Where can you find just about the entire Westchester food scene in one place? At the Southern Westchester (SoWe) Food & Wine Festival, which was a one-day event in Scarsdale last year and has now morphed into a three-day extravaganza across several locations, from September 19 through September 21. Its kicks off with an Iron Chef-style celebrity chef competition in White Plains on Friday night and continues with tented takeovers in Mamaroneck (Saturday) and Scarsdale (Sunday). Last year’s event drew a crowd of 7,500—who all received sample-crammed gift bags, by the way—and this year’s is expected to draw 25,000, for celebrity chef demos, tastings from hundreds of restaurants and wineries, kids’ activities, and live music by the likes of Gary U.S. Bonds and Marshall Crenshaw.
You won’t want to miss the Best Chef Battle, which takes place at Pepe Infiniti dealership’s hitherto unknown “Kitchen Stadium.” Watch Rocco DiSpirito, Graham Elliot, Franklin Becker, and Dave DiBari scramble to prepare dishes with a surprise ingredient, then chill at a cocktail party with wine, beer, spirits, food, and live entertainment. Saturday’s event at Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck and Sunday’s even larger fest in Scarsdale feature tastings by restaurants such as L’inizio, The Cookery, bartaco, BLT Steak, Dubrovnik, Char, and Mambo 64, demos by chefs including Sam Talbot and Jacques Torres, a barbecue/grilling plaza, healthy eating pavilion, and Wine and Beer Tasting Village—check the schedule to see who’ll be where. Sunday’s event also includes a wine and chocolate pairing at Wilson & Son Jewelers and specialty cocktails at Zachys. The festival helps raise funds for many hunger, food, and health-related charities.
Southern Westchester Food & Wine Festival: Friday, September 19, 7 to 10 pm, Pepe Infiniti, White Plains: $85; Saturday, September 20, 11 am to 5 pm, Harbor Island Park, Mamaroneck; and Sunday, September 21, 11 am to 5 pm, corner of Christie Place and Chase Road, Scarsdale Village: no entrance fee, food sample tickets $5 (sold in packages of 10), $30 admission to Wine & Beer Tasting Village; parking shuttles available; buy tickets here.