CIA Students Take on New York FoodieCon®
Author Annie B. Milostan ’25 is a Baking and Pastry Arts Major
On October 19 myself and some of my fellow classmates headed to Brooklyn for the New York Wine and Food Festival FoodieCon—an event that brings together social media’s best food-loving personalities. When we arrived, we got goodie bags and the fun began. There were vendors on the left and the right serving food, giving away cookbooks, ice cream, waters, and seltzers. Beyond the vendors area, there was a cute photo op spot and then you stepped inside where they were holding panel sessions. The atmosphere was electric and very welcoming.
Right off the bat I met Matt Peterson, the “Challenge Me” man who hosts a playful food challenge show on TikTok. He goes around the country trying different food challenges that his followers give him, and he is currently known for a vegan, gluten-free, and allergy-free cookie granola butter called “Blue Monster.” There were amazing panels talking about partnerships, what to look for in a future job or partnership and how partnerships have positively and negatively affected their careers. There was a panel titled “What’s Your Shtick” that was moderated by Jeff Mauro, TikTok’s Sandwich King, and co-host of The Kitchen. It was a lively panel, and Jeff Mauro is personally one of my favorite people to watch so it felt like a dream.
The last panel hosted by Duff Goldman ’98, a CIA graduate and host of the hit Food Network show, Ace of Cakes, was called Handcuffed and Hangry. There were three teams of two, each team was handcuffed together and had to assemble a cake using the arm that was not cuffed to their partner. They had 15 minutes to assemble and ice a cake, it was a sight! Every team did something different; Matt Peterson and his partner Jeremy Jacobowitz deconstructed their bright yellow and pink cake making it look abstract. The Sisters from Sistersnacking made a spooky Halloween cake that had red “blood” icing coming out of it. Aisha and Maddy made a beautiful white and rainbow sprinkles FoodieCon 2024 cake. It was so much fun attending this event and getting to meet some of the chefs and content creators that I have been watching for years. As a CIA student, this is just one of many opportunities to connect with the most influential content creators in the food and beverage industry and get advice about my next steps after graduation.
