Downtown Albany is gearing up for its biggest annual food and wine bash, with the Albany Chefs' Food & Wine Festival set to run Jan. 21 through 23, 2027, bringing Capital Region restaurants, chefs, bartenders and vendors together for three days of tastings, competitions and seminars under the theme “Flavors of Carnival.”
The festival will feature the colors and music of Brazil's Rio Carnival, according to organizers, as reported by NEWS10 ABC. The event kicks off with a mayor's reception before moving into a lineup that includes a bartender competition, a slider competition, and seminars spread across the three days. Grand Tastings open to the public are scheduled for Friday, Jan. 22, from 4 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 23, from noon to 4 p.m., at the Albany Capital Center, with food, wine, craft beer, cider and spirits from restaurants and beverage makers across the Capital Region and beyond.
Battle of the Bartenders and Rising Star Chefs
Inside the Capital Center, attendees can expect the festival's signature Battle of the Bartenders competitions along with this year's Rising Star Chefs, according to the event's own listing. The Grand Tastings will also offer food and beverage seminars, with each first-come, first-served session capped at 50 guests. Tickets for each individual event, along with a full 2027 schedule, are available on the festival's website, per NEWS10 ABC.
Marcus Pryor, board president of Albany Wine & Dine for the Arts, said the beneficiary organizations do important work and should be sustained, according to NEWS10 ABC. Pryor added that the festival supports arts organizations that make Albany vibrant and creative, the outlet reported.
Seven Arts Groups Set to Share the Proceeds
Seven nonprofit arts organizations were selected to receive funding from the 2027 festival, according to the event's beneficiaries page. The Egg, Palace Performing Arts Center, Albany Center Gallery and Capital Repertory Theatre are listed as 2027 premier beneficiaries, while the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York, Asian Arts New York, Inc. and the Albany Symphony round out the spotlight beneficiaries, per NEWS10 ABC. All net proceeds help provide essential funding to local nonprofit arts organizations, the festival's site states.
Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs said the festival draws thousands of visitors downtown and supports local restaurants, bars and small businesses, according to NEWS10 ABC. Applyrs added that festival proceeds go back to arts organizations and help invest in Albany's creative community, the outlet reported.
A Track Record Stretching Back to 2010
The festival has reportedly raised nearly $1.8 million for nonprofit organizations over the past 16 years, per NEWS10 ABC. That figure lines up with a separate account from the Times Union, which reported that since its 2010 launch, the festival has donated $1.8 million to arts groups and that annual attendance now exceeds 2,000 people. The Times Union also noted the festival has taken place every year since its founding, including during 2020.
The event traces its roots to a group of hospitality-industry veterans who created the festival after learning that Albany's City Arts Grants program was in jeopardy, according to the same Times Union report. As of July 2024, the festival had provided nearly $1.5 million in funding and supported 16 nonprofit arts organizations in Albany, according to the festival's own announcement of its beneficiary applications, which also noted that nearly $90,000 was distributed among premier and spotlight beneficiaries from the 2024 event.
The festival returned for its 17th year in January 2026, when its lineup included grand tastings, seminars, a slider slam and a gala dinner at the Capital Center, the Times Union reported. That year's primary beneficiaries were the Albany Barn, Albany Center Gallery, Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York and the Empire State Youth Orchestra, while the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Capital Repertory Theatre and the Palace Theatre served as secondary beneficiaries, according to the outlet.
