Toast Proudly Celebrates Boston’s First Big Queer Food Fest

This spring, Toast participated in the first-ever Big Queer Food Fest (BQFF) in Boston, a landmark event that celebrated the vibrant LGBTQIA+ culinary community. The week-long celebration included 14 standalone events at 12 different venues, as well as “social hours” at seven restaurants throughout the city. Over 5,000 people came to enjoy the Fest, which featured over 50 LGBTQIA+ chefs, including 32 headliners from 10 different states. 

This represented a 1000% year-over-year growth in attendance and engagement, and a 400% rise in participating chefs compared to BQFF's previous largest event in April 2024 which saw 450 attendees. Numbers aside, the experience of coming together with LGBTQIA+ chefs proved meaningful in a number of ways for the chefs, restaurateurs, and more who participated. 

“Being part of events like the Big Queer Food Fest is incredibly meaningful for us at Toast. We believe food is a powerful tool to connect and bring people together, and BQFF celebrates the creativity, resilience and brilliance of this culinary community, " said Taylor Barnes, Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships & Customer Engagement at Toast. "Sponsoring events like this is one way for us to live out our values, creating space for joy, visibility and belonging for all across the restaurant space. It shows we're truly dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels seen and celebrated, and that's something I for one am proud to see us lead on."