This world-famous chef is the guest of honor at the NJ Wine & Food Festival on May 2-4

The New Jersey Wine & Food Festivals returns to Crystal Springs Resort May 2-4 with chef dinners, wine, spirit and artisan food tastings, and more.

Show Caption

• The New Jersey Wine & Food Festivals features food from dozens of Jersey’s top chefs.
• Participate in unique foodie events like a tequila and caviar pairing, a local honey tasting and more.
• The signature event of the weekend is the Grand Tasting, featuring bites from 30 local chefs and over 200 wines from 50 wineries.

The New Jersey Wine & Food Festival returns to Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg on May 2-4 with wine, spirit and artisan food tastings, dinners from New Jersey’s top chefs and much more.

The three-day affair offers guests the opportunity to taste a wide range of wines and premium spirits, enjoy unique culinary experiences, dinners and parties, and meet winemakers, bartenders and chefs. Francis Mallmann, renowned in South America for his live-fire cooking, is the festival’s guest of honor.

The signature event of the weekend is The Grand Tasting on May 3, with more 200 wines from over 50 wineries and food from 30 top restaurants. Local participants include Jamie Knott (Saddle River Inn); Antonio De Ieso (Fiorentini); Michel Desjardins (Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas); Nick DeRosa (Black Sheep Bar & Provisions); Jesa Henneberry (Maize Cocina & Cocktails); AJ Capella (Summit House); Olivier Muller (Faubourg); Andrew Riccatelli (The Hudson Rose) and more.

Sample, for instance, coq au vin with ramps and späzle from Faubourg’s Olivier Muller, crispy sushi tuni from Knott, wild ‘boarchetta’ from the Ryland Inn’s Daniel Brunina and more.

New this year is the presence of Mallmann, who will showcase his open-fire cooking while preparing a six-course dinner paired with Argentinian wines on May 2. And a lunch the next day lets guests meet Mallmann, learn about his culinary journey, get signed copies of his books and eat a wood-fired lunch.

Plenty of smaller events on the docket are likely to pique your interest. On May 2, pick your favorite Jersey bartender in a competition on May 2; bartenders like Kyle Thiel of Black Sheep Bar & Provisions, Seth Pellum of Maize Cocina & Cocktails and others (including those from 1776 and Stirling Tavern) will whip up concoctions; you drink and vote, they tally and crown a winner.

There are also events to taste local honey, pair chocolate and rum, eat locally cured Italian meats (with wine), explore Burgundy wines from France to Oregon, partake in a tequila and caviar tasting and more. To cap off the weekend, the Biosphere after-party will feature multiple bars, music, buffets and more in Crystal Springs’ tropical pool complex.

The full schedule of events is available at njwinefoodfest.com/events-schedule. Buy tickets for each individual event at njwinefoodfest.com.

Go: New Jersey Wine & Food Festival, May 2-4, 2025. Crystal Springs Resort, 1 Wild Turkey Way, Hamburg; 855-510-9695, njwinefoodfest.com.

Matt Cortina is a food reporter with NorthJersey.com/The Record. Reach him at [email protected].