This year’s Weekend-Long Foodie Festival Introduces New VIP Experience.
ELLICOTTVILLE – More than twenty restaurants have finalized their menus for this year’s Taste of Ellicottville, set for this Saturday and Sunday, August 10-11th. Presented by Sysco and pro-duced by the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce, visitors from Canada and the surround-ing states are expected to travel here for a chance to indulge in the local culinary scene as es-tablishments serve up some of their most notable menu items.
“The Taste is the perfect opportunity to sample a variety of flavors from our local restau-rants, all in an afternoon,” said Brian McFadden, Executive Director of the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce.” “This is the only Taste event in Western NY that requires all restaurants to have a
full-time location in the Village and Town”.
Small portions of select menu items from each of the participating restaurants will be offered each day from 12-4pm. Purchase your food tickets at the event, pick up a menu sheet, and plan
your foodie experience as you saunter the streets and sidewalks, where restaurants will be set
up for your outdoor tasting pleasure. Tickets are $1 each, with food items ranging from $1-$6.
To add to the festival vibe, this year’s theme is “Christmas in August.” Expect to see some ho-ho-holiday decor and share in whimsical wonderland cheer! Restaurants are encouraged to get
creative and with their booth decorations… nostalgic Christmas colors and the sound of sleigh
bells are sure to be seen and heard all through town.
As for the food itself, this year’s judging will return with awards in the following categories: Best of Ellicottville, Healthy Choice, Sweetest Sweet, Kids Choice, and Buffalo-inspired. The latter category will bring in two very special judges, two well-known individuals who couldn’t be any more Buffalo! Madeline Hall (Buffalo Influencer, BFS) (see cover story) and Drew Cerza (The Wing King) (see story on his Buffalo Wing Fest, page 6) will take responsibility for choos-ing the best Buffalo-inspired dish at this year’s Taste.
“We have been working with Madeline, BFS, a well-known social media influencer, on Taste of Ellicottville for a couple of months now to gain more interest in the event and to show-case the culinary scene that we have to offer here that not many are aware of,” said Barb Pump, Assis-tant Executive of the Ellicottville Chamber. “She has an amazing outlook on the food scene and the idea of partnering with her to take Taste to another level was a no-brainer. Drew Cerza, as many know, is a staple in the Buffalo food scene and to have both of them as judges is almost as ex-citing as a wing eating competition (wink wink!).”
Judges making their way for the Taste’s general categories include Kate Glaser and Jade King of Hope Rises, and Sue O’Neil of KISS 98.5, among others.
New this year, a VIP Experience has been created to offer a more intimate tasting session for
Taste-goers. “The VIP Experience is something new. We wanted to try to provide new
experiences for the event,” said Barb. “Food options from participating restaurants will be served inside the private bar area in the Carriage House at The Gin Mill.”
The Chamber is offering only 30 VIP Experience spots. The $100 experience will include:
- Menu tasting from 7 local restaurants from 11am-2pm
- 2 drink tickets that can be redeemed from the Gin Mill’s special Carriage House drink menu
- 2 additional sheets of food tickets (10 tickets per sheet) to be used at the general Taste booths.
- 2 charcuterie boards and wine tasting at Villaggio from 12:30-1:30pm
Once you’ve had your fill of the Taste, swing into any of Ellicottville’s legendary hot spots and put those hard-earned calories to use. Live music is scheduled all over town! Make it a weekend to remember and book an overnight stay! Room packages are available at the Win-gate, Saisons and The Jefferson Inn, which include pre-sale Taste tickets. Check the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce website at ellicottvilleny.com or call 800-349-9099 for a list of other lodging options and additional information about the Taste and other upcoming events.