Favorite Fall Festivals

"Know what you love, and do what you love.  If you don't do what you love, you're just wasting your time."    Billy Joel

Finally, time for my favorite of the Festival Season, “my” Food Film Festival!    I believe I have I have shared my enthusiasm, and passion, for the FFF.  I am so truly grateful, grateful, and feel so blessed, to have been embraced into this “Family."  And, a family it feels like.  We work hard, play a bit, and even travel together!

Our final production meeting for New York’s Festival began at a very cool event: Brooklyn Bounty, The King’s County Agricultural Fair hosted by the Brooklyn Historical Society.  What made it even more enjoyable was seeing Ben Flanner, Head Farmer of the Brooklyn Grange Farm win the Pioneer Award from the Historical Society.  The Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm at the Brooklyn Navy Yard was perhaps my favorite venue of Rooftop Films last summer!

Well, the weekend of NYC’s Food Film Festival was wonderful, crazy, fun, successful and we rocked!  I could go on and on (as you well know).  Our Executive Director was very happy as he commented many times that this year’s team was one he’d been hoping to gather for years.  We worked very well together, no drama and trauma.   Five events in four days: Cocina Peruana opening night; Edible Adventure #011: Just Add Sriracha; The Food Porn Party: Halloween Balls (In the spirit of the day, we were all Pirates!); Brewmore + More on Saturday afternoon; and finally The Night Aquatic.  We sold out all weekend!

Seth, our Executive Director, sent us a thank you after that weekend, I used this in my thank you to all of "my" amazing volunteers: “….You probably overheard guests talking, but if you missed it...Everyone had a great time. And while every event had its own special moments, each day, it was taken to the next level. The Night Aquatic ended up as a perfect closer. And the energy in that shrimp boil was epic...a room full of 300 NYC strangers all eating with their hands, shoulder to shoulder, quickly becoming friends. You turned the windowless basement of a movie theatre into a beautiful night on the river.”

The Skyline Room @ Kendall

A couple of weeks later, a core group of us headed to Chicago for the Fifth Annual Chicago Food Film Festival.  We were happy to be back at Kendall College.  It is a wonderful venue to hold the Festival.  The culinary students and events staff are a joy to work with, be with.

Billy carving his BBQ

Five more events in four more days.  Same themes except for The Chicken Wing Hunt for opening night.  Also joining us in Chicago, and to cook for us, was awesome Billy Durning owner of Hometown BBQ in Red Hook Brooklyn.  We were able to connect and work with some of the Festival’s faves in Chicago, especially Akiko Moorman and her partner in life and work, Philip Foss, taking time away from their Michelin starred restaurant, El Ideas.

It was truly a pleasure and joy to spend time, and work hard, with this amazing group of people, my FFF family.  We went to a couple of old haunts while in Chicago: our first family dinner at The Old Jerusalem again.  And, a visit to Chicago wouldn’t be complete without a visit to The Weiner Circle (to get abused by the lovely hostess/cashier), and Billy Goat Tavern.  But honestly, a couple of the nights, we simply went home, had a glass of wine, or beer, and “chilled” together.  Perfect.  Actually many of my favorite moments were actually in our little “home."   Another instance was on our first evening, making a gingerbread house (kit bought while food shopping at Trader Joe’s), which became a focal point on my “merch” table.  It was awesome, perfect.  (We even started out own little group on GroupMe where we still visit 'cause we miss each other!)