Autumn is food fest time and this October and November, the city is brimming with places to watch celebrity chefs do demos while you munch on their fare. There’s a chocolate festival, along with wine, and butchering events. Recently shuttered Gourmet Magazine’s Gourmet Institute is Oct. 23-25. Will it resemble a food fest…or a wake?

Here’s a lineup of some of the the fall’s best food festivals:

October 8-11. The Food Network hosts the second annual New York City Wine & Food Festival, a smorgasbord of culinary demos, wine tastings, coffee tastings and other culinary happenings. There’s a Grand Tasting and a 100-mile brunch. Some events are sold out. You can watch food celebs like Martha Stewart and Bobby Flay doing demos and more. One-hundred-plus events will be staged at various venues around the city, with prices ranging from from $10 to $500. Visit: http://www.nycwineandfoodfestival.com/2009/events.php

Oct. 12. The Columbus Day Wine Down will feature American wines from both traditional wine-producing regions and some up-and-coming areas. Food is supervised by Charlie Palmer. 
Tickets are $50 in advance; no tickets sold at the door. Use discount code MERLOT to get $10 off.
 Astra, 979 Third Ave., fourteenth floor
. Doors open at 6 pm. Visit: http://winedown.eventbrite.com/. (Via Grub Street)

Oct. 20. Tickets for City Harvest’s Bid Against Hunger premier tasting event and fundraiser start at $250 and go as high as $500 for VIP access.
 Participating restaurants include Convivio, Blue Hill, and Le Bernardin. Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St. Visit: http://www.cityharvest.org/home.aspx?catid=5&pg=30

Oct. 23-25. Gourmet Magazine’s Gourmet Institute will feature events priced from $20-$300. There are demos, tastings, classes, walking tours and a Gourmet marketplace. Participating chefs include lots of culinary stars—Anthony Bourdain, April Bloomfield, Scott Conant, and Sara Moulton. Visit: http://www.gourmetinstitute.com/chefs.asp

October 27. Brooklyn Eats. Tickets are $110 in advance and $125 at the door for this all-borough food fest, which includes Buttermilk Channel and Bussaco. Stage 6 at Steiner Studios, 15 Washington Ave., Brooklyn Navy Yard. 6 p.m.
 Visit:  http://www.brooklyneatsonline.com/index.php?module… (Via Grub Street)

Oct. 28. Second Annual Taste of Greenmarket.
 Star chefs Dan Barber, Marcus Samelsson and April Bloomfield will prepare dishes with Greenmarket ingredients. General admission, $150 in advance, or $175 at the door; VIP tickets give you early admission for $300. Studio 450, 450 W. 31st St., 7 p.m. 

 Visit: www.cenyc.org/tasteofgreenmarket

October 30–November 1
. At The Chocolate Show, view and sample chocolate from all over the world. There are demos, tastings and activities for kids.
 Tickets are $28 in advance, $8 per kid. Metropolitan Pavillion, 125 West 18th Street, New York, NY. Visit: http://www.chocolateshow.com/

Nov. 2. At the 11th Annual New York Taste, New York magazine’s annual food event, you can sample food and wine from 40 restaurants and wineries, including Aldea, Corton, Marea, Locanda Verde, and many more. General admission tickets, $175, or $250 for the VIP preview.
 Skylight, 275 Hudson St.
  7 p.m.
 Visit: http://nymag.com/taste/

November 6–8. Cook. Ea t. Drink. Live. Bill Telepan, Ted Allen, and several other name chefs will do demos. Samples are from SD26, Rouge Tomate, BiCE, and many more. General admission, $65. The Tunnel/La Venue, 608 W. 28th St. (Via Grub Street). Visit: 247365nyc.com/i-tastings.html

November 8. Nose to Tail Eating: Lamb Butchering – Demo, Tasting, and Auction from Slow Food. See Master Butcher Rudi Weid break down the carcass of a 110 lb sustainably and humanely raised lamb (straight from the pastures of Three Corner Field Farm in Shushan, N.Y.) into roasts, chops, and miscellaneous cuts. He’ll discuss each section, muscle, and cut while participants feast on another lamb, roasted, seared, and grilled. Bid on cuts to take home. (Cash and checks will be accepted.) The Institute for Culinary Education (ICE), 50 West 23rd St.; Manhattan. 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Slow Food Members – $55 / Non-members – $75 

Tickets Available on-line at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/76318. Visit: www.slowfoodnyc.org/

Related posts:

1. New York Fall Food Events, Part I: What’s Coming up This Weekend
2. Tasty Tidbits: Upcoming NY Food Events
3. Events: Marshmallow Fluff Gets the Scholarly Treatment