Chelsea Market After Dark.

A good 70% of the people who shuffled into Chelsea Market Thursday night were rabid Bobby Flay fans, practically frothing at the mouth for the chance to have a cookbook or scrap of paper signed by their Iron Chef idol. “Bobby, you’re so hot!,” screeched a woman who shoved her way towards his table, as he responded with a bemused, appreciative smirk.

But Bobby Flay’s table was only one of dozens within the Chelsea Market, a cavernous, labyrinthine space that resembles one of Montreal’s underground malls more than any kind of farmers’ market or bazaar. Individual stores, ranging from Amy’s Bread to Chelsea Thai lined the aisles at Thursday’s kick-off of the weekend-long Wine & Food Festival, an annual national event sponsored by the Food Network and Food & Wine Magazine that is only just gracing the Big Apple for the first time.

Given the amount of New Yorkers packed into the Market space, it would appear that the hurting economy certainly isn’t curbing anyone’s appetite for gourmet goodies yet. Tickets for the event (at $75 a pop) were entirely sold out. A glance at the cornucopia would suggest that the steep price was worth it.

The Free-Flowing Wine.

Every five feet, a table with a couple different varieties of wine lined the walkway, with servers eager to provide samples. Of course, that’s not to mention the wine that was being offered at Chelsea Wine Vault – over 30 different varieties abounded, with some of the more exciting options including a few bottles of Carménère, a Chilean grape that’s just beginning to gain international attention, and a single-vineyard Argentine Malbec.

Morimoto's Chefs Work on Perfecting Their Lamb Carpaccio Plates.

For the foodies, there was such a plethora of samples that only those who had been fasting for a day or two would be able to taste a piece of everything. Some of the best were found at the Green Table, an organic, seasonal, sustainable food venture: the grilled cheese with pickled onions and fig and the open face mini lamb-burgers with dill cream were both meltingly hot and fresh. L’Arte del Gelato’s pumpkin flavor was perfect for the season, and Morimoto’s elegantly presented lamb carpaccio with scallions and ginger positively crackled with flavor. But it was Hale & Hearty Soup’s meaty chicken and sausage jambalaya that attracted Food Network star Guy Fieri’s attention. As he mugged for the camera, those who had been previously sipping their soup hastily clambered towards him, putting their plates down just for a moment to catch a glint of the limelight.

Bobby Flay Greets His Admirers.