Atlanta’s food scene is heading courtside next month, with more than 30 chefs, restaurants and beverage partners set to take over State Farm Arena for one night to benefit workers in the industry who are struggling. The event, called Forkside Seats, pairs a seated dinner on the arena floor with a cause: raising support for Giving Kitchen, the nonprofit that provides emergency financial assistance to food service workers facing illness, injury or hardship.
Forkside Seats is scheduled for Nov. 1, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at State Farm Arena, according to State Farm Arena’s event listing, which also confirms the night will feature more than 30 chefs, restaurants and beverage partners. The evening is designed to peel back the layers of Atlanta’s favorite food spots and honor the kitchen crews behind them, as previewed by Allison Padilla-Goodman and chef Robert Butts on Atlanta News First’s ATL Live, a program that features live and taped segments with guests, some of which may be sponsored.
Guests can expect pre-dinner tastings and cocktails before sitting down to a seated dinner on the arena floor, followed by dessert, a live auction and music, according to details posted by Giving Kitchen. Chef Robert Butts of Station 11 and Argile is among those contributing to the surprise main course, per the same event page. All guests must be 21 or older to attend, and both individual tickets and group packages for reserved seating are available.
What Giving Kitchen Does With the Money
Giving Kitchen exists to catch food service workers when life goes sideways, offering emergency financial assistance alongside a network of community-resource referrals, the nonprofit’s own materials explain. Allison Padilla-Goodman, the organization’s CEO, has described the scale of need in stark terms: there are 15.8 million food service workers in the country, and it’s estimated that one to two percent are in crisis at any given time, she told Atlanta News First earlier this year. The outlet also reported that Giving Kitchen had just received its 60,000th Ask for Help form around the time of that March interview…