Washington Cooking and Entertainment Show

Do not eat before attending this event… soo many samples!
I’ve been going to this event the past 4 years and its always a lot of fun! I love checking out the different vendors and supporting the small businesses. They even had Daisy Cakes there this year from Shark Tank!
Check out the grand tasting tent — worth the upgrade! Be sure to check the times of the presentations before you get too into the samples — there are a great variety!

A special thanks to, Groupon, without whom I never would have known about this event (not to mention purchased a heavily discounted admission and show ticket!)
Even without Groupon, a general admission ticket would cost you only around $ 20-​$ 25 with which you would have access to 300+ vendors (so really, in the future, don’t bother eating before you come here because there are samples GALORE!) From a very, very far distance even listen in or sneak a peek at one of the celebrity chef shows.
Speaking of which, the celebrity chefs this year included: Rachael Ray, Bobby Flay, and Paula Deen. I was told last year, they had Giada De Laurentis. Not gonna lie, I was pretty stoked to see Rachael Ray live because of the type of energy she portrays in her shows. Maybe it was a case of «Lazy Sunday» or perhaps she was drained from all her demonstrations but the peppy Rachael I was looking forward to wasn’t entirely there. Still as sweet as ever though!
As you can imagine, there was plenty of food here — to sample and purchase, with 95% of the vendors being local. Lots of condiment vendors here (BBQ, Mustard, Hot Sauces, etc.) There were tons of opportunities to enter into give aways and even a section dedicated to kids. Oh yeah and a «Beers, Wines, and Spirits» sectioned off in the back.
Though the food was plenty, I was hoping for vendors who would be selling fun and unique cooking gadgets. Not so much. There were also only two cupcake stands, little let down there. I think they could have done without the standing ass vibrating and sunglasses stands — didn’t really get the relevance behind why they were there.
This was fun and I did end up walking out with a delicious hunk of… cheese :) I am a *maybe* for returning in the future but think they can definitely step it up a notch with some really unique and diverse foods and gadgets.

Anyone with even a passing interest in food would likely enjoy this event. The Washington Cooking and Entertainment Show combines over 200 vendors of specialty foods, condiments, and food-​related items, a wine, beer and food tasting, and celebrity food chefs under one rooftop. Just be prepared to give your wallet a workout. I spent over thirty dollars on flavored mustards alone at this event.
While I loved the amount of vendors, there was a space to spare in the convention center. As such, it was quite inexcusable to bunch all of the vendors together as it made movement beyond difficult at times.
Favorite items? A black truffle mustard, jalapeño popcorn, and an incredible BBQ sauce from an Alexandria manufacturer that will be opening a BBQ restaurant in Del Ray soon. Oh yeah, and then there was an alarming fitness machine that basically looked like individuals riding it were trying out for hardcore porn.
I’m definitely placing this item on my calendar for next year. I’d strongly suggest it for any person in DC who loves food.