Syracuse,
NY – August 2016 / Newsmaker Alert / The Great New York State
Fair’s first-ever kosher food booth will debut at the 2016
Fair, offering traditional kosher dishes with a Fair theme, Acting
Fair Director Troy Waffner announced Monday (August 1).
“Food is consistently one
of the Fair’s greatest attractions. People come to get their Fair favorites
and to try something new and fun. Every year, we dedicate ourselves to
providing both delicious Fair classics and new, exciting foods for people
to enjoy. We are the coming together of New Yorkers, and the best way for
us to show that is through a diversity of food representing the diversity
of our great state,” said Waffner.
Catering by The Oaks has
prospered at Menorah Park in Dewitt for four years, and is the only kosher
restaurant in Upstate New York between Buffalo and Albany. At the Fair,
Catering by The Oaks will be located in the Horticulture building next
to Doug’s Fish Fry. The Fair and the Director of Kosher Law Enforcement
for the Department of Agriculture and Markets have been working together
for several years to bring kosher food to the fairgrounds. The menu will
include a mix of traditional kosher dishes such as potato knishes, bagel
and lox sandwiches, gluten-free citrus salmon lettuce wraps and chopped
salads as well as kosher dishes given a Fair twist-deep-fried apple blintzes
coated with cinnamon and brown sugar, deep-fried cheese blintzes served
with sour cream and fried matzo balls.
“We are ecstatic to bring
our one-of-a-kind menu to the Fair. You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy
these tasty delights. We had a taste panel with people who ate strictly
kosher and people who did not; both groups absolutely loved them,” said
The Oaks Catering General Manager, Jarrod Charsky.
Catering by The Oaks and
all other vendors on the fairgrounds can be located by downloading the
Fair Food Finder application for smartphones and using the app’s interactive
map of the Fair. For fairgoers without smartphones, the application may
also be found on the Fair’s website, here.
In recent years, the New
York State Fair has increased its diversity of food offerings. In 2015,
the first ever vegan vendor, Strong Hearts Café, was introduced
and plans to return in 2016.
About the Great New York
State Fair
The New
York State Fair, operated by the New
York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs from August
25 to September 5, 2016. The Fair’s mission, reflected in its theme, “Summer’s
Best In Show!,” is to showcase the best of New York agriculture while providing
top-quality entertainment.
The 375-acre New York State
Fairgrounds is undergoing the most significant transformation since it
first opened its gates in 1890. The $50 million plan, announced by Governor
Andrew M. Cuomo, revitalizes the grounds in many ways, improving the quality
of the fairgoer’s experience and providing greater economic benefits for
the region. Improvements include the dramatic new Main Gate- the arches
of which recall the carriage gate that greeted fairgoers in 1900, a larger,
15-acre Wade Shows Midway that will hold more rides than ever, and the
brand new 315-site Empire RV Park with underground water, sewer and electrical
service. The plan will better position the New York State Fairgrounds as
a premier year-round, multi-use facility that can attract more events and
visitors from across the nation. More information on the revitalization
is available here and renderings can be viewed
here.
In addition to the annual
New York State Fair, the Fairgrounds host dozens of agricultural events
throughout the year, including some of the Northeast’s most prestigious
horse and livestock shows.
A year-round schedule
of events is available on the Fair’s
website. Find The Great New York State Fair on Facebook,
follow @NYSFair on Twitter, and
enjoy photos from the Fair at Flickr.com/photos/nysfair.
Also, New Yorkers are invited to send their ideas for the Great New York
State Fair at statefairideas@agriculture.ny.gov.
Media Contacts:
Jola
Szubielski
Public Information Officer
NYS Department of Agriculture
& Markets
518-457-0752
Dave
Bullard
Public Relations
New York State Fair
315-487-7711 x 1377 |
