Food-obsessed crowds turned out in droves for the sixth annual New York City Wine & Food Festival, held October 17 to 20. While some of the festival's late-night parties and intimate dinners remained scattered across the city, many of the marquee events—including the Burger Bash and the Grand Tasting—were concentrated around an easy-to-navigate "culinary campus" set up at Piers 92 and 94 in Midtown, or at the festival's official headquarters hotel, the Hudson Hotel.
This year the organizers introduced a handful of new events, including a walk-around sampling of top chefs' takes on game-day cuisine dubbed Jets & Chefs: the Ultimate Tailgate hosted by Joe Namath and Mario Batali. And of course, stars from title sponsor Food Network were on hand to host popular signature events, including Bobby Flay for the festival's Mexican-theme outing, Tacos & Tequila, and Robert Irvine at Thrillist's meat-centric Barbecue & the Blues bash. (Notably absent was Paula Deen, who cancelled her scheduled Classic Comfort Brunch after the TV network dropped her earlier this year amid allegations of racist behavior.)
As always, big-name brands played a key part in extending the offerings of the eating and drinking festivities, with more than 100 sponsors and partners working with the festival's sponsorship team on customized activations and integration throughout the weekend's events. Here's a look at how brands including Delta, MasterCard, Illy, and Ronzoni caught the attention of the festival's more than 50,000 attendees.