Vox Media’s Eater Hosts Sold-Out Inaugural Young Guns Summit in NYC

On Saturday, July 27, Eater hosted celebrity chefs, journalists, food lovers and close to 850 guests for its first-ever Eater Young Guns Summit in Brooklyn, NY, presented by Grey Goose.

The day-long celebratory event rang in the 2019 class of Eater Young Guns and featured conversations with more than 25 speakers including actress Amy Sedaris and chef Marcus Samuelsson alongside Eater’s Amanda Kludt, Sonia Chopra, Hillary Dixler Canavan, Serena Dai, Osayi Endolyn, Meghan McCarron and more; spotlight sessions and workshops with this year’s class of Eater Young Guns; a food court featuring NY favorites; interactive experiences and live musical performances; and an evening rooftop cocktail party curated by Yardy and Eater Young Gun DeVonn Francis with breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline.

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The Eater Young Guns Summit represented the mission and vision of Eater’s 2019 Young Guns. Since Eater launched the awards in 2012, Young Guns has showcased the people who make the food and restaurant world worth obsessing over, whether through their work in the kitchen, the front-of-house, the office, or outside of traditional restaurant frameworks.

Attendees had the opportunity to interact with Eater’s 2019 Young Gun winners, with workshops including a bean-to-bar chocolate tasting and donut making workshop with chef Zoe Kanan and Dandelion Chocolate’s Annie Kamin, pork butchery with Wurst’s Jason Chow and The Meat Hook’s Brent Young and Ben Turley, and a deep dive into natural wine with Kismet’s Kae Whalen — as well as a pop-up shop filled with cookware, food, and other products guests brought home to their own pantries.

Throughout the day, Eater brought its award-winning journalism to life through mainstage conversations. Marcus Samuelsson kicked off the day with an inspiring keynote on his career, encouraging the audience to never give up on their dreams. The day wrapped with a conversation with Amy Sedaris and Eater’s Editor-in-Chief Amanda Kludt.

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Guests also heard from other food industry thought leaders and up-and-comers in inspiring sessions including:

• “The Truth Behind Cookbooks,” authors Alison Roman and Von Diaz in conversation with Eater NY Editor Serena Dai
• “Making Money Moves: Fundraising from Kickstarter to VC,” a session on launching a business featuring chef Maya Lovelace and Great Jones co-founder Sierra Tishgart with Eater Restaurant Editor Hillary Dixler Canavan
• “Goodbye Food World, Hello City Hall,” featuring trailblazers and activists Shakirah Simley and Julia Turshen, who traded the restaurant industry for politics, in conversation with Eater’s Meghan McCarron
• “Losing to Win: Learning from Failure,” candid lightning talks with chef Michael Solomonov, restaurateur Steve Cook, Chef Preeti Mistry, and Chef Reem Assil on resilience, learning from failure, overcoming adversity, and finding inspiration

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In addition to conversations and demos, attendees enjoyed biscuits from Pies ‘N’ Thighs, pies from Petee’s Pie, fried chicken from Win Son, breakfast tacos from King David Tacos, Junzi Kitchen wraps, desserts from Mah Ze Dahr, specialty cocktails by Grey Goose, plant-based burgers from Lightlife and much more.

Couldn’t join us for the Summit, but want to experience Eater IRL? You’re in luck! Eater is bringing you Eater Young Guns: The Dinner Series, with three unique NYC dining experiences featuring trailblazing young talent and established players of the food and drink world. Get your tickets here!

Thank you to our presenting sponsor Grey Goose, sponsors including Lightlife, 25 Kent, and OpenTable, and partners Acqua Panna, San Pellegrino, La Colombe, Vita Coco, Brooklyn Ballet and Rooted NYC.