New York, NY – The results are in, and NYC has crowned 2015’s top street chef. More than 2,000 foodies flocked to Governors Island to cast their votes at the 11th annual Vendy Awards, where Snowday took home the top prize: the coveted Vendy Cup.
The winners in all six categories are:
- The Vendy Cup: Snowday
- People’s Choice: Snowday
- Rookie of the Year: Coney Shack Tacos
- Best Market Vendor: Home Frites
- Best Dessert: Doughnuttery
- Best Street Drink: Renegade Lemonade
“Congratulations to today’s winners and finalists, who represent all the hard-working street vendors who make New York City a more vibrant and delicious place every day. We are proud to bring together a diverse community of street food makers and street food lovers at the Vendy Awards each fall, and look forward to another exciting event next year!” said Sean Basinski, Director, Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center.
For more on the Vendy finalists, visit: http://www.vendyawards.streetvendor.org/newyorkcity/
Eight judges decided the winner of the Vendy Cup:
- Claus Meyer: Co-founder of the World’s Best Restaurant, Noma, and the Melting Pot Foundation
- FoodbabyNY: Popular food blogger (58K Instagram followers) and New York City dad Mike Chau, and his adorable, and hungry, baby boy Matthew
- Glenn Harris: Owner of the restaurants Jane, in West Village, and The Smith, in East Village, Midtown and Lincoln Center.
- KF Seetoh: Singaporean street food expert consulting for the Bourdain Market, a giant, international food hall in NYC
- Marco Carrión: Commissioner of New York City’s Community Affairs Unit
- Maya Sittisuntorn: Executive Pastry Chef for The Dessert Club by Chikalicious
- Sasheer Zamata: Saturday Night Live cast member
- Steph Sumulong (Citizen Judge): Chosen to be the 2015 Citizen Judge by submitting a photo of her favorite street food tagged with #VendyCitizenJudge on social media. Steph is a Jersey City native with a curating eye and quirky sense of humor. For her participation, she’s received a free 1-year subscription to website-builder Squarespace, the sponsor of this year’s Vendy Awards. You can follow her on her new website here.
The Vendy Awards are an annual event to benefit the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center, a membership-based organization that provides advocacy and legal services for nearly 2,000 vendor members. The Vendys’ modest beginnings took place in 2005 in an East Village garage; today, the nation’s first street food event has expanded across the country to include events in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The Vendy Awards also recently launched Vendy Plaza, a lively outdoor marketplace located in East Harlem’s La Marqueta on Sundays.
Follow the day’s events with the #Vendys2015 tag on Twitter and Instagram.
ABOUT THE STREET VENDOR PROJECT AT THE URBAN JUSTICE CENTER
The Vendy Awards, the first and largest street food event series in the country, are an annual event organized by the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center, a membership-based organization of more than 1,800 active vendors who are working together to create a vendor movement for permanent change. SVP’s famed Vendy Awards have determined New York City’s top street chef for eleven years, and have become one of the most beloved and widely-anticipated food events in New York and across the country. The money raised by the events supports the non-profit Street Vendor Project in its advocacy work to promote street food and the people who sell it.
The Street Vendor Project is part of the Urban Justice Center, a non-profit organization that provides legal representation and advocacy to various marginalized groups of New Yorkers. To join their list of supporters, please click here. Follow the Street Vendor Project on Twitter at @VendorPower.
