Monday, November 10, 2014

Metro Cooking Show Hits Foodie Home Run

The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show was in DC this weekend.  Celebrity Chefs Guy Fieri and Bobby Flay, local chefs Cathal Armstrong and Todd English, an army of culinary experts and a huge convention hall filled with gourmet vendors all landed at the DC Convention Center this weekend to present a culinary event that was nothing short of foodie heaven!

The show felt somehow re-energized this year…there seemed to be more interesting vendors,  the main halls were laid out better,  there was less pushing and shoving and there were more smiles on the faces of all the foodies who attended.   Amongst the jaw-dropping array of olive oils,  balsamic vinegars,  hot sauces,  spice blends,  razor-sharp knives,  miracle-slick cooking pans,  home remodelers,  bakers,  authors,  choclatiers,  wineries, breweries, etc.,  we saw many truly outstanding products worthy of any foodie’s pantry.


These saucers in foil bags were among the more uniquely packaged products in the show.

 

This Greek dipping sauce was beautifully prepared and a bottle fell into our bag very quickly.



One of our favorite stops was the Anastesia Vodka table with samples of this lovely Oregon-based vodka that was so smooth that it truly gives challenge to our favorite Polish vodkas.


The Taste of Turkey space was a consortium of purveyors of sweets, cook book and all things Turkish.


Lilly’s Gourmet Maple Butter and Artisan Caramels from Choquette were two decedent yummies that we couldn’t pass by for holiday gift giving.



Don’t tell anyone but we made several sneaky passes by Alexian’s Pate table with their three varieties of goose, truffle and duck goodness…sooo good!

And the crowds loved the ingenious tool for perfectly cracking raw eggs.

Local restaurant owner and Chef Cathal Armstrong showed us his grandma’s recipe for the perfect turkey & stuffing.  Everyone learned something new from Chef, including the fact that a turkey can stay warm for almost four hours without drying out.





Only Guy Fieri, the star attraction of this day, could charm the audience into beating up a pork chop with humor and a hammer.  Guy’s show was almost stolen by his “emcee” - local ABC news anchor Leon Harris, as the two traded one-liners better than any open-mike night at a comedy club.

This was truly a fun show.  There were hundreds of samples available for tasting and sipping…in fact more than any sane person should attempt.  But that why this show is a foodie’s best dream.  Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining shows take place in several cities around the U.S. so watch the papers for a date near you – it’s worth it!

No comments:

Post a Comment