Annual Albany Chefs' Food & Wine Festival

About the Festival

The Albany Chefs’ Food and Wine Festival will take place Thursday, January 11th through Saturday, January 13th, 2018 to benefit the arts community of Albany, NY.

The 2018 Festival is inspired by the partnership with the Indonesian Diaspora Network - USA. Traditional Indonesian wayang was the inspiration for this year's image. The central figure of the image is a well-known wayang, Arujuna Janoko, peeking through the batik flowers and embracing the Festival signature wine bottle. This year's iconic bottle has a subtle nod to American artist Andy Warhol. The wayang playfully sneaks the bottle through the flowers portending to the fun & merriment to come as we join our cultures to present the 9th Anniversary Albany Chefs' Food & Wine Festival: Wine & Dine for the Arts! 

Wayang is a term denoting traditional shadow puppet theatre in Indo­nesia and dates back to the 9th Century. The word also means "imagination." Wayang today is both the most ancient and most popular form of puppet theatre in the world. Each Wayang is one of a kind and intricately carved and painted by hand and illustrates just one of the rich and varied cultural art forms of Indonesia. 

Therefore, this year's Grand Gala Reception & Dinner will feature the food, wine, arts & culture of Indonesia! 

Events & Competitions

• The Mayor's Opening Celebration at City Hall
• Grand Tasting & Seminars
• Battle of the Bartenders
• Rising Star Chef Pavilion & Craft Beer Pavilion
• "Slider Slam" Competition
• Gala Reception 6-course dinner
• And more!

This Year's Rising Chefs

• Joe Braoudakis of Roux
• Jacquie Clark of The Wine Bar
• Nicholas Fredenburg of 2 West Bar & Grill
• Sondra Galvin of Max London's
• Richard Matthews of The Shop
• Jamie Norton of Osteria Danny
• Bryan Redmond of Hamlet & Ghost
• AJ Richards of Forged
• Zach Simard of Old Daley Catering
• Tyrone Wallace of The Hollow Bar + Kitchen