Gourmet Dinner Series

Featuring savory dishes skillfully prepared by Executive Chef Allison Walts.

Must be 21 and older to attend; absolutely no exceptions.

Dragon's Lore Dinner Pairing

Friday, October 11, 2024 | 6-9 p.m.

Enjoy a feast fit for royalty in the presence of our mystical dragons! This menu is inspired by dragon lore and fantasy, and all courses will be paired with beer from Middle Ages Brewery.

Pollinators Pairing Dinner

Friday, September 6 2024 | 6-9 p.m.

We're BUZZING with excitement for September's Gourmet Dinner Pairing! Celebrate National Honey Month with us and learn about the art of beekeeping and the important role of pollinator bees in agriculture and conservation. All courses this month will be paired with drinks from Heritage Hill Brewhouse.

COURSE 1: Hot Honey, Tomato, & Ricotta Crostini (slow-roasted tomatoes, honey-whipped ricotta, grilled baguette, hot honey drizzle, fresh basil) paired with "Do You Have Any California Wine?" 8.7%ABV Barrel Aged Farmhouse. Subtle Notes of Hop Character and light acidity compliment expressive yeast profile & Red Wine barrel tannin characteristics.

COURSE 2: Crunchy Green Salad w/Fermented Garlic Honey Vinaigrette (shaved brussels sprouts, sugar snap peas, scallions, apples, dried cranberries, goat cheese, toasted pistachios, vinaigrette) paired with "Raz Me Up" 4.7%ABV Fruited Sour. The acidity and fresh tart raspberries play perfectly in unison to create a refreshing fruited beer.

COURSE 3: Baked Apples w/Sausage Stuffing (local apples, Hofmann sausage & honey cornbread stuffing) paired with "Oh My, Pumpkin Pie" Pastry Pumpkin beer, 5.5%ABV. Pumpkin Pie beer conditioned on Vietnamese Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, Nutmeg, Tahitian Vanilla Beans and Milk Sugar. This beer contains licorice.

COURSE 4: Honey-Mustard Chicken Thighs w/Saffron Polenta paired with "Tijuana 'Nother", Amber Lager 5.5%ABV. A historical yet modern Mexican Lager featuring a NZ hop "Wai-iti" That brings forward a fresh splash of lime from the hop character!

COURSE 5: Honey Pear Tartlet w/Vanilla Bean Ice Cream paired with "Maple Bourbon BA Golden", 11%ABV. This Golden Ale is brewed with NYS wildflower honey and Refermented in Maple Bourbon Barrels with Belgian Yeast and Aged in oak for 6 months.

Reserve your seat today!

Previous Gourmet Dinner Pairings

August Gourmet Dinner Pairing

Friday, August 9 2024 | 6-9 p.m.

Join us for a delectable vegetarian menu inspired by our Asian elephants to celebrate Asian Elephant Awareness Month! This dinner will feature vegetarian Asian dishes, and will begin up at the Elephant Outlook with our elephant herd.

July Gourmet Dinner Pairing

Friday, July 19, 2024 | 6-9 p.m.

Feast like a ferocious feline during our July Gourmet Dinner Pairing! This dinner is themed after the diets of our carnivorous cats from Eastern Russia, the Amur leopards and Amur tigers! This dinner will be paired with wine.

Festive Flamingo Dinner Pairing

Friday, June 21, 2024 | 6-9 p.m.

Join us in June for our next Gourmet Dinner Pairing! This dinner will be a retro BBQ & Beer party in the Courtyard (weather dependent) featuring our Chilean flamingos. Seats are limited, so don't wait to join this unparalleled experience!

Tacos & Tequila Gourmet Dinner Pairing

Friday, May 10, 2024 | 6-9 p.m.

We are so excited to TACO-bout Catering at the Zoo's May Gourmet Dinner: Tacos & Tequila! Savor a custom five-course meal paired with tequila representing the native habitat of our Harris Hawks.

April Gourmet Dinner Pairing

Friday, April 12, 2024 | 6-9 p.m.

Join us for a gourmet 5 course dinner featuring wine from Colloca Estate Winery in Fair Haven, NY. Dinner will be themed around the Heritage Breeds in our Domestic Animal Barn! Heritage Breeds are traditional breeds of livestock that were raised by our forefathers before farming became industrialized.

Every course features eggs in some way or another, and the menu at large represents a shifting closer to Spring. Eggs have long symbolized rebirth, hope, and good luck--it's time to shake off the winter blues and look forward to the coming change of seasons!

Sustainable Seafood Dinner Pairing

Friday, March 8, 2024 | 6-9 p.m.

Join us for our Sustainable Seafood Dinner and wine pairing featuring our very own Chef Allison Walts educating guests on sustainable fishing and what we can do as chefs and diners to protect the world's oceans.

February Dinner Pairing

Friday, February 9, 2024 | 6-9 p.m.

This Gourmet Dinner will feature delectable dishes from the native range of our Andean bear Bjorn, paired with South American wines.

Snow Leopard Dinner Pairing

Friday, January 12, 2024 | 6-9 p.m.

Curl up like one of our glorious snow leopards and warm your belly with comforting winter foods and wine at our next Gourmet Dinner Pairing! Learn how the snow leopard survives the so-called "Third Pole" of the snowy, stark Himalayan region, while also hearing about different methods of food/ingredient preservation as we tuck in for a long CNY winter.