Danielle Sepsy, known by her fans as the “Queen of Scones,” is the Chef and Owner of The Hungry Gnome Catering & Baked Goods in New York City. Danielle was a finalist in HBO Max’s “The Big Brunch,” where she quickly became a fan favorite with her scones, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls impressing host Dan Levy and the panel of judges.

Her business, The Hungry Gnome, produces wholesale baked goods for cafes and businesses all over the NY area as well as provides off premises, full service catering. She also ships baked goods direct to consumer nationally. (ThehungrygnomeNY.com).

On social media, Danielle has become known for her innovative take on baked goods and Italian American classics. She loves creating food content and inspiring home cooks to level up in the kitchen.

Jaymee Sire is an Emmy-award winning television & multi-media host. She is the host of “Food Network Obsessed," the network’s first ever podcast, which launched in January 2021 and won two Signal Awards in 2023. She has also appeared as a judge on several Food Network shows, including Beat Bobby Flay and Food Network Star, and served as the floor reporter for Iron Chef Showdown. Jaymee previously worked in sports television for 15 years, including ESPN, where she anchored and helped launch Sports Center :AM, the network's morning installment of their flagship show. Her go-to bagel order is an everything or sesame (un-toasted) bagel with bacon scallion cream cheese.

A born and raised New Yorker and former dancer, Dara is one of the very first food influencers to market during the industry’s revolutionary years. Following a devastating car accident in High School where she nearly lost her leg, she took comfort in cooking and writing about food. When she started her blog, The Skinny Pig, in 2008, Dara learned first-hand how to navigate the industry and its ever-changing nature. With a deep understanding of brand voice, content creation, and marketing, Dara started The Skinny Pig Inc. in 2018, a social media consulting firm (dba @themisfitcreatives) working with hospitality brands and other creators. Her unapologetically honest, hilarious, and relatable personality has attracted a community of loyal followers who trust and look to her for food, lifestyle tips, and laughter. (Instagram: @darapollak)

Katie Stilo is an Emmy Award-winning Culinary Producer and Food Stylist, boasting a background as a classically trained chef with diplomas in culinary arts, pastry and baking arts, and culinary management from The Institute of Culinary Education, accompanied by a certificate from The Italian Culinary Institute. Her formal education and hands-on experience have significantly enriched her professional acumen. Renowned for her meticulous organizational acumen, innovative prowess, and unwavering dedication, Katie garners acclaim from clients across the industry. Beyond her primary occupation, Katie has established Double The Sweet, a brand that orchestrates charitable dessert sales through pop-up events at various locations in New York City. Moreover, she serves as the host and producer of Today Food Radio, a program broadcast twice monthly on Today Sirius XM Channel 108

Anthony Michael Contrino is an Emmy award winning culinary producer, food stylist, chef and on-air personality. His passion for food started when he first learned to chew.

After graduating from The French Culinary Institute, Anthony went on to train at Maison CaraTie, a full-service bakery in Beziers, France, mastering the art of the croissant and reinforcing his inherent love of butter.

Upon his return to The States, Anthony worked in numerous New York City bakeries and restaurant pastry kitchens before “accidentally” getting into food media. Once in, he never left, working his way up the ranks. His clients include NBC Universal, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Food Network, Kellogg’s, Stella Artois and Macy’s. You can tune into his TODAY Original Series, Saucy, on the NBC app, or NBC’s streaming service, Peacock. You can find more info here - https://anthonymichaelcontrino.com

Shannon Sarna is the founding editor of The Nosher, the largest website worldwide that is dedicated exclusively to Jewish food. She is author of two cookbooks, Modern Jewish Baker and Modern Jewish Comfort Food and was co-host of the popular podcast, "Call Your Mother." Her writing and recipes have been featured in Better Homes & Garden Magazine, Taste of Home Magazine, Bon Apetit, Food52, Forbes and USA Today. She currently serves as Chief of Staff to James Beard-nominated Chef Dan Richer at Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City, NJ. She's a born-and-bred New Yorker who is passionate about what makes a great bagel.

Mike Varley is the creator of EverythingIsEverything.NYC, a catalogue of over 200 New York City bagel reviews from across all five boroughs. The project has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, and The Today Show among other outlets. "Everything is Everything" is a sub project of "2020: Total Clarity," where Varley and his wife Jessi Highet walked over 7,000 miles around New York City - 5 marathons a week for one calendar year. You can learn more about their walk on their website, HighleyVarlet.com

Gabriella Gershenson is a James Beard Award-winning food journalist. She is the co-author of the cookbook Love Japan, and an editor of The 100 Most Jewish Foods and On the Hummus Route. She has worked on staff at Time Out New York, Saveur, Rachael Ray EveryDay, and is currently an editor at the New York Times Wirecutter. Gabriella has made frequent appearances on TV and radio, most recently on The Food That Built America. She is a longtime New Yorker, but her college years in Montreal have given her a special affection for the city’s bagel.

Rachel Askinasi is a journalist and food writer covering industry news, bringing you updates from celebrity chefs, tasting some of the most interesting snack collaborations, and more. She is the founder of Throwing Spaghetti Media, a platform delivering stories about food and the people, processes and controversies that go into making it. In addition to her reporting, Rachel shares adaptable recipes and tips for cooking up leftovers on her Instagram (@raskinasi). Born and bred in New York, Rachel takes the business of bagels seriously, and believes those who order a fresh bagel toasted are not to be trusted.

Brad Kent is a well-seasoned chef and food scientist with a career spanning over 30 years. He co-founded Original Sunshine and developed its best selling gluten free bagel, co-founded Blaze Pizza opening more than 400 locations during his tenure, consults on restaurant equipment engineering design including the first hybrid electric and wood burning oven and is currently the head of culinary for Pieology Pizzeria with nearly 100 locations worldwide. Chef Brad founded the first bagel and pizza restaurant in Los Angeles and was also the first to use regenerative organic certified milled in house flour for bagels and pizzas in the US. He is a fellow at the Culinary Institute of America and a board advisor to the USC Marshal Business School of Global Supply Chain Management. Chef Brad lives in Connecticut with his wife and two daughters and loves mentoring young restaurateurs, continuously leaning and honing his culinary techniques.

Harvey Leeds is a music industry legend who worked at Sony Music for more than 35 years, Harvey is also a noted gourmand with tastes ranging from Bagels to Brisket. When not managing Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Marky Ramone and J.D. Simo, he is busy practicing the art of prestidigitation. Oh, and he's the co-founder and co-host of the online series Bagel Tawk.

Justin Shukat knows dough!! Hailing from the south shore he now resides on the north shore of long island; he got the bug for reviewing bagels in early 2020 from his old music industry buddy Harvey and he hasn’t stop talking about DOUGH since. Reviewing mostly long island / Queens / Brooklyn & NYC shops but his love for dough and travel has brought him to bagel shops in Los Angeles, Miami, Rome, Charleston, Gainesville, CT & Nashville.

Scott Goodfriend is the Chief Eating Officer of Ultimate Food Tours, one of the top food tour operators in New York City. He started Ultimate Food Tours in 2019 as a way to combine food, history, and the exploration of NYC into an accessible experience for tourists and residents alike. A fan of all things dough, Scott regularly treks throughout the boroughs to find the best bagels in the city and shares his treasure finds on TikTok (@ultimatefoodtours) and Instagram (@ultimatefoodtours). He hosts five food tours and counting, many of which of them contain delicious bagels. While a fan of a classic Lox everything, Scott also enjoys a Cinnamon Raisin with Jalapeno cream cheese and accepts that it is weird. He lives in Brooklyn and is convinced he has found the best Lox in the city.

As a preeminent real estate agent in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Ryan Garson has amassed over $500 million in sales, brokering more than 1,000 successful client transactions in a mere 9 years. But Ryan's expertise extends far beyond real estate. A seasoned entrepreneur, he heads a marketing agency, and his acumen in social media is well-recognized, best showcased by his popular book on the subject. Additionally, Ryan is a dedicated father and husband, a mentor, and an impassioned bagel aficionado. Explore Ryan's delightful bagel reviews on his Instagram @Verysocialbroker and understand the reason behind his selection as a judge for BagelFest.

Jason Goldstein of Chop Happy, is a New York City-based cookbook author, recipe developer and food blogger. He specializes in delicious and simple comfort dishes that showcase rich flavors, inventive ideas, and unique cooking tips and advice. Some of his next-level culinary hits that often go viral are Bacon-Infused Burgers, Eggplant Parmesan Meatballs and Everything Bagel Pigs in a Blanket Stuffed with Cheese.

Jason’s career highlights include his first cookbook, The Happy Sandwich: Scrumptious Sandwiches to Make You Smile (Familius Publishing in 2021), competing on Next Food Network Star Season 14, and an amazing 10 appearances and counting on Good Morning America. Jason has clearly mastered live TV cooking demos, but it’s his super high energy, funny and contagious feel good happy persona that seems to be a favorite of talk show viewers.

Jason Lyons is a writer and editorial team member at StarChefs, a trusted resource and publication for the food and beverage industry for the past 29 years. Through in-depth articles and profiles, he is dedicated to sharing impactful stories, clever innovations, and exciting experiments with those who work in hospitality. Raised on the wrong side of the Hudson River, he is a lifelong devotee to the New York-style bagel despite his Jersey origins. Outside of his love of doughy delights, Jason is passionate about the world’s other greatest sandwich, the BLT, an avid fan of the beer-shot combo, and a stinky cheese apologist. He also enjoys artichokes, mortadella, and long walks on the beach.

Karen Bornarth is executive director of the Bread Bakers Guild of America, a nonprofit membership association dedicated to supporting the craft baking industry. She has worked as a production baker (Amy's Bread, NYC), a baking instructor (The French Culinary Institute), a product developer (Le Pain Quotidien) and worked for many years with Hot Bread Kitchen, creating economic opportunity for women through careers in food. In her current work with the Guild, she supports bakery owners and professional bakers to achieve success in their baking practices and businesses through education, training and community-building events.

Reva is currently the program coordinator at BagelUp, where she enjoys spreading the knowledge of bagel making while teaching bagel making classes and consulting. Reva's bagels won second place at the World Bread Awards in both 2018 and 2019, and her expertise has been sought after by home bakers and professionals alike.

A veteran of magazines, Tara Cox has held positions at or written for titles including Real Simple, Men’s Journal, Rachael Ray Every Day, New York Magazine and RVLiving (where she was the founding editor in chief). She's also the author of Airstream: The Silver RV, has written restaurant reviews for the Time Out New York Eating and Drinking Guides, and tasted and blogged about more than 30 black and white cookies while in pursuit of the best of New York City’s classic snack. She's contributed to both The Ultimate Spam Cookbook and The Delmonico Way, a testament to her appreciation for both the highbrow and lowbrow. In addition to being a former semi-finalist in Carvel's "Little Miss Half Pint" toddler competition, she holds a certificate of completion from Weeki Wachee's Adult Mermaid Camp. You can follow her on Instagram at @misscox

Katie Workman is a food writer, and the author of Dinner Solved! and The Mom 100 Cookbook. Katie is the founder of her popular food and recipe website The Mom 100. She has been a food columnist for the Associated Press since 2015.

She has also written for many publications including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal Better Homes and Gardens, and Eating Well, and online outlets such as Delish, FoodNetwork.com, Food52, thekitchn.com, and Simply Recipes. She has appeared on the Today Show, Access Hollywood Live, NPR, NY1 and many other shows.

Katie works with select brands creating content and developing recipes, as well as consulting and acting as brand ambassador.
She sits on the board of City Harvest, New York’s leading food rescue nonprofit, and also the Leadership Council of No Kid Hungry, a leading national hunger advocacy organization. She lives in (and loves) NYC, where she eats several bagels a week.

Julia Ain, known as Qveenjulia on social media is a content creator/influencer with a following of over 700 000 across all apps. Her unique eclectic style ranges from comedy, Jewish identity and self humour about her “large rack”. Julia is most well know for her love of the Katz Deli pastrami sandwich. Her love is not limited to pastrami as she is a huge lover of bagels and often refers to herself as the “Bagel Queen”. As a Montreal native, Julia tends to prefer Montreal style bagels, however she just recently moved to New York so her opinion can potentially be changed.

June Hersh is a best-selling author, Jewish food historian and has been eating bagels since the only kind you could get was plain or egg. Her first book, Recipes Remembered which was recently re-released under the title Food, Hope & Resilience contains stories and recipes she gathered from interviewing Holocaust survivors. She has authored four more books, one of which, based on the history of yogurt, has since been translated into Chinese, Arabic, and Japanese. Her most recent book, Iconic New York Jewish Food is a love letter to the crave-worthy binge-able bites brought to NYC by Jewish immigrants. You can bet your Sunday lox and bagels that there are chapters on both in this fun and fascinating look at everyone's favorite foods. Now a bona fide bagel expert, June can not only tell you the history of the bagel but discern which was hand rolled and hearth baked. It needs to be mentioned that all of the proceeds from June's books related to the Holocaust go to charity, so she encourages everyone to Eat Well-Do Good.

Darra Goldstein, the founding editor of Gastronomica and editor in chief of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Food Studies, has won numerous prizes for her work in food, including James Beard and IACP awards. She has published eight cookbooks, among them The Georgian Feast (the 1994 IACP Julia Child Cookbook of the Year) and Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore, which topped the list of Best Summer Cookbooks 2020 in the New York Times Book Review. Darra has consulted for the Council of Europe on using food as a tool for tolerance and diversity and has held distinguished fellowships in food studies at the University of Toronto and the University of Melbourne. She currently sits on the board of the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts and is a member of the advisory “Kitchen Cabinet” of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Liz Alpern is passionate about reimagining tradition and bringing people together. She is co-founder of The Gefilteria and co-author of The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods. Liz is also the creator of Queer Soup Night, a global event series highlighting the talent of queer chefs and raising tens of thousands of dollars for locally-based social justice organizations.

Jeffrey Yoskowitz is a food entrepreneur, thought leader, chef, and pickler living in Brooklyn. He co-founded The Gefilteria, a culinary venture that reimagines Ashkenazi-Jewish cooking and co-authored the award-winning cookbook, The Gefilte Manifesto. He teaches, cooks, and lectures on Jewish food history to communities across the globe. His writings on food and culture have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, among other publications. He was featured on Hulu's Taste the Nation and tapped to represent Jewish culture at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in 2023. He got his start in the food world as an organic farmer and a pickle apprentice in the Berkshires, but his bagel education started much earlier as a kid from New Jersey.

Leah Koenig is the IACP Award-nominated author of seven cookbooks including the acclaimed The Jewish Cookbook and Modern Jewish Cooking. Her newest cookbook, PORTICO: Cooking and Feasting in Rome's Jewish Kitchen was a National Jewish Book Awards finalist. Leah's writing and recipes can be found in The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Epicurious, and Food52, among other publications. She also writes a weekly newsletter, The Jewish Table, which shares recipes and stories from the world of Jewish food. In addition to writing, Leah leads cooking demonstrations and workshops around the country and world. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two children.

A seasoned nonprofit professional with a past life as a chef, Kristine Borok leads Development, Brand, and organizational and DEI strategy at nonprofit Hot Bread Kitchen. As an immigrant woman and former cook, baker and chef, Kristine has had the unique experience in understanding the importance of making the food industry a more equitable space for women. Kristine completed her chef’s training with the Natural Gourmet Institute and has worked in some of New York City’s most popular restaurants and bakeries such as the LandMarc Restaurant Group, Jean-Georges Restaurant Mercer Kitchen and Levain Bakery, as well as teaching as guest chef instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education’s recreation program.

Ari Ackerman is a successful serial entrepreneur, strategic investor and proud philanthropist.  His entrepreneurial history includes being the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bunk1.com, the enormously popular technology company that allows parents to see online pictures and send emails/Bunk Notes to kids at summer camp. In March of 2017, he had a successful sale and exit of Bunk1 to Private Equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners.  
 
Prior to Bunk1, his career has included Founding Jewish dating app “Tribe”,  product management with Procter & Gamble and 4 years on Capitol Hill for a member of Congress.  Ari has been fortunate enough to have been featured in dozens of media outlets including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, CNBC, the Today Show, the New York Times, Crain’s, and the Wall Street Journal.  
 
Ari grew up in New York City and received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and an MBA with honors from Northwestern University (Kellogg). His philanthropic endeavors included serving on multiple boards such as the The Hampton Synagogue, JCRC, Hillel, UJA, JFNA and was the NYL Cabinet Co-chair for the Jewish Federations of North America.   Notably, Ari has been honored by AIPAC, JCRC, Soho Synagogue and was recently awarded the Beyond Duke Service and Leadership award from Duke University. 
 
Ari has also recently launched Schmooze Talks- in which he interviews remarkable Jewish leaders about their Judaism.  Importantly for Baseball and sports fans, he is also a partner and board member in the Derek Jeter led group that purchased the Miami Marlins in October of 2017.

Nicole Adamo is a multi-faceted American Media Personality, producer, creative director, and serial entrepreneur – and a foodie with a lot of flavor! She is currently the co-host of DJ Whoo Kid’s popular weekend entertainment show on Shade 45, Sirius XM and host of Not Just One Of The Guys podcast. She has been featured on major networks such as MTV, BRAVO, ESPN, Barstool Sports, and more, where she has interviewed everyone from Snoop Dogg to Meryl Streep and all the in between. She is also the on-camera correspondent for the Miss USA pageant. Nicole naturally infuses all of her on-screen projects with a unique energy that invites audiences to be a part of the journey. The New Jersey native’s natural conversational style and organic storytelling methods have propelled her influential lifestyle brand to multiple media platforms, including two podcasts of her own. Her relatability has garnered hundreds of thousands of social impressions by encouraging subjects and audiences to always show up as their most authentic self. (Instagram:

@nickilishious)

RESPECT THE SCHMEAR AND RESPECT YOURSELF, CUZ

INTRODUCING THE #1 RANKED GUIDO IN THE WORLD

This man eats a MINIMUM half pound of cream cheese on every bagel. NO EXCEPTIONS

We are beyond blessed to have him present BagelFest’s SCHMEAR OF THE YEAR

It’s the one. The only. The @numba1guido

Aliza Kline is the founding CEO of OneTable - a North American nonprofit that brings people together to break bread at Friday night Shabbat dinner (over 1 million reservations and counting). This means that she’s baked and eaten a LOT of challah AND bagels. She knows what it takes to set a beautiful table, make people feel welcome and reclaim the lost art of hospitality. Aliza is a social entrepreneur and a design thinking facilitator who’s been re-imagining ritual and opening it to the full diversity of the Jewish and Jew-ish community for decades. She grew up in Colorado Springs where the mountain air and elevation inflated the bagels and where her parents (a rabbi and a dancer) hosted dinner for visiting artists and traveling Jews. Now, she lives in Brooklyn, and regularly gathers three generations for family dinners - and there’s always an extra seat if you want to come!

Jeremy Jacobowitz brings along his over 950k followers on his food adventures all over the world. Whether that’s finding that hidden gem in NYC, the best omakase in Japan, or creating a fun recipe in his home kitchen studio, his audience is obsessed with all parts of his life. And there is good reason for that trust and admiration. Not only has he had an online presence for nearly a decade, but he has worked in food tv as an assistant for Bobby Flay and as a producer for years, before moving fulltime to online content. Along with his daily videos on his own channels, he has hosted and appeared on programs for Food Network, MSG Networks, Thrillist, Pix11 Morning News, Seamless, Disney World, and more!

Dave Arnold is the energetic host of the podcast Cooking Issues, the founder of Booker and Dax, producers of cutting-edge kitchen hardware, the founder of The Museum of Food and Drink, as well as the mind behind the cocktails at New York's Contra Bar.