I’m beginning to think that one day my blog is going to become solely a tool to report food events in New York City. There are so many free and cheap food-related things to do in this city. And I don’t know of a resource to find out about them. Do you?

Today I found out that the OG Macy’s (er, Macy*s), in Herald Square, has free cooking demonstrations by top chefs. I think most of the attendants are old ladies who still shop at Macy’s and have nothing better to do in the middle of the day and like free shit. May 3rd, Ming Tsai and Marcus Samuelsson are going to be there, but it costs $50. Call 1-800-292-2450 by April 23 for that. More info can be found here.

The French Culinary Institute is also The International Culinary Center. Go to their website and sign up for their newsletter. They occasionally hold free special events, like lectures about techniques. I went to their open house last month and found out about this (and got to sample it).

June 17th, Taste of Health is going on at Lincoln Center. Free admission. Free samples. From their website: “Taste of Health presents the best in local, healthy cuisine - healthy for you and for the planet - together with the information you need to transition to a healthier lifestyle.” I can’t comment on how hippy-dippy it may be.

On the Upper East Side, Park Avenue Cafe offers a three-course prix fixe “pay your age” everyday after 8:30pm (minimum being $25 and the maximum being $65). The New York Times gives the Park Avenue Cafe two stars and says that the normal a la cart menu is “expensive”. I haven’t been, but ChewFood contributor Vincent says the pay your age deal is pretty damn awesome. What a great way to get younger people into appreciating fine dining and gourmet food.

The Natural Gourmet Cooking School, in Chelsea, offers a Friday night four-course prix fixe menu for $34 (includes tax and is BYOB). Details here.

There’s an underground wandering supper club based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn called Peerless Platters. Sign up for their mailing list to be in the know or to be a chef, to host a diner or to volunteer at their events. 14-20 people per seating, one seating per night. Customized music. Seasonal, fresh and sometimes rare ingredients are used. Sometimes it’s cocktail pairing, sometimes it’s BYOB.

This last one is for shits and giggles: Ahoy! Ye and ye maties should climb aboard the SS Jive Turkey Culinary Cruise. Arrrgh. To the Caribbean she sails! Deep fry land lubbering fowl on a boat! Tis safe! From a Craigslist ad: “You will experience two one-hourhands-on cooking experience on preparing your own deep-fried turkey with Jive Turkey’s chefs on Holland America ms Noordam on November 10, 2007 for an 11-day Southern Caribbean journey roundtrip from New York with port of calls at Tortola, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Dominica, St. Maarten, and Barbados. In addition to the two one-hour demostration, you will get a 45-minute premium wine-tasting event with a cellarmaster and a group 8″ by 10″ per cabin.” I don’t know what that last part about those measurements mean, but it sounds like it could end in sexy results. Weigh anchor!
Cost: $919 to $1969 per person, based on double occupancy. Plus taxes.
Contact: kchow@cruiseplanners.com or 718-360-1988.
This is for serious. I did not make this up.