An Evening with Scott Conant

We warmly welcomed celebrity chef Scott Conant of the Food Network!

Salem Restaurants Deliciously Stepped Back in Time

Over 17 local restaurants participated in this unique and delicious event

Historic Home Open House

Guests stepped into Salem’s delicious history with exhibits city wide at our historic house museums

Food at 400+

A once in a century event that celebrated Salem’s 400th anniversary June 2026, produced by Karen Scalia, Salem Food Tours

We Deliver Delicious and Memorable Events

An Evening with Chef Scott Conant

“Spending the weekend in Salem for Salem 400+ was an experience I’ll carry with me for a long time. To be able to celebrate my family’s roots alongside my wife and our two daughters made it all the more meaningful. Sharing those stories while creating new memories together is something I’ll always treasure.

A heartfelt thank you to Karen Scalia of Salem Food Tours for moderating such a thoughtful conversation at Salem State University and for the incredible care she put into creating a first-class experience throughout the weekend. Your passion for this community was evident in every detail.

What I’ll remember most, though, are the people. The conversations, the warmth, and the genuine welcome we felt everywhere we went reminded me that food, family, and history have a remarkable way of bringing people together. Thank you, Salem, for opening your arms to us. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

-Chef Scott Conant

“An Evening with Scott Conant” was held at the Sophia Gordon Performing Arts Center at Salem State University on Saturday June 13th.

And please enjoy photos from the Sister City Luncheon/Twinning and related ceremonies, as Salem, MA joined together with the village of East Budleigh, UK, birthplace of Roger Conant.

Scott Conant Food at 400 celebration Salem Food Tours
Scott Conant Food at 400 celebration Salem Food Tours
Scott Conant Food at 400 celebration Salem Food Tours
Presentation of the flag

What Was on the Menu

An Evening with Chef Scott Conant

Although this premiere event is now over, we have LOTS of other terrific experiences and happenings during Food at 400+ through June 22nd – we hope you’ll join us!

Our Premiere Event. We welcomed award-winning Chef Scott Conant to Salem for a fun and memorable evening! Chef Scott is a 13th generational direct descendant of Roger Conant*, the founder of Salem, MA.

“An Evening with Scott Conant” was held at the Sophia Gordon Performing Arts Center at Salem State University on Saturday June 13th.

FREE! Exhibit: Food at 400+ and Speaker Series

Exhibit: Food at 400+

June 11th – 22nd at Old Town Hall

Information link

Family-friendly, art and exhibit includes interactive areas, and more!

Old Town Hall is also the base camp for Food at 400+.

Food at 400+ Speaker Series

June 20th and 21st at Old Town Hall

Click here to go to Speaker Series Calendar

Free talks and Q&A with special guests, join us!

FREE! Open Houses + Farm Visit

June 13th and 14th, this particular offering is now finished. Thank you to everyone who joined us!

Participating Historic Properties (click here for descriptions and information)

Free special exhibits at a variety of historic house museums and special locations across Salem’s downtown and waterfront area, June 13th and 14th, 11am to 4pm (unless otherwise noted.) It also had a complimentary trolley ride.

Getting around:
Many locations are walkable or bikeable. In addition, we are so happy to announce FREE shuttle service courtesy Salem Trolley, first come first served basis, on Saturday June 13th and Sunday June 14th from 11am to 4pm. The Trolley will run in a loop, starting on Essex Street, just up the path from Old Town Hall, in about :30+ ish loop for return, depending on traffic. Driver gratuity appeciated.

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Saturday June 13th, 9.30am (this event has finished.)
Morning on the Farm

Special Mack Park Farm visit, 9.30am to 11am+

Farm volunteers will be onsite Saturday May 13th doing demos and showing the incredible work they do, growing thousands of pounds of produce every season without pesticides. It is an amazing resource of fresh local food for residents, food assistance organizations and local retailers.

Enjoy a complimentary shuttle The Salem Trolley is offering a free shuttle, first come first served, from Central Street to Mack Park Farm Saturday morning June 13th. Departs Essex Street, up the path from Old Town Hall, at 9.30am and 9.50am; returns from Mack Park 10.15am and 10:40am. (if you miss this last trolley, it is about a 30 minute walk back to Old Town Hall.)

Food in Film Screenings at Cinema Salem

Our beloved downtown movie theater will feature three much-loved classic food themed films. A feast for the eyes! Purchase tickets for each of these movies through links below on the Cinema Salem website.

Make it dinner + a movie ♥ Food at 400+ special restaurant event, “Restaurants Deliciously Step Back in Time.” Over 15 Salem restaurants will feature historically inspired dishes or ingredients on their special menu.

Tampopo

Thursday | June 11 at 7:00 PM

Saturday | June 13 at 1:00 PM

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Wednesday | June 17 at 7:00 PM

Saturday | June 20 at 1:00 PM

Big Night

Thursday | June 18 at 7:00 PM

Restaurants Deliciously Step Back in Time

A delicious event running June 11th to 22nd . Participating Salem restaurants will be featuring dishes (and some cocktails) inspired by historic or classic recipes and ingredients on their specials menu from June 11th to 22nd. List includes ice cream maker, too!

Participating Restaurants:

Adriatic Restaurant & Bar

Flying Saucer Pizza Company

Hawthorne Hotel, Nathaniel’s

Holy Cow Ice Cream Salem

Maitland Farm, Kitchen and Spirits

Sip Back in Time

Experience history through a locally made brew, cider or spirit. Participating Salem locations will feature special libations – historically inspired cocktails or ingredients – on their menus. So step up and try a sip of history at some of our award-winning makers!

Participating locations:

Participate! Call for Art "Exhibit: Food at 400+"

Call for Art

Exhibit Food at 400+

In partnership with Salem Arts Association. Open to members and non members. For more information click here.

Support our event

Even though this event is now closed, we thank you for considering a donation to help defray our costs. This special community event which celebrates Salem’s 400th and included free public programming, reaching over 5K attendees.

Ways to support:

Donations via Venmo to @salemfoodtours or by check, email us for info.

No longer available: Your ticket purchase for 6/13 Scott Conant event is appreciated!

FAQs + Local notes, Special rates, etc.

We are delighted to present Food at 400+ for our local community as well as for visitors:

Please double check individual event programming dates listed above to make sure you don’t miss the experiences you want to enjoy. Some options are only the first weekend, or run weekdays, or a particular date, etc.
Make sure to get a wristband at our Old Town Hall exhibit for access to historic home open houses on June 13th and 14th (only.)
Make dinner reservations in advance, especially on weekends in Salem. See: “Restaurants Deliciously Step Back in Time” and “Sip Back in Time” above for location suggestions.
If you are attending the Chef Scott Conant event on Saturday June 12th, doors open at 6.30pm. Please allow at least :25 minutes to uber or drive to Sophia Gordon Center from downtown Salem, find parking, etc. Salem’s traffic can be heavy.
Accomodations and special rates: *Enjoy a stay on campus, right near show: SSU offers well priced, clean and comfie dorm rooms for $75/night. Use this form to request.
*Hawthorne Hotel has a terrific package that includes a welcome gift upon arrival, Conant event tickets, and a private trolley to and from SSU night of event! Special Food at 400+ Package.
*Find other accomodations at Salem.org

Volunteer

Volunteers are warmly welcome and needed to help ensure this is a successful community event! For info please reach out to us at info@foodat400.com.

Historic-Charm-of-Salems-Old-Town-Hall-768x576

Food at 400+ Speaker Series

Free and open to the public, we welcomed special guest speakers.

Location: Old Town Hall

Click here for schedule, talk information and speaker bios.

The Future of Food, Salem

Salem is leading the charge on dealing with food insecurity in our modern times. Food at 400+ attendees were able to learn about the incredible community work, local urban farming, school initiatives and more at the Food at 400+ Old Town Hall Exhibit. The weekend also featured a special farm visit to Mack Pack Farm with complimentary Salem Trolley.

Learn about Salem's Food Council and their partners