The popular series kicks off its 15th year with Padma Lakshmi, the Emmy-nominated producer, television creator/host of CBS’s America’s Culinary Cup, food expert, New York Times best-selling author, and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. Padma will sit down with Florence to discuss her 2025 book, Padma’s All American—Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond: A Cookbook. This very personal book is the result of seven years of traveling, tasting, listening, and observing.

Enjoy a pre-show continental breakfast, courtesy of Citarella, before this culinary adventure. A book signing will follow in the lobby.

Stirring the Pot: Florence Fabricant—Salty, Not Sweet
with James Barron

Guild Hall turns the tables for a special Stirring the Pot with Florence Fabricant as the guest of honor, celebrating her forthcoming memoir, Salty, Not Sweet: A Life in the Food World, published by Running Press of Hachette Book Group with an October release. Interviewed by New York Times writer James Barron, Fabricant will reflect on the many decades of her life and her remarkable career, defined by an insatiable search for new dining experiences. She will trace the evolution of food and restaurant culture in the United States and abroad, share behind-the-scenes stories from her reporting, and reveal the personalities, trends, and turning points she helped bring to the public’s attention.

The morning begins with a complimentary continental breakfast courtesy of Citarella, offering guests a delicious start before this engaging and flavorful conversation with one of food writing’s most influential voices. Following the program, guests can meet Florence in the lobby and secure advance copies of her new book.

Stirring the Pot: Russ & Daughters—Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper

Join Florence Fabricant at Guild Hall for an irresistible edition of Stirring the Pot featuring Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper, fourth-generation owners of Russ & Daughters. They’ll share stories from their family’s legendary Lower East Side appetizing shop, tracing a century of smoked fish, bagels, and New York food culture, and discuss their new book, Russ & Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing. Following the conversation, guests are invited to a special book signing—an opportunity to meet the authors and take home a signed copy.

A must-attend for food lovers, home cooks, and anyone who savors the traditions that define New York’s culinary heritage. And make sure to grab a complimentary black & white cookie on your way out!

Breakfast will be served before the program starting at 10 AM.

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In 1907, a Jewish immigrant named Joel Russ landed in New York City, where he took a pushcart of herring and built a legacy that would pass down through fathers and daughters (and sons and husbands and wives) for more than a hundred years. Four generations later, the ancestral heart of Russ & Daughters continues to bustle on the Lower East Side, with three more locations throughout the city.

Over the course of a century, Russ & Daughters has fed hundreds of thousands of customers, many considering a visit to the original shop on East Houston a family tradition, weekly ritual, or New York experience. Now, for the first time, Russ & Daughters brings its world-famous institution into readers’ homes with RUSS & DAUGHTERS: 100 Years of Appetizing. Its rich history is told through insider anecdotes from the family and characters on both sides of the counter; illuminating guides to its most famed offerings—smoked salmon, sable, sturgeon, herring, and caviar; and more than 100 cherished recipes for favorite foods like latkes, matzo ball soup, babka, and bagels among many others.

Nothing can ever replace the experience of taking a number, kibbitzing with a slicer, waiting in line, and ordering your whitefish or belly lox. Yet this book captures some of that infectious Russ & Daughters appetizing spirit, and most importantly, brings families and friends together around the table.

Stirring the Pot: Chef Kwame Onwuachi

Join Florence Fabricant as she sits down with acclaimed chef, restaurateur, and author Kwame Onwuachi for an illuminating conversation about his remarkable culinary journey. A James Beard Award winner, Onwuachi is the chef and partner behind Tatiana in New York City—one of the most celebrated restaurants in the country—as well as Dōgon and Patty Palace by Chef Kwame, each reflecting his bold, globally inspired approach to flavor and storytelling through food.

Born in the Bronx and raised between New York, Nigeria, and Louisiana, his cooking draws on Afro-Caribbean, West African, and American traditions that shape his personal history and are defining trends for today’s dining. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and author of the bestselling memoir Notes from a Young Black Chef, Onwuachi brings candor, creativity, and cultural insight to the table.

Enjoy a pre-show continental breakfast, courtesy of Citarella, before this inspiring morning of conversation, culture, and cuisine. The talk will be followed by a book signing in the lobby, and books can be purchased in advance or on site.