Baldor is one of the top suppliers of provisions to restaurants across Manhattan and you probably often see their trucks unloading in front of your favorite eateries! The Baldor Bite show brings together the company’s network of top chefs, farmers and food brands and hundreds of them converge on Basketball City to mix and mingle and give out plenty of goodies!
There are all day presentations with foodie world luminaries including cookbook authors and chefs, much like the NYCWFF. This year’s biggest luminary was Danny Meyer who pressed the flesh with guests and even gave up some of his easy yet secret recipes! Other food stars included Dan Barber and Kwame Onwuachi. There were free tattoos in the upstairs lounge.
This was my favorite photo op–getting to hop into a six-feet-wide tin of fake caviar. I have the feeling that if there were real cans of caviar this big, the guests would be diving into them head first with their mouths open, LOL!
There were exotic items in every aisle! I was totally dazzled. I loved meeting up with the Fresh Origins gang and seeing the edible flowers that they sell–these go beyond the run of the mill ones that look like pansies that you see in gourmet stores and restos. I was especially impressed by the edible orchid flowers and rose petals shown above!
I saw so many brands that I go way back with–many of them local Manhattan businesses that are four or five generations old. One is Esposito’s Sausage. They started out as a pork store near the Lincoln Tunnel (that is still there) and became national. Their Italian sausage is as authentic as it gets and sold for such reasonable prices at NYC supermarkets!
The truly remarkable Andy Boy people had an adorable cart full of the veggies like broccoli and broccolini that we all know and love…but there were a few items that I have never seen before like their fennel and assorted types of lettuce!
The remarkable Lioni Cheeses of New Jersey were at Baldor Bite handing out their freshest mozzarella, Buratta and more! Needless to say, this booth had unending lines! They gave away cheese at the end of the day and it nearly caused a riot!
It was amazing to be able to sample all that Bazzini has to offer and hear the company’s story from their VP of sales! They moved from Tribeca to the Bronx to Allentown and they are still producing their wares just like they did 100 years ago. I have always been impressed not only by their quality but by the fact that you can see their bags placed by the cash registers in every type of food store from high end to neighborhood bodegas.
It was also great to get the back story of my favorite supermarket pasta brand, DeCecco. They have so many great new products as well as new packaging. And before you ask, no…it was not me posing for the logo although friends have told me that I look like the “DeCecco lady.”
An event this grand had to end in a big way, so a college matching band was called in to march around the exhibit hall. Many guests started marching behind them and it was simply tons of fun. Some guests were even dancing. If you want to come to the next Baldor Bites (coming up in April 2026), keep an eye on baldorfood.com. Discount tickets are always available to students in the food arts as well as food business professionals.
