Rolling with the Bagel Ambassador: Q&A with Sam Silverman
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- July 1, 2025
When it comes to bagels in NYC, Sam Silverman – founder of BagelFest and NYC Bagel Tours – is the ultimate insider. Known as the Bagel Ambassador, he’s on a mission to celebrate this iconic food. We caught up with him to talk tradition, trends, and why Bagel Market is a standout in the scene.
1. Why bagels? What makes them so iconic for New Yorkers, in your view?
Bagels have been a New York staple since Polish Jewish immigrants brought them over in the late 19th century. For much of the 20th century, no one could make bagels quite like New Yorkers. Not because of the water, but because of the Bagel Bakers Local 338. The union had a stranglehold on production, creating a concentrated pool of highly skilled bakers unique to New York City.
Bagels took off in part because they were everything a New Yorker needed: filling, affordable, endlessly customizable, and easy to eat on the go. In one of the world’s most fast-paced and expensive cities, it’s the perfect food.
But beyond convenience, bagels are deeply communal and nostalgic. Everyone has their go-to order, their neighborhood spot, their childhood memory. And those attachments run deep: they evoke memory and spark debate, but ultimately, bring people together.
2. Tell us about your title as the “Bagel Ambassador.” How did that start?
Bagels have always been my favorite food. In 2017, I was shocked to learn that New York City—the home of bagels, and a city with a food festival for just about every cuisine imaginable—had never had an event celebrating this iconic food. Although I worked at a hedge fund at the time, it became my mission to establish the first ever New York BagelFest.
Over the past eight years, BagelFest has grown into a platform that’s helped elevate rising stars in the industry, including brands like PopUp Bagels, Starship Bagel, and Bagel Market. As our influence grew, Scott and Jesse Spellman from Utopia Bagels started calling me the “Bagel Ambassador” and the nickname stuck, because it captured what I was trying to do: celebrate and connect the bagel world.
As BagelFest has grown over the years into a globally recognized trade and consumer show, it became evident that there were other opportunities to celebrate and promote bagel culture, which is what led to the launch of our bagel making classes and food tours.
3. What goes into planning a typical bagel tour or baking class?
Planning a bagel tour or baking class starts with one question: how do we create an experience that’s memorable, educational, and fun?
For a bagel tour, that means curating a route that balances iconic old-school shops with new innovators. We map the neighborhoods, coordinate with the shops, and build in tastings that highlight different styles, techniques, and flavors. Then we layer in the history: how bagels came to New York, the role of the Bagel Bakers’ Union, and how the craft has evolved. It’s part food crawl, part cultural deep dive, and one hundred percent delicious.
For a baking class, it’s all about hands-on engagement, giving people the chance to roll, shape, top, and bake their own bagels using authentic techniques. But we also share the “why” behind every step, from fermentation to boiling, so guests walk away not just with fresh bagels, but with real knowledge and skills.
Every event is tailored to the group. We adapt for corporate outings, tourists, families, or foodies. The goal is to make it personal, high-touch, and unforgettable
4. Have you had any surprising moments on tour - unusual guest reactions, celebrity visitors, or unforgettable bagels?
Some of my favorite moments are when someone shows up to class insisting they don’t like bagels. It happens more often than you’d think. But nine times out of ten, the moment they pull a fresh, golden bagel out of the oven and take that first bite, everything changes. What they thought was a bagel was really just a pale imitation. Once they taste the real thing, they’re hooked.
On the flip side, it’s always fun when someone famous joins us, like the time Brooklyn Beckham came to class. But what makes it special isn’t the celebrity factor, it’s the reminder that bagels are the great equalizer. Everyone loves them. They cut across backgrounds, generations, and accents. It’s a food that brings people together.
5. How do you think NYC’s food scene has influenced the evolution of the bagel?
Originally, bagels were a humble, working-class staple brought over by Eastern European Jewish immigrants. They were a simple bread, typically eaten plain without any toppings. But over the past 100 years, New York has transformed the bagel into something far more dynamic.
Around the same time bagels arrived, Scandinavian immigrants brought lox to the city, and cream cheese was invented just upstate, leading to the classic bagel-and-lox combo we know today.
Eventually, bagels in New York got bigger, becoming the perfect vehicle for a sandwich, leading to the bacon egg and cheese and other sandwiches with hearty fillings.
The rise of social media pushed the boundaries even further, leading to the rainbow bagels and overstuffed sandwiches stylized for Instagram. Some of it’s playful, some
of it’s controversial, but it all speaks to the constant need to innovate and stand out in a city of millions.
Today, we’re seeing more collaborations than ever, because that’s what is required to succeed in this hyper-interconnected world
6. Do you see a growing appreciation for traditional methods, or are people more into “reinvented” bagels (like rainbow or sandwich-style bagels)?
On one hand, there’s a widespread appreciation for traditional methods: hand-rolling, kettle-boiling, long fermentation, etc. But making bagels that way is expensive. The equipment, the footprint, and the skilled labor is a lot. So we’re seeing a wave of new bagel makers entering the scene with more innovative, cost-effective production methods. Some are rethinking the form entirely: smaller batch sizes, different ingredients, even ditching the boil.
Neither is necessarily better, it just depends on what you’re looking for. But that tension is part of what makes the bagel scene so interesting right now. It’s a conversation about craft, identity, and what it means for something to be “authentic.”
7. What’s your go-to bagel order - the one you’d pick if you could only have one for the rest of your life?
Everything bagel, scallion cream cheese, not toasted because it’s hot out of the oven. That’s been my go-to for as long as I can remember, my “Litmus Test” so to speak whenever I visit a new shop, and it’s the one I’d pick for the rest of my life.
8. If you could sit down for a bagel with any New Yorker, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I’d sit down with Anthony Bourdain. He had this rare ability to cut through the noise and really see people. Especially those behind the food. I think he’d have a lot to say about bagels: their immigrant roots, their evolution, the way they’ve become both iconic and endlessly reinvented. I’d want to hear what he thinks about the old-school spots, the new wave, and everything in between.
9. What’s next for NYC Bagel Tours? Any new projects or ideas in the works?
We’ve built a solid program with Bagel Market that’s working really well. The space is great, the team is reliable, and together we’re delivering a consistently strong experience for both locals and visitors.
Now that the foundation’s in place, we’re exploring what else we can build on top of it. We’re looking at different variations of the class: collaborations with notable folks in the food scene, some geared toward aspiring or professional bagel makers who want to go deeper into the craft, and others designed for corporate leadership or executive teams looking for a unique, hands-on offsite.
Our collaboration with Bagel Market gives us the flexibility to test new formats and serve different types of groups. We’re excited to keep evolving the experience.
10. If someone’s visiting NYC for the first time, why should they make your tour their first stop?
Because it gives you a true taste of New York – literally and culturally. Bagels are part of the city’s DNA. Our classes and tours aren’t just about eating – though you’ll eat very well – they’re about understanding the history and the people behind the counter.
It’s the perfect way to start your trip because it orients you to the city through something familiar, but with a whole lot more depth than you’d expect. You’ll walk away full, but also with stories, context, and a better sense of what makes New York…New York.
11. Are there any specific bagels or cream cheese flavors at Bagel Market that always wow the group? Any personal favorites?
The showstopper is definitely Bagel Market’s #1 signature bacon and sausage egg and cheese. I like to add chipotle mayo for a little extra kick. It’s consistently a crowd favorite on our tours. And I’m not just saying that- this sandwich actually won BagelUp’s March Madness Bagel Sandwich Bracket last year, beating out dozens of other unique sandwiches from all over the country.
But what surprises people most is how good the bagels themselves are. Bagel Market has finished in the top 3 of our BagelFest “Best Bagel” competition – a blind taste test of plain bagels – two years in a row. Because they’re a newer player in the bagel world, they don’t always get the credit they deserve, but anyone who’s had one fresh out of the oven knows it goes toe-to-toe with anything else out there.
Personally, I am addicted to Bagel Market’s garlic and herb cream cheese. This is the cream cheese that I eat when I’m off the clock.
12. You’ve visited countless bagel shops across NYC - what do you think Bagel Market brings to the NYC bagel scene that’s unique?
Bagel Market brings a level of consistency, creativity, and hospitality that really stands out in the NYC bagel scene. They now have five locations across Manhattan, and what’s impressive is how dialed-in the experience across every one of them. The bagels are hand-rolled, kettle-boiled, and baked fresh throughout the day, and you can taste that no matter which shop you’re at.
They’ve also carved out a lane for themselves by offering inventive, high-quality sandwiches and cream cheeses that feel fresh without crossing into gimmick territory. Plus, their shops are bright, modern, and welcoming.
In a city where “classic” often dominates the conversation, Bagel Market is showing that you can grow, scale, and still do it right.
From BagelFest to baking classes, Sam is leading the charge in NYC’s bagel renaissance. We’re proud to partner with NYC Bagel Tours and be part of the story. Whether it’s a tour or a garlic & herb schmear, you’re always welcome at Bagel Market.
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