Harlem EatUp! is the nation’s premier African American focused food festival that showcases the diversity and vibrancy of Harlem’s hospitality mecca as well as its world-famous arts and culture. Co-founded by celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson and renowned events marketer Herb Karlitz of Karlitz & Company in 2015, the festival brings together Harlem’s dynamic restaurateurs, chefs, artists, and local entrepreneurs to celebrate the food, art, music, and culture of the neighborhood through the more intimate “Dine in Harlem” curated dinner experiences and the massive weekend-long “Stroll” in Marcus Garvey Park featuring culinary demos, wine tasting, grand tasting of unlimited food from local restaurants, spirits, interactive events, and a marketplace for vendors.

Due to the onset of the Pandemic, Harlem EatUp! refocused the 2020 festival to support World Central Kitchen’s Restaurant for the People effort to keep local, independent restaurants open and working to provide nourishing meals for people in need in their communities, helping solicit over $4 million in donations from festival sponsors such as Citi, Barilla and L+M Development. During the summer of 2020, in lieu of what would’ve been its 6th annual festival, Harlem EatUp! produced the star-studded Harlem Serves Up! telethon on ABC7 to both support Harlem small BIPOC businesses and fight food insecurity in the community. The telethon was not only the highest rated program in the time slot but also raised over $350,000 in one hour for non-profits in Harlem that help restaurants, residences, businesses, and the City of New York. 

In 2021 and 2022, with the Pandemic still preventing a full-scale in-person version of Harlem EatUp!, the team instead expanded in the content space and took some Harlem-based talent on the road (or at least across the bridges!). EatUp! NYC was born! Two one-hour TV specials on ABC7 starring Marcus and TV personality Bevy Smith focused on the Black food meccas of Brooklyn, Newark, and Harlem to explore and showcase African American restaurants and chefs who are making history and defining legacies with their culinary contributions to today’s food scene. Enjoy the specials here: EatUp! NYC 2021 and 2022 here.

In addition, in the Fall of 2021, a special in-person outdoor “Dining OUT in Harlem” was able to return with Harlem EatUp! x WW (formerly Weight Watchers,) hosted by actress, entrepreneur, health advocate Taraji P. Henson and Marcus Samuelsson. This curated dining experience, hosted by longtime Harlem EatUp! participant Yvette Leeper-Bueno (Vinatería), included over 100 guests featuring notable celebs such as Sunny Hostin of The View, Sheinelle Jones of Today Show, a mix of influencers within fashion, food, and art along with local Harlemites. An elaborate tented event, the streets of Central Harlem shimmered in the night with breathtaking floral arrangements, lighting, ambiance, and the beats of one of NYC’s hottest DJs Olivia Dope.

We are thrilled to have kicked off our next exciting chapter in 2023, to be continued in 2024,  as we continue to celebrate the spirit and vibrant culture of our community. Stay tuned for more to come as we can’t wait to share with you what we have been cooking up.

 -Marcus Samuelsson and Herb Karlitz, Harlem EatUp! Co-founders