BagelUp, BagelFest & New York Bagels with Sam Silverman

BagelUp, BagelFest & New York Bagels with Sam Silverman

From Taste Buds With Deb by Jewish Journal

January 14, 2026 · 21 min · Season 1 · Episode 138

About this episode

Debra Eckerling interviews Sam Silverman about his passion for bagels and the creation of BagelUp and BagelFest.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with bagel-tarian Sam Silverman, founder and CEO of BagelUp and the creator of New York BagelFest. "From the earliest memories that I have, bagels were always a part of our life, a part of our household," Silverman, who grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts, says. "When I moved to New York 10 years ago, and I had my first New York bagel, [I] realized that I'd been eating bagel-shaped bread my entire life." This ignited his passion to explore New York through the lens of finding the best bagels. When he discovered New York didn't have a bagel festival, Silverman started BagelFest. This was seven years ago. And led to the launch of BagelUp. "BagelUp is all about celebrating bagels, the culture and the people behind them," says Silverman, nicknamed "the New York bagel ambassador" by Utopia Bagels. "This food evokes such amazing nostalgia and comfort and feelings of joy and excitement, it's [easy] to find other people who feel [the same] way." Sam Silverman shares his love of bagels, bagel history, and the origins of BagelUp and BagelFest. He also talks about his schmear hack, the secret to making good bagels, and his…

People in this episode

Host: Debra Eckerling

Guest: Sam Silverman

Topics covered

  • bagels
  • food culture
  • New York
  • nostalgia
  • cooking

Keywords

  • bagels
  • BagelUp
  • BagelFest
  • New York bagels
  • food history
  • schmear hack
  • recipe

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BagelUp, New York BagelFest

Places: Worcester, Massachusetts, New York

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