Taste Talks is back, and with it an exploration of the future of food, a massive barbecue collaboration between chefs and celebrities, an oyster and champagne-filled dinner, and festival curator Questlove spinning tracks.
This is the food festival’s third year in Brooklyn, and Questlove is kicking it off by hosting a poolside dessert party on Friday night with pastry wizard Dominique Ansel. (The man behind the mighty cronut.) But the rest of the event is anchored around looking forward to developments in food and food culture. The Future Food Expo will be open all day on Saturday and Sunday featuring food tech developers, future food products like the Silicon Valley favorite meal substitute Soylent, and more.
Meanwhile, the panel discussions planned for the weekend take a look at the road ahead for the food industry and food media as well. There’ll be a group discussing innovation and creativity in urban farming, another group of restaurant owners from Katz’s Delicatessen and Russ & Daughters exploring the preservation of New York City’s food traditions, chefs talking about how they stay relevant and innovative in their cooking, and a look at both the science of cooking and how technology will continue to shape dining.
But there are going to be plenty of opportunities just to enjoy food, too, of course. In addition to the standard beer and wine tastings and cocktail demonstrations, Taste Talks is throwing parties and hosting meals each day of the festival. Saturday brings a chicken and waffles brunch by Pies ‘n’ Thighs, as well as a champagne-and-oysters-fueled collaboration dinner between chefs Leah Cohen (Pig & Khao), Daniel Holzman (The Meatball Shop), Jacob Rosette (Dinner Lab). Then on Sunday, chefs like Alex Stupak of Empellon and Hugue Dufour of M. Wells will be among the 20 or so chefs teaming up with celebrities like George Takei and Lea DeLaria of Orange is the New Black for an all-day barbecue with Questlove spinning live.
Individual tickets for the Taste Talks Future Food Expo and a couple of the parties are available online, or you can also buy one of three options of all-access passes ranging from $100-450.
