Thank goodness we got a break from that bitter cold and bomb cyclone (cyclone bomb?). I was so happy to have a stocked fridge and tons of leftovers. I did not leave my house for days…and then I got the flu (insert heavy eye roll here).
Alas, no cold or flu can stop me from continuing my recap of 2017. There was so much to tell. Let us press on with the rest, starting with food festivals and special events in Harlem and the greater New York City area.
In 2017, I was so excited to be working on the third annual Harlem EatUp! festival as talent manager, working with Harlem restaurants, eateries, food makers and more for their participation. We held our third annual I’m So AmNewsFOOD contest and highlighted our winners—Nana’s Homestyle Poundcakes, NYC Best Dressed Cupcakes and Spread-mmms—at the Amsterdam News Stroll Grand Tasting. Get ready for 2018’s contest!
August brought a return to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the annual food preview, where I was blown away by all of the new modern construction. Meeting chefs David Chang, Wylie Dufresne and Morimoto before chowing down on their foods was something I will never forget.
I also returned to Taste Talks in Brooklyn and to the New York City Wine & Food Festival. The Iron Chef Showdown event, at the latter, was a rooftop carnival of fun. Hopefully this year we will be invited to more of the festival.
We also had the much anticipated open of Harlem Whole Foods, which features their normal Whole Foods-ness but also a selection of local vendor products with the help of Harlem Park to Park’s program. Their class of 2018 is in the works now.
I served as a judge for the third time at the Harlem Harvest Festival’s annual bake-off, which is always a good, delicious time. I also served as a judge at Sylvia’s first annual Grill Skills competition in which Sylvia’s neighboring restaurants competed for bragging rights and prizes, in that order. Congratulations to all of the winners!
I am most proud of participating in the first Ladies Night of the Black Chef Series held at Blujeen restaurant. Together with my fellow women chefs, Tiffany Minter and Aaliyah Baylor, we showed up and showed out in five courses. I am looking forward to doing that again soon!
But wait! There’s more below…
Happy eating and thanks for reading!
Kysha Harris is a food writer and editor, culinary producer, consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service in NYC for more than 15 years. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @SCHOPgirl, on Facebook, /SCHOPnyc, and her blog, www.talkingSCHOP.wordpress.com. Questions? Comments? Requests? Feedback? Invitations! Email AmNewsFOOD at AmNewsFOOD@SCHOPnyc.com. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @NYAmNewsFOOD and tag us with #SoAmNewsFOOD
with your food finds!