To open the event, SAVEUR CEO and editor-in-chief Kat Craddock held a panel discussion with industry pioneers from iconic culinary institutions that, like SAVEUR, got their start in Manhattan in 1994: Il Buco founder Donna Lennard; Gramercy Tavern’s opening pastry chef Claudia Fleming, who is now the executive culinary director for Daily Provisions; Nobu corporate chef Matt Hoyle; and SAVEUR’s founding editor-in-chief Dorothy Kalins.

Together, the group reminisced about the downtown scene of the era, sharing personal anecdotes and touching on transformative shifts in the city’s dining landscape since that time.  Hoyle noted that restaurants moved away from conventional white-tablecloth fine dining to more relaxed yet equally high-quality experiences. The intention was to create environments where people wanted to be—casual but thoughtful.

Lennard echoed Hoyle’s sentiment, sharing how Il Buco evolved from a small shop into a restaurant of national importance. “It wasn’t just about the food but the feeling we were creating,” she said. Hoyle also mentioned that Nobu was architect David Rockwell’s first hospitality design project—one that upped the ante on restaurant interiors.

The mingling guests were treated to a vibrant menu by chef and cookbook author Camille Becerra. Bites were created from recipes featured in SAVEUR’s latest print release, Issue 203, including yakitori-style duck hearts with pickled watermelon rind, bean dobladas with amaranth and onions, papaya verde en escabeche, and crunchy pork rinds with a toyomansi citrus-soy dip. The tablescape was adorned with printed proofs from the latest SAVEUR issue and offset by a colorful abstract painting by Cajori in the background.

A grazing table included three Wisconsin Cheese cult favorites, each starring in an original Mike Geno oil painting commissioned for SAVEUR’s latest back cover: Roelli Red Rock, Hill Valley Dairy Luna, and Sartori Black Pepper BellaVitano. Meanwhile, guests sipped signature SAVEUR Negronis made with Faccia Brutto aperitivo and Method Spirits vermouth, alongside a selection of wines, which featured Souleil Vin de Bonté Le Rouge and Chateau Gassier ‘Esprit Gassier’ rosé. Non-alcoholic offerings included Studio Null’s premium dealcoholized grüner weiss and Jukes 1 sparkling white.

Also in attendance were heads of other indie media outlets such as Ori Magazine, Field Mag, Summit Journal, Fifty Grande, Hard Pack Magazine, and Racquet Magazine, as well as artists and photographers Gentl & Hyers, Claudio Cecchetti, John Donohue, Rachael Elliott, Nina Gallant, and Matt Taylor-Gross. Industry friends and SAVEUR contributors Kristin L. Wolfe, Grace Young, Fany Gerson, Shane Mitchell, Kitty Greenwald, Céline Bossart, and Matt Rodbard were also present.

As the evening wound down, Craddock thanked the sponsors and everyone who came to celebrate the ongoing journey of SAVEUR, underscoring the night’s overarching theme of community and collaboration that’s been at the heart of the magazine—and New York City’s food scene—for the past 30 years.