Sofía Vergara and her son, Manolo Gonzalez Vergara, are leading a special event at the ultimate fall festival.
Sofía, 53, and Manolo, 34, are partnering to host the Grand Tasting: Daytime Edition at the 18th annual New York City Wine & Food Festival. The festival runs from Wednesday, October 15, to Sunday, October 19, at the new Invesco QQQ Festival Campus in the historic Seaport in NYC’s Lower Manhattan. Sofía and Manolo’s event will be on Saturday, October 18, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“It’s such a fun event because it’s also like a charity organization,” Sofía exclusively told Us Weekly of the mother-son duo’s shared excitement for the special event. “So it’s pretty cool. I am looking forward to [being] there with TOMA, but also to see what other food [is] there.”
Manolo seconded his mother’s sentiments.
“It’s such a wonderful event, and I’m such a huge fan of the Food Network. So anything Food Network related, then I’m like, ‘Yes, we’re there. We’re doing it. Let me see Bobby Flay,’” Manolo told Us. “TOMA doesn’t really have a good, big footprint in New York, so for us, it’s just a great way to get the people of New York to taste us and try it for the first time. And so we’re getting out thousands of samples during that day. So come check it out.”
TOMA, the Latin culinary brand founded in June 2024 by Manolo and Sofía, offers a variety of empanadas, pandebono and ham croquetas. Since its launch over a year ago, the brand has expanded and is now available in “a thousand Walmart stores,” restaurants and other retailers.
“TOMA is the best of Latin America, the best of Latin cuisine,” Manolo said. “We kind of cherry-picked our favorite things from every kind of country in South America, and we kind of made our own and we launched a little bit over a year and a half ago, and we’re moving very quickly right now.”
This year’s Wine & Food Festival benefits the Event Zero Foundation and the James Beard Foundation. In the last 18 years, the festival has raised over $14.8 million for charitable causes.
“The Grand Tasting is the crown jewel of the New York City Wine & Food Festival, it’s a full-on food and drink party — an all-day celebration where the city’s best flavors meet its biggest culinary stars,” a press release read in part.
With the purchase of a Grand Tasting: Daytime Edition ticket, guests will have the opportunity to:
-Sample hundreds of top wines and spirits from Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits exclusive portfolio.
-Taste unlimited delicious dishes from an incredible lineup of restaurants.
-Expect a mouthwatering selection from all five boroughs, showcasing the best of NYC’s culinary scene.
-Join the live audience at the Culinary Demonstrations with today’s top culinary personalities and celebrity chefs, including Food Network stars.
-Meet favorite chefs and go home with signed copies of their latest cookbooks.
-Enjoy giveaways from amazing foodie companies.
Past festival attendees include Blake Lively, Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart. This year’s festival will feature over 500 chefs, food personalities, mixologists, winemakers and creators during its five-day run, including: Brooklyn Beckham, Ja Rule, DJ Cassidy, Bobby Flay, Maneet Chauhan, Alex Guarnaschelli, Michael Voltaggio, Brooke Williamson, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, José Andrés, Alain Ducasse, Alice Waters and Kwame Onwuachi.
General tickets for the festival are available here.
