A joyful day of culinary discovery brings together 3,500+ chefs from across the East Coast with 270+ farmers and specialty producers from around the world, offers delightful beachside “boardwalk” programming, and spotlights industry leaders Matty Matheson, Christian Petroni, Missy Robbins, Paul Carmichael, Matt Rodbard, Tiffani Faison, Marian Chang, Tim Ma, and more.
Baldor Specialty Foods, one of the largest distributors of premium produce and specialty foods in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, returned with Baldor BITE 2026, the biennial gathering of hospitality professionals with the farmers and specialty producers who power and shape the modern food industry, on April 21, 2026, at Basketball City at Pier 36 in New York City.
Centered around BITE’s whimsical ethos “Play With Your Food,” BITE 2026 comes to life with a nostalgic and convivial summer boardwalk theme that aims to take chefs out of the relentlessness of the kitchen in order to enjoy some early vacation vibes.
Connecting the dots between more than 16,000 customers and over 1,000 farm and supplier partners, Baldor Specialty Foods is the trusted purveyor of choice for some of the world’s most acclaimed chefs, restaurants, and hospitality groups—including Eleven Madison Park, Le Bernardin, Major Food Group, Jean-Georges, Union Square Hospitality—alongside neighborhood favorites, quick service restaurants, hospitals, schools, retailers such as Eataly and Union Market and event spaces, like Madison Square Garden and the US Open.
“Baldor BITE is our way of turning the tables of hospitality on our customers, who provide delicious and memorable experiences to their customers every day. It’s also a way for us to enable the success of our suppliers, by helping more chefs discover their products,” says Margaret Magnarelli, VP of Marketing & Communications, who oversees the event.
“At Baldor, we say we’re the ‘to’ in the phrase ‘farm to fork’ and this day it’s a special opportunity for us to live that promise, and in an environment that is as delightful as it is delicious.”
The show floor featured 271 exhibitors representing the full catalog of Baldor’s offerings, broken up by protein, produce, dairy, bakery, and grocery areas, a pop-up Farmers’ Market featuring small regional farms like Meadows and More, Norwich Meadows Farm, and Taproot Farms, and a new Emerging Brands spotlight showcasing up-and-coming producers that need to be on culinarians’ radars.
Among the exhibitors will be B&W Quality Growers, Driscoll’s, La Trafila, Natalie’s Island Juice Co, Gotham Greens, Tanimura & Antle, Zero Acre Farms, Upside Foods, and many more.
In addition to showcasing exhibitors, BITE notably spotlights chef and supplier thought leaders through various panels and programming. The event features a keynote by chef and television personality Matty Matheson (The Bear, Just a Dash) in conversation with Chef Christian Petroni, New York Times bestselling author of Parm to Table. Other headlining talent included Matt Rodbard (Editor-in-Chief of TASTE), Chef Missy Robbins (Lilia, Misi), Chef Paul Carmichael (Kabawa), Chef Tiffani Faison (chef, restaurateur, and judge on Chopped), and Chef Tim Ma (Tim Ma Hospitality).
Highlights from BITE 2026 include: Keynote Conversation: Matty Matheson: Unfiltered. A keynote conversation between chef and television personality Matty Matheson and New York Times best-selling author Chef Christian Petroni, where they will discuss restaurant culture, creativity in the kitchen, and the evolving role of chefs in shaping food communities.
The Chef’s Table: What It Takes to Achieve Success in Today’s Culinary World. Moderated by Editor-in-Chief of TASTE Matt Rodbard, this panel brings together leading chefs and restaurateurs, including Chef Missy Robbins, Chef Paul Carmichael, Tiffani Faison, and Chef Tim Ma, to explore how restaurants are evolving, from sourcing and sustainability to leadership and culinary creativity.
The Flavor Makers: From Farm to Phenomenon. How Suppliers Behind Beloved Ingredients Ensure the Best for Your Kitchen. Highlighting the farmers and producers powering restaurant kitchens, this discussion will feature Garland S. Reiter Jr., Chief Commercial Officer (Driscoll’s), Dan Rohrberg, VP of Sales (DemKota Ranch Beef), Saleena Subaiya, Founder (BKE Kombucha), Marian Cheng, Co-Founder & CBO, (Mimi Cheng’s Dumplings), and Aaron Choi, Founder (Girl & Dug Farm)
Golden Meat Co. Hot Dog Eating Contest: Chef-led gourmet hot dog eating charity competition, with participating chefs to be announced.
Cutting Demo: Golden Meat Co.: A live demonstration of a whole rib roast broken down into steaks, showcasing Baldor’s premium meat program through Golden Meat Co., its in-house butcher and meat supplier.
Cutting Demo: Pierless Fish: See the art of big fish butchery up close as Baldor’s in-house expert fishmongers demonstrate initial breakdown to portioning.
Parmesan Wheel Cracking: Italian cheese supplier Ambrosi will present a live cracking of a full wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano, showcasing traditional cheese presentation and service, and a technique-driven demonstration on how to perfect Rome’s most iconic pasta dish, Cacio e Pepe.
Pastry Demo: Strawberry Shortcake with Driscoll’s Berries. Pastry Chef Jatee Kearsley of Je T’aime Patisserie, in collaboration with Farmers Direct and Driscoll’s, will prepare a seasonal strawberry shortcake highlighting peak berries.
Demo & New Ingredient Showcase: Zucchiolo. Casa Pons and Malena Produce will introduce Zucchiolo, a new vegetable developed in South Spain, making its U.S. culinary debut through a live ratatouille demonstration that offers a fresh take on the Provençal classic.
About Baldor Specialty Foods: Baldor Specialty Foods is one of the largest distributors of premium produce, specialty foods, dairy, meat, and fish in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with more than 16,000 customers and over 1,000 farm and producer partners. Beginning as Balducci’s Fruit Stand in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1946, and spun off as a separate company in 1991, Baldor maintains its original commitment to freshness, flavor, quality, and service.
Baldor’s reliability and commitment to quality you can trust and service that delivers make it the purveyor of choice for some of the world’s most acclaimed chefs, restaurants, and hospitality groups, including Eleven Madison Park, Le Bernardin, Major Food Group, Jean-Georges, and Union Square Hospitality. By providing quality ingredients, innovative solutions, and seamless logistical experiences, Baldor frees up chefs’ headspace to focus on creativity rather than supply chain logistics.
This trusted network extends beyond restaurants to include corporations, hospitals, schools, and major retailers and event spaces—from Madison Square Garden to the US Open to Eataly, and beyond.
From that fruit stand push cart start, Baldor has grown into one of the largest distributors of premium food in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. While founded as a produce company, Baldor has strategically expanded its catalogue to cover the entirety of the plate, distributing over 6,000 SKUs, including specialty foods, meat (via its Golden Meat Co. acquisition), fish (via its Pierless Fish acquisition), and dairy.
The business remains in the family, under the leadership of CEO T.J. Murphy, and maintains its original commitment to freshness, flavor, and meticulous service that was praised early on by food icons like James Beard.
Underpinning Baldor’s growth is a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical sourcing, driven by a diverse network of carefully curated farm and producer partners across the country and the world.
These vendors—be they generational farmers or emerging agriculturists and makers—are true experts, and are committed not only to the highest quality food but also to social responsibility and improving the conditions for their crops and animals.
It was a very wonderful event, company’s and brands from all over the world, showcasing their great brands, thousands of people in attendance interested and learning more of the partners involved with Baldor Specialty Foods, tasting there foods and getting a deeper under5standing of the food companies.
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Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a global home appliance innovator, has announced a new lineup of premium home appliances that enable consumers to manage and master the entire cooking process from start to finish. With insights from some of the world’s top professional chefs, a new refrigerator has been developed that keeps even the most delicate ingredients intact. An electric slide-in range with an unparalleled level of oven temperature control and one of the most significant dishwasher cleaning innovations in the past 40 years are also among the highlights on display at the 2014 International CES from Jan. 7-10, 2014.
This year marks the debut of the Samsung Chef Collection, a suite of premium professional chef-grade appliances developed in collaboration with Samsung Club Des Chefs. This first-of-its-kind global culinary initiative, launched in 2013, has brought together world class chefs to collaborate with Samsung on the development of next-generation products.
“Passion for cooking, entertaining and creating a beautiful home are driving our product innovation and inspiring us to new heights of design excellence,” said Warner Doell, Vice President of Home Appliances Sales and Marketing, Samsung Canada. “By working closely with Samsung Club Des Chefs, we’ve created kitchen appliances that offer an awe-inspiring level of flexibility, organization, ease of use and premium style to meet the needs and wants of even the most discerning home cook.”
Korean electronics giant Samsung launched its most talked-about product, the curved ultra high definition (UHD) TV, and a range of products including tablets at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show.
The company unveiled a 105-inch screen UHD TV, which it claims is the world’s largest curved UHD TV. The U9000 series includes 65-inch and 55-inch curved TVs.
World Liberty TV, Team was on hand for the debut for Curved UHD TV, as well as many more products Samsung Debuted at the CES International 2014.
The event welcomed hundreds of industry experts, media and influencers to Andaz hotel located on 5th Avenue in New York City that take part in one of the most sought-after gatherings of the year.
Highlights included a line-up top speakers and panel discussions, immersive beauty and spa activations, and relaxing and experiential wellness moments including sound bowl healing, meditation and yoga.
The growth and intersection of today’s health, wellness, beauty and travel sectors will be celebrated during the day-long event.
This year’s event featured Organic Spa Media’s “Wellness Around the Globe” symposium, which took place throughout the day.
keynote speakers included Amanda Kloots, fitness entrepreneur, bestselling author and television personality. Also speaking was award-winning travel journalist and world explorer Peter Greenberg, and so many more.
The interactive, educational agenda of speakers, panel discussions and robust conversation about wellness travel, spa trends, healthy living solutions and organic beauty products was streamed live to Organic Spa’s highly engaged virtual audience as well. All media attendees enjoyed an organic gourmet lunch specially curated for this event by chefs from Andaz hotel.
Hot topics for the 2025 panels included Facelift in your Fridge Demonstration, sponsored by Dr. Nicholas Perricone, Perricone Hydrogen Water and The Beauty Molecule book, “Wellness & Transformational Travel”; “Clean Soil, Clean Ingredients, Clean Beauty,” “Hormone Health & Beauty,” “Touchless Wellness Trends,” “Slow Travel,” “The Pleasure Principle”.
I also enjoyed meeting and listening to Mary Beth O’Connor, Area VP of Luxury Partnerships- Leisure, Reimagine, on a Panel titled, Trends in Wellness and Transformative Travel.
Since its inception in 2011, Organic Spa’s signature event has grown from 100 to more than 400 attendees both virtually and in person.
As part of the media’s ongoing commitment to philanthropy, a percentage of the proceeds from this year’s event will also be donated to one of the leading world water foundation charities.
“We are thrilled to host our annual media event in New York City, where we celebrate the best in wellness, beauty, and sustainable living,” said Bev Maloney-Fischback, CEO and founder of Organic Spa Media. “This gathering is an incredible opportunity to connect, discover, and be inspired by brands that are shaping the future of well-being.”
About Organic Spa Magazine: Since 2007, Organic Spa Magazine has been the leading authority in the wellness travel, clean beauty and sustainable lifestyle space.
Moving towards the slow media movement, the magazine went from long time bi-monthly format to a new semi-annual book zine format, themed The Art of Wellbeing offering readers a more sophisticated in-depth editorial experience.
Organic Spa Magazine’s The Art of Wellbeing Book zine unpacks the current conversation around wellness and wellbeing providing content that readers can trust, cutting through the growing noise in the wellness space.
From clean beauty products to leading transformative wellness destinations, Organic Spa Magazine offers the best of the best for savvy global wellness consumers and advocates of wellbeing.
It was a very well attended event, people in attendance from all over the world in attendance, I met a crew of Japanese wellness editors in attendance for the first time attending Organic Spa Magazine’s New York Mega event.
See more about Organic Spa’s NYC 2025 Media Event, Experience Wellness and Travel NYC-2025, in our World Liberty TV, Wellness, Health, Beauty and Travel Channels by clicking here.
Baldor Specialty Foods, the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic’s largest premium produce and specialty foods distributor, announces its biennial BITE celebration will be held on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Pier 36’s Basketball City located at 299 South Street in NYC’s historic Seaport District.
BITE 2024 promises to be a dynamic meeting-of-the-minds that brings together top chefs, growers, producers, innovators, and visionaries to strengthen bonds across the entire supply chain and exchange ideas that will forge the future of food. Embracing the theme “Play with Your Food,” 200 Baldor food vendors across meat, seafood, grocery, dairy, and produce will provide a veritable culinary wonderland for the senses.
A highlight at this year’s BITE will be a special keynote conversation with celebrated speaker, restaurateur and the Founder & Executive Chairman of the Union Square Hospitality Group, Danny Meyer. In addition, there will also be several VIP panel discussions including:
Playing in the Dirt: Seeds as the Future of Farming with Dan Barber, Chef & Co-Owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns & Blue Hill Family.
Sweet Talk: Top Dessert & Pastry Pros on Creating Delight with founders of café brand Maman and ice cream chain Salt & Straw.
Every Dish Has a Story: Chef Kwame Onwuachi of NYC’s Tatiana on Crafting a Meaningful Menu with Food Writer Jeff Gordinier.
Spice is Nice: How Global Flavors are Heating Up the Industry with Chef, Personality & Author JJ Johnson of Fieldtrip, Chef Chintan Pandya of Unapologetic Foods and many more.
“Baldor BITE is our chance to bring all partners of our business to one place at the same time in the most fun way possible,” explains Benjamin Walker, chief revenue officer, Baldor Specialty Foods. “With the vibe of a day party, including copious amounts of food and drink, we connect our end users with incredible farmers and producers who get to introduce them to new products and brainstorm solutions for tomorrow’s opportunities.”
“We recognize that being a chef is exhausting work,” says Margaret Magnarelli, VP of marketing & communications. “So, since creating BITE in 2013, Baldor has always endeavored to make the event as fun as possible.
This year, our theme of ‘Play with Your Food’ takes that intent a step further, to celebrate the fact that good food can be full of joy. We’ve woven the playfulness thread throughout the event with activations ranging from free tattoos to fun games to live tuna cutting to bigger-than-big photo moments.”
BITE attendees are invited to experience whimsical live activations such as a ball-pit shaped like a caviar container and a cheese grater “plinko” game. Guests can explore the Baldor “bodega” where they will discover select retail offerings.
They can purchase exclusive merch from a collaboration with an influential chef, or wander through the charming “farmers market” to support regional farmers. Visit the food tattoo artist for some fresh ink, grab a cocktail at one of many open bars, or recharge at the Partners coffee bar. Witness the artistry of live tuna cutting or venture to the outside food court boasting an array of gourmet food trucks.
About Baldor Specialty Foods : Baldor Specialty Foods is one of the largest distributors of premium fresh produce, specialty foods, dairy, meat and fish in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Beginning as Balducci’s fruit stand in Greenwich Village in 1946, Baldor maintains its original commitment to freshness, flavor, quality and service. Baldor Specialty Foods now services more than 13,000 food service, retail and corporate accounts from Portland, ME to Richmond, VA, and offers over 6,000 food items.
The company’s mission is to deliver quality ingredients, innovative solutions and seamless experiences that ensure the success of its partners.
It was truly a great experience attending, Baldor BITE 2024, Play with your food event NYC, thousands of people in attendance from all over the world, Buyers, lovers of food, suppliers and much more all packed in one event space at PIER 36 NYC.
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