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Meet The Wing King

Drew Cerza
Festival Founder 

It’s Good to Be King

Wing King Drew Cerza is changing the way Buffalo is viewed, one chicken wing at a time.

Drew’s “hottest” moment to date came in 2007 when he edged out Bobby Flay in a “Chicken Wing Throwdown” on the popular Food Network show. Since then, he has become the wing ambassador for this American food icon. In 2003, Drew was named a “Buffalo Citizen of the Year” and in 2011, the “Tourism Executive of the Year.” He travels the country in search of unique wings that capture the local flavor of different regions.
The “Wing King” has been featured on many media outlets including the Food Network’s “All-American Festivals,” “Unwrapped,” and “Emeril Lagasse Live;” the Travel Channel’s “Bar Food Paradise,” “Taste of America,” and “Food Wars;” NBC’s “The Today Show,” ABC’s “The View” and “Regis and Kelly;” CBS’ “Morning Show;” FOX Network’s “Fox and Friends;” PBS and the BBC.

Great Lakes Life Magazine

Visit Buffalo Niagara

Television Appearances

Drew on Tailgate Warriors

Live with Regis and Kelly

Food Wars

The Today Show

CBS Morning Show

Drew in Great Lakes Life Magazine

They call him the “WING KING”, a title that’s well-deserved. Drew Cerza is, after all, the guy who started the world famous NATIONAL BUFFALO WING FESTIVAL and has likely done more than anybody on the planet to promote chicken wings and the city of their birth…Buffalo, NY.

Over the past five years, the festival has attracted more than a quarter of a million people from throughout the U.S. and rest of the world…people who enjoy sampling the best from more than two dozen restaurants from around the country and the 100 different styles of chicken wings that are served every year. In case you’re wondering just how many wings that is, the answer is over one million. Along the way, Drew’s now famous festival has raised more than 95 thousand dollars for local charities.

With several successful chicken wing festivals “under his belt”, along with countless Buffalo Wings, of course…Drew set out in 2006 to celebrate another American food icon like nobody else can, by launching the first-ever NATIONAL HAMBURGER FESTIVAL, in Akron, Ohio. In its very first year, this event drew twenty thousand people and was featured on the FOOD NETWORK’S hit series “Unwrapped”. Again, some of the proceeds of the festival went to charity…Akron’s Children’s Hospital. 

Drew Cerza and his festivals have, in fact, drawn the attention of media throughout the world, including CNN, The Travel Channel and the FOOD NETWORK. Highlights include his appearance on NBC’S TODAY SHOW, where he taught host Matt Lauer the art of preparing the perfect chicken wing. Then, there was the PBS documentary featuring Drew and the NATIONAL BUFFALO WING FESTIVAL. Most recently, he faced-off against Bobby Flay in a chicken wing cooking challenge. This episode of “THROWDOWN WITH BOBBY FLAY” resulted in a “win” for the WING KING.

Now considered the “Super Bowl” of the wing industry, Drew’s NATIONAL BUFALAO WING FESTIVAL has also made him the “go-to guy” for information about chicken wings. And, the WING KING is now focused on cultivating his kitchen skills…even developing his own chicken wing sauces. He has a number of “Buffalo Wing” style foods in development, which he plans to sell under the “Buffalo Wing King Foods” label.

What Drew is perhaps most proud of, however, is what his endeavors have done for his beloved city of Buffalo, where he has become its best known ambassador. Says Drew, “I love Buffalo. It’s a great city, with awesome people and the best regional food in the country.”

This “love affair” is mutual, of course. The people of Buffalo and Western New York also love Drew Cerza, who has done much for the city’s image, and, through his charitable contributions, much for its needy and disadvantaged families.

Speaking of families, Drew is very much the “family-man”, as well…helping his wife, Jodi, raise their two daughters, Nicole and Sydney in their suburban Buffalo home.