Taste Talks Returns to Brooklyn with Mario Batali and Danny Bowien
Taste Talks is back! The food-lovers festival returns to Brooklyn this September, where it celebrates its second year and features the culinary world’s cutting edge with a jam-packed three days of symposiums, workshops, discussions, and—of course—eating.
Presented by the one and only Mario Batali and the Northside Media Group (publishers of Brooklyn Magazine), and running from Sept. 12-14, Taste Talks is the borough’s only event in which top luminaries in the food world—from writers to critics to chefs—congregate to discuss, analyze, and theorize about the future of taste.
This time around, James Beard Award-winning chef Danny Bowien (of Mission Chinese and Mission Cantina fame) will be taking over as Brooklyn’s Master of Ceremonies and curation from last year’s host April Bloomfield (Spotted Pig, The Breslin). Among the featured events that Danny will preside over are Mother of Pearl, an Island Creek oysters and Champagne pairing cocktail hour followed by a delectable multi-course sit-down dinner at Williamsburg’s Villain, and the Taste Talks All-Star BBQ, a day dedicated to celebrating discovery and indulgence which features a sampling feast put together by more than 20 cult-status-chefs at the beautiful East River Park. Some of the chefs and food world notables involved in the BBQ or other aspects of Taste Talks include Christina Tosi (Momofuku Milk Bar), Justin Warner, (Do or Dine), Dale Talde (Talde, Pork Slope), Andy Ricker, (Pok Pok Ny), Brooks Headley (Del Posto), Alex Guarnaschelli (Butter, Iron Chef), Amanda Hesser (Food52), Sara Moulton (Sara’s Weeknight Meals), Lee Tiernan (London’s St. John Bread & Wine), Adam Rapoport (editor-in-chief, Bon Appetit), Sam Sifton (New York Times), Peter Meehan (Lucky Peach), Elettra Wiedemann (founder of Impatient Foodie), and 100s more!
This year, Brooklyn also boasts the Future Food Expo, a free admission, veritable world’s fair of what’s next in food, with exhibitions from all the companies, startups, product designers, media outlets and innovators that have transformed Brooklyn into America’s hottest test kitchen.
In addition to tastings and the expo, Taste Talks Brooklyn will host panels on the future of food culture, photography and media including Is a Brick-and-Mortar Necessary?, a look into whether or not—in the age of food trucks and food TV—it’s still necessary to have a traditional restaurant; Daniel Krieger: Expert Food Photography for Everyday Cooks, in which professional food photographer Daniel Krieger will give attendees insider tips on food photography; and Online/Offline: The Future of Food Magazines, during which the future of food media will be discussed. And, finally, the Taste Talks schedule will culminate with a private chef’s dinner at Bushwick gem Fitzcarraldo.
But wait! Brooklyn isn’t the only spot for innovative cuisine in the country. And so Taste Talks has looked far afield, and landed in Chicago. Not to be outdone by its Brooklyn predeccessor, the inaugural Taste Talks Chicago (October 4-5) has their own James Beard-award-winning chef curating their weekend long eatery extravaganza: Paul Kahan, of Blackbird and avec. Stay tuned for a full Chi-Town schedule, posted later this month.
To purchase tickets or for more information on Taste Talks visit taste-talks.com
Taste Talks and the Northside Media Group are proud for support from amazing sponsors such as Island Creek Oysters, OpenTable, and Miracle-Gro AeroGarden.