You’ve heard of tourists and Fordham students scoping out celebrities on the first Monday in May at the Met Gala, but October brings its own opportunity for foodies and Food Network fans to encounter their favorite famous chefs. The Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One (NYCWFF) will offer 80 events from Oct. 14-17. The main events will take place at Hudson River Park’s Pier 76 and Pier 86, with smaller pop-ups in other locations around New York City. 

This weekend will celebrate the 14th year the festival has taken place in New York City and the first year pivoting back to an in-person event after the pandemic forced the 2020 NYCWFF to take place online. 

Celebrity cook and talk show host Rachael Ray, “Iron Chef” star and “Chopped” judge Alex Guarnaschelli, and many other celebrity chefs such as Duff Goldman, Geoffrey Zakarian, Scott Conant and Giada De Laurentiis will host events throughout the end of the week and weekend.

Other celebrities will be in attendance, including “The View” host Ana Navarro and actor Neil Patrick Harris. If you’re more interested in the food than the celebrities, NYCWFF has tickets for events of all kinds: wine tastings, cocktail competitions, culinary demonstrations, brunches and more. 

According to a press release from NYCWFF on Oct. 5, tickets are still available for a majority of the events throughout the weekend. Whether your family is coming into town for a visit and you’re looking for an activity to entertain them or you want to splurge and treat yourself to something other than the dining hall food or whatever you’ve been cooking up for the past two months in your McMahon apartment, the NYCWFF promises to be an exciting experience for both your celebrity sighting list and your tastebuds. 

Tickets are expensive for the average college student, but it all goes to a good cause: 100% of the festival’s net proceeds go to two different charities that support New Yorkers facing severe illness and food poverty. Through the NYCWFF fundraiser, over $13.8 million has been donated since its founding over 10 years ago. For passionate foodies and Fordham students looking to live out the Jesuit tenet of giving back to others, this event is for you.

Proceeds from this year’s festival will support God’s Love We Deliver, a provider of medically tailored meals and nutrition counseling for individuals living with severe illness, and Food Bank For New York City, the city’s largest hunger-relief organization.