Dale Talde Dishes On The New York Wine & Food Festival, His Best Meal Ever

The Food Network and Cooking Channel New York City Wine and Food Festival Presented by Food & Wine will be rolling through The Big Apple from October 15 to 18, and some of the biggest names in food will be hosting events ranging from the hugely epic (the Burger Bash) to the more intimate (New York Yankees Pinstripe Brunch). Dale Talde, who first rose to prominence as a contestant on Top Chef and today runs eponymous restaurants in Brooklyn and Jersey City (with a third location opening soon in Miami) will be hosting Dumplings and Dim Sum at Buddakan, the restaurant he was formerly head chef at. During this walk-around tasting on the afternoon of October 18, guests will be able to sample a wide variety of Asian-inspired dim sum. We spoke with Dale about the festival, his favorite dishes to cook at home, and the best meal he ever had.

The Daily Meal: What are you most looking forward to at NYCWFF this year?
Dale Talde: I'm always really excited to go to my Dumplings and Dim Sum party – it's always fun to work with my friends and Buddakan.

What can guests at Dumplings and Dim Sum look forward to?
A raging party! We pride ourselves on throwing a good one. We lay it down, for real.

What are your favorite dishes to cook at home?
Kimchi Fried Rice, Chicken Adobo, and, of course, Seamless Web.

What is the best meal you ever had?
The best meals I've ever had are always home cooked meals, especially my mom's. I love my mom's home cooking. Her chicken adobo is great, but anything she makes is awesome.

How is the Miami restaurant coming along? Anything else you guys are working on?
Really great! It's really good to be back in a new kitchen and cooking.

I just released my new cookbook. I'm on a press tour and it's been great so far.

What do you think sets the NYCWFF apart from all other food festivals?
New York City, baby! The backdrop of the festival is New York City. That's hard to beat. It's also the amount of chefs that come through, too, there is a lot of talent there. Then there is the party after the party. There are a lot of chefs in town so you don't know who you'll run into, or who's going to drop by your restaurants. That's always fun.