Food Book Fair 2016 spans Sunday and Monday, May 1st and 2nd, at the Wythe Hotel, with lead-up events at neighborhood locations.
Food Book Fair launched in 2012 as the first event of its kind: part festival, part conference, set at the intersection of food culture and food systems. Dubbed the “Coachella of writing about eating,” “a voracious reader’s dream,” and, simply, “food geek heaven,” this event remains ceaselessly inspired by food media — books, of course, but also print and online magazines, television, film and radio. The dynamic programs include panel discussions, a pop-up bookstore, #Foodieodicals, cooking demos, conceptual literary dinners, film screenings and much more.
Sunday is anchored by big-picture panel discussions, complemented by the signature ‘zine fest, Foodieodicals, and all-ages kids’ events. Monday’s focus turns to intimate workshops and classes before a gathering on fair food and labor for stakeholders all along the food chain.
Tickets are available as all-inclusive day passes for Sunday’s events, with breakfast and a light lunch served; workshops and certain other events are available a la carte.
Highlights include:
Panel Discussion – Food as Fashion, Fashion as Food: All food comes from somewhere. But when it exists as a snapshot of a popular dish at a popular restaurant, or mentioned in a click-bait listicle, that origin isn’t always so clear. From bone marrow to bone broth, this panel explores what we talk abut when we talk about eating today, and how to recontextualize popular foods in relation to history, culture and food systems in the age of #trends. Panelists include Christophe Hille, CFO of Fleishers Craft Butchery; Doria Santlofer, fashion stylist and executor of Joy Santlofer’s “Food City”; Maria Rodale, chairman and CEO, Rodale Inc., author of “Scratch”; Jon Gray, co-founder, Ghetto Gastro; Koel Thomae, co-founder of Noosa; and Noah Fecks, moderator, food photographer and author of “The Way We Ate.” Book signing for authors immediately follows at the Kitchen Arts & Letters pop-up shop in the Wythe Hotel garden.
Panel Discussion – Food and Fiction: How does one write a convincing, veiled-enough, but-believable-enough work of fiction inspired by a real place, people, and time when the subject is something as personal as food and the dining experience? And why are readers — whether they have worked in restaurants or not — so interested in the behind-the-scenes goings on at restaurants? Panelists include Stephanie Danler, author of “Sweetbitter”; Jessica Tom, author of “Food Whore”; Helen Ellis, author of “American Housewife”; and Cathy Erway, moderator, host of Heritage Radio Network’s “Eat Your Words” and author of “The Food of Taiwan” and “The Art of Eating In.” Book signing for authors immediately follows at the Kitchen Arts & Letters pop-up shop in the Wythe Hotel garden.
Workshop – Food Styling and Photography: There’s a lot more that goes into a pretty picture of a piece of cake (or sandwich or cocktail) than just a pretty piece of cake (…or sandwich, or cocktail). Join Liz Clayman and Rebekah Peppler for a workshop on food styling and photography, and follow the journey of a food photograph from start to finish. Spend the morning learning how to shop, prep, play with light and composition and, yes, style and shoot! The workshop will include a mix of conversation, demo and hands-on, so come prepared to get your hands dirty and style and shoot on your own. Please bring a camera (this course is designed for those with basic knowledge of DSLRs; you should be comfortable in full manual mode to get the most out of this morning); an appetite; and a tolerance for dad jokes. Featuring Rebekah Peppler, writer and food stylist (for The New York Times, Real Simple, Saveur, among others); author of Short Stack Editions “Honey”; and Liz Clayman, photographer specializing in food and restaurants (for New York Magazine, Shake Shack, Barneys New York, among others).