If you enjoy wine, I can only imagine you enjoy great food, too. And if you are in Houston this weekend, the place to be for great food is the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show at Reliant Center.
Celebrity chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and Food Network star Paula Deen, with special guest Heloise (of “Hints From” fame), as well as Tara Wilson, the “Queen of Merrymaking,” will share tips and tricks in live demonstrations throughout the weekend.
The James Beard Foundation has partnered with the event, presenting a rotating roster of Texas- based talent set to entertain and enlighten attendees on an exclusive cooking stage. The current list of James Beard affiliated chefs includes Chefs Bryan Caswell and Robert Del Grande of Houston, Chef Jason Dady of San Antonio, and Chefs Ty Thoren, John Tesar, Larry Matson, Scott Gottlich, and Gina Gottlich from the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
More personalities are conducting a variety of workshops over the weekend, including entertaining and event decor expert Rebekah Johnson, cake decorating aficionados Cynthia Bayne and Sheila Brooks, enviro-centric Tru Meals owner Renee Herndon, and etiquette authority Virginia Johnson, all of Houston. Lecturers from around Texas and beyond round out the list of talent on hand to discuss such far-ranging topics as chocolate, knife skills, coffee beans, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and food and travel writing.
Amidst the live discussions and demonstrations with Paula Deen, Heloise, and the rest of the impressive list of participants, will be more than 100 exhibitor booths featuring samples and local and international specialty foods and food-related products for sale.
General Admission tickets are $22 in advance and $25 at the door. Children ages 4-12 are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Children ages 4 and younger are free.
General Admission tickets allow entrance to demonstrations, entertaining presentations, and vendor booths on the exhibit hall floor. Additional tickets are required for special events, such as a luncheon with Paula Deen and entry to special lectures by the headliners.
Not in Houston?
The show continues to Washington, DC on November 5-6.
This looks like a really fun event. Perfect for foodies. If I lived closer it would be so much fun to go.