BUFFALO, NY - Calling all Western New York spicy food lovers! The Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops Friendly Markets announced today a fiery new collaboration for the 2025 festival with popular internet TV show Hot Ones and its parent media company First We Feast.

For the first time ever, five Taste of Buffalo restaurants will team up with Hot Ones and First We Feast to create exclusive, heat-packed dishes utilizing the show’s legendary sauces. Attendees can put their taste buds to the test by experiencing these delicious creations from:

• D.A. Taste
• Avenue29 Foods
• Carruba’s Chicken Pit
• Babcia’s Pierogi
• Lime House Sushi and Ramen

That’s not all! Festival-goers can visit Hot Ones and First We Feast’s Heat & Greet Pop-Up tent, where Buffalo’s own and internet fan favorite, Camera Guy Bill (Bill Drexler), will be serving up spicy selfies and daring tastings of the show’s iconic Last Dab hot sauce from 2–3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Camera Guy Bill will also serve as a celebrity food judge, with the special honor of determining which of the Hot Ones-exclusive dishes will come out on top for the inaugural Taste of Buffalo x Hot Ones Award! Guests can catch First We Feast on the festival grounds all weekend as they’ll be filming content for its social media and website.

Hot Ones is a YouTube talk show where celebrity guests, including famous musicians, high-profile actors and actresses, professional athletes, and more join host Sean Evans for a 10-question interview, where prior to each question, the host and guest alike eat one chicken wing, with the spiciness of the wing increasing with each subsequent question. The show is now in its 25th season, garners millions of views with each episode, and has been nominated for multiple Daytime Emmy Awards.

“I’m thrilled to bring the Hot Ones heat to my hometown of Buffalo,” said Camera Guy Bill. “The people of Buffalo know spice, and the restaurants we’ve partnered with are cooking up some amazing dishes with authentic Hot Ones flavors. Let’s go, Buffalo!”

“The Taste of Buffalo is thrilled to be spicing things up for this year’s festival through this exciting collaboration Hot Ones and First We Feast,” said 2025 Chair Matthew Reis. “Hot Ones and First We Feast have millions of fans from around the world, which makes it all the more exciting that we’re bringing them to Buffalo for the 2025 Taste. Western New Yorkers know a thing or two about spicy food, so we can’t wait for our attendees to put their taste buds to the test through the collaboration dishes and the Heat & Greet Pop Up. You won’t want to miss it!”

For more information on the nation’s largest two-day food festival, taking place July 12 & 13, head to www.tasteofbuffalo.com

###

About the Taste

The Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops is the nation’s largest two-day food festival. The 42nd annual Taste of Buffalo will take place on July 12 and 13, 2025 along Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo. Named winner of USA Today’s 2023 10BEST Reader’s Choice Travel Award Contest for “Best City Food Festival,” the Taste is a not-for-profit organization with more than 1,000 volunteers helping to put on the annual event. More than $606,000 has been raised at the festival for local charities in addition to scholarships awarded annually to local high school seniors pursuing a culinary and hospitality-related degree. For more information visit tasteofbuffalo.com and find us on Facebook and Instagram.