Sweet Tooth

Meryle Evans / October 2012

Last weekend we celebrated the anniversary of the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival at Sweet! Celebrating Five Years of NYCWFF, a gala birthday bash featuring sugary treats from over 30 of the Metropolitan area’s top pastry chefs, benefiting the Food Bank of New York City and Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign. It was a night of a thousand and one cupcakes, ice cream sandwiches, pops, and other childhood favorites, all in very adult-friendly flavors.

The ice creams were not to be missed, with sweet potato ice cream by Aliyyah Baylor of Make My Cake; crispy, toasted rice ice cream pops by Park Avenue Autumn’s Richard Leach; and pistachio gelato by Ai Fiori’s Bob Truitt. Stephen Collucci of Colicchio & Sons concocted an ice cream sandwich of apple cider doughnuts and Calvados ice cream served with horchata shooters while San Francisco transplant—now Brooklynite—Elizabeth Falkner of Krescendo served a baba au Pom and cranberry chip gelato ice cream sandwich.

Among an abundance of spicy sweets with a lingering kick: chocolate pink-peppercorn ice cream sandwich by Laurie Jon Moran of Le Bernardin; spicy chocolate ice cream laced with Saigon cinnamon and chile flakes by Brian Smith of Ample Hills Creamery; and an innocent-looking s’more with cayenne pepper-infused chocolate ganache by Christina Lee of Recette.

Ironically, it was Elizabeth Karmel of meat-centric Hill Country Barbecue Market who won the Godiva Sweetest Award for her PB&J cupcakes with Godiva Pearls.

Until next year’s Sweet event, we'll be feasting on all things savory.