses (and one was missing), there were very few servers (i think only two or three for a room full of at least 20 – 30 tables, the food was subpar. My friend had emailed them more than one month in advance about her seafood allergy and they did not bring her alternate courses as promised. They only brought a chicken that was so salty it was inedible. When we asked the lady from the festival if she would have spent 261 dollars for that, she wouldn’t say yes. For 261 dollars in NY you can eat at top restaurants with Michelin star chefs. It was definitely the worst dinner of my life at that price. We had to eat burgers afterwards. We couldn’t enjoy the dinner, we had to stand up multiple times to complain and spent at least 1:30h on that. A couple came to our table to ask for our contact information because they were leaving the terrible dinner and wanted to complain to their credit card company. And the worst is that after i complained to the ticket coordinator, Ashley Shapiro from Southern Wines and her response was terrible — she basically said the food from two two stars chefs couldn’t be bad (i wonder if she has extra sensorial powers since she wasn’t at that dinner, so she shouldn’t be opining) and that she wouldn’t refund our money. If you go to a restaurant, even the worst dive, and complain about the food, people are more than happy than make it up to you, let alone if you spent 260 dollars, you get impeccable food and service. Please stay away from this festival and spend your hard earned money in a great restaurant!

Bloody Mary Brunch hosted by Chopped
Sunday, Oct 18
$ 165pp
I love Bloody Maries (Mary’s ?) and I was very excited for this event. It was overall very disappointing. First, you MUST PRINT YOUR TICKETS. They do not accept a digital bar code displayed on your phone. This is insane and antiquated. But ultimately, we had the tickets printed close by and got in (where we had it printed is a separate, five star review).
We entered and checked our coats. The service by the Chelsea Piers wait staff was superb. They brought refills of coffee and were gracious and friendly.
There was no assigned seating, which sounds good except they put out a yogurt appetizer and water on all the tables. So if you sat at a table, you didn’t know if the water or yogurt had been sampled by someone else already. I saw many full cups of yogurt on the tables, which was an egregious waste of food. Ironic and sad for an event that was being held to help hungry children.
The lines for food and Bloodies were sooooo long! The lines at the bars were not long, but the bars were only serving soda, cinnamon Blue Moon and Blue Moon IPA. I don’t drink soda or IPAs and even though Blue Moon is one of my favorite beers, I don’t want it brewed with cinnamon. It was like drinking a fruity big red, in a bad way. Threw it in trash after 1 sip.
So back in line for shrimp and grits I was looking forward to try — they ran out before 2pm. How about a cupcake? That station closed up shop when I went for one at 2:05. Pork belly and the duck BLTs were tasty. I was eyeing a blueberry muffin, but they ran out of those very early. The chicken and waffles are usually my favorite but the waffle was cold and rubbery. Next table: why the Hell would I pay $ 165 to eat a cube of cheddar cheese served on a kind bar? I’d pay $ 165 NOT to eat that.
Most of the Bloodies were delicious but they took a long time to obtain. The event was supposed to run from 12:30−3pm but since most of the tables ran out of food, they started cleaning up at 2:21pm and everyone shuffled out. It was very disappointing and poorly executed.

I was an event that helps end hunger, my son brought me out to Pier 92 for Jets + Chefs Tailgate, the ultimate in tailgating food. It was sampling food produced by some of New York’s best chefs. Aside from that I go to hang out with
Laveranues Coles
Eric Coleman
Bruce Harper
Marty Lyons
Tony Richardson
Wesley Walker
and Super Bowl Champion legend Broadway Joe.
The food was plentiful, sliders sandwiches, seafood, steaks, ribs and wings paired with refreshing beers, wines and all kinds of drinks unlimited. the best surprise ever being a Jet fan I even got plenty of autographs.

NYCWFF! Excited to be there but it lacked a lot. Maybe comparing it to LAWFF is not a good idea.
I was looking forward in meeting chefs and eating yummy food but that didn’t happen. Out of all the samples they had only 3 that stand out the rest were like frozen food, nothing great nor being cooked by the food network chefs. I did see all the chefs from chopped but they were all doing demo cooking show where you couldn’t approach them nor taste what they were cooking.
On the good side they had more liquor than anything everywhere! From cocktails to wine and beer barrels! I drank so much it was tough to sober up due to the lack of food in the place. The best drinks I had: coconut rum and organic sparkling wine. They had raffles and many things to win. I won a huge soy sauce bottle that I misplaced in the crowds :(and a thick book full of yummy recipes from the food network ;). In the entrance they gave everyone a nice wine glass and a delta necklace to hold the cup & a bag full of goodies. I passed by the gem room which if you wanted access you had to pay $ 50 more, the place looked unappealing and the people in there looked bored. Overall it was a nice event that I will never return to if I have to pay a ticket. This time around I won the tickets and I am thankful to shoprite for the experience but it needs better planning and the chefs need to be more accessible and with the public like the festival in Los Angeles where I met chef graham, chef zakarian chef tila and chef viviani.
Maybe the small cooking events have better food and you get to meet the chefs since those events are for one designated chef. This review is for the grand tasting.

*review for 2014 since there was no event to check into lol*
So maybe I didn’t have to spend the $ 200 for the ticket, but trust me if you did, you definitely got your money’s worth. Plus it all goes to charity so feel good.
There were multiple stations where top chefs from around the city and out were making a small sample dish – some highlight dishes: shrimp over sriracha mayo, braised short rib, turkey meatballs and polenta, and every perfectly paired wine.
Every station we went to the chef was enthusiastic about his or her dish and explained it to us him or herself. I loved the intimate vibe and how all these chefs were excited to share their great dishes for us all pro bono.
I’ll let the pics attached speak for themselves!

There was so much food and liquor it was overwhelming. If you hate crowds this may not be your thing.
You file in through security checks, receive a goodie bag, pasta, spices, wooden spoons, etc. and a wine glass.
There are food offerings the length of the pier, on either side there are wine pairings. Pricey wines and spirits not jug stuff. I’ve been to other events and this one definitely focuses heavily on «wine». There is one aisle that is mainly spirits, some actually set up bars. Lots of flavored champagne and infused liquors. It was hard not to get hammered. Plenty of food but no where to sit. There are thousands of bodies pressed together rushing about with wine in one hand and food bites in the other. Even though the event is in the fall it was unbearably hot. So many people!
The space is raw this means no bathrooms. The answer? Rows of porta potties on either side of 15^th street. Recall what I said about the abundance of drink? You can guess what those potties looked and smelled like after a few hours, dreadful. Each time you left the space you had to wait on line and get your bags searched by security. It’s a sad fact that long queues and lines will be with us forever, but rather safe then sorry. It was time consuming though.
On either side there were auditorium set ups with chairs to observe celebrity demos. Everyone was there. We watched Morimoto, Bobby Flay, Chef Simon, and the evenings topper at 6, Tony Bourdain. There were many, many foodie celebs. After the event in the small park across the street there were tents set up where you could purchase a celebrity book the line up to get it signed. There was music and some coffee and beverage stands as well.
If you have the stamina you will get your money’s worth, but I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there and take a pee!
I won’t be going next year.

A great event for a noble cause. Participated in the New York Food and Wine festival as a volunteer over a span of three days. Little trivia about the festival–
The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival is a charity event. 100% of the net proceeds benefit the Food Bank For New York City, fighting hunger in the five boroughs; and Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit working to end childhood hunger in America. In 2010, the Festival raised more than $ 1.2 million for these charities, helping them better provide for those they serve and closing the gap on hunger in our country.
The fourth annual Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine takes place September 29 — October 2, 2011. Once again, 100% of the net proceeds of the Festival benefit charity. The Festival is hosted by and benefits the Food Bank For New York City, fighting hunger in the five boroughs; and Share Our Strength®, a national nonprofit working to end childhood hunger in America. In 2010, the Festival raised more than $ 1.2 million for these charities, helping them better provide for those they serve and closing the gap on hunger in our country.
Day 1–
It all started with a brief introduction to the day’s events. All the volunteer got the event T –Shirts. I was designated to help people out with the registration passes at the help desk.
Day 2 and Day 3–
Helped the people inside the pier with the directions and handed over the wine glasses to people so that they can participate in wine tasting.
There were great chefs and probably the best wines on display for tasting. Overall a very well organised event.