Over the weekend, we were among the dumpling enthusiasts who brought our appetites to NYC’s Lower East Side to celebrate all things dumpling at the 13th Annual Chef One Dumpling Festival in Sarah D. Roosevelt Park.
With a fitting theme of “There’s a Chef in Everyone,” the festivities included NYC Borough based food stations serving up truly tasty varieties of dumplings such as Kung Pao Chicken, Pork & Kimchi, Kale & Vegetable, Buffalo Chicken, Edamame and even a new seasonal Pumpkin flavor.
In addition to the grub – attendees snapped photos with the one-and-only Dumpling Mama mascot, commemorated the fun in a cool gif-making photo booth, joined in dumpling-making classes, and watched along with wide-eyed wonder at the many talented performances.
From traditional Lion dancing to a group of tap dancers and more, the festival brought a great mix of entertainment. While I’ll contest that the musical performance by string based trio Yut and the Hot Four – was the act to see, my eight-year-old was most impressed with the fire dancers’ flame-waving choreography.
Of course, we can’t forget the competitive eaters who joined in the Dumpling Eating Contest. Although I couldn’t fully stomach watching this portion – this contest always draws an attentive (and massive!) crowd, with winner’s taking home hefty-checks for their face-stuffing accomplishments. Would you believe the female division’s winner scarfed down 115 dumplings in two minutes time?!
The prize sharing continued, and the excitement was palpable as raffles were drawn for prizes including a pair of Delta Air Lines tickets and a Year’s Supply of Chef One Dumplings.
Although the lines were long due to the festival’s gaining popularity, the social media team was on it – offering free samples and more to those who took to Twitter to grumble.
My favorite part was getting to see the festival’s continued dedication to feeding food-insecure New Yorkers. With all proceeds benefiting The Food Bank for New York City – joining in the festival is always pure dumpling-indulgent goodness to feel good about. Best of all, they welcome volunteers! Stay connected to Chef One to find out about partnering with The Food Bank NYC at next year’s festival.
And for all our friends who missed out on #dumplingfest2016, Chef One hasn’t forgotten about you! Check out the below video to master dumpling making in your kitchen and stay tuned for details on next year’s Dumpling Festival. You bet we’ll be there!
This is a sponsored post. Opinions, as always, are my own.