Posted August 17, 2012 by Hilary Kennedy in Celebrity
 
 

Dallas Food Lovers Rejoice: Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show Coming to Town

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his past Wednesday, I got to chat with the boisterous, down-home chef Paula Deen on the phone.  Okay, the call may have been on speaker phone, and there may have been dozens of other people in the room listening to the conversation as well, but, hey,  it still counts!  The Mansion on Turtle Creek hosted a fabulous kick-off party for the event that foodies have been hoping would hit Dallas: the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show.

This amazing event will bring Southern sweetheart Paula Deen to town on September 22-23, 2012.  Oh, and did I mention it isn’t just Dame Deen? Bobby Flay will also be at the helm.  For the first show in this city, The Dallas Convention Center will set the stage for presentations and special meet-and-greet opportunities with the aforementioned experts on cooking and entertaining while an impressive group of Dallas-based James Beard affiliated chefs are scheduled for hourly cooking demonstrations over the weekend.

Headlined by Food Network stars Paula Deen and Bobby Flay, MetroCooking Dallas has partnered with The James Beard Foundation to present a rotating roster of Texas-based talent set to entertain on an exclusive cooking stage.  The impressive list of James Beard affiliated chefs include Stephan Pyles, Tre Wilcox, Richard Chamberlain, Adam West, Bruno Davaillon and Abraham Salum.  (Wowza.)

A sample of the goods!

More personalities are conducting a variety of workshops over the weekend, including “Knife Skills” by Paul Hellman and Gunter Wilhelm, “Kitchen Feng Shui” by The Jelly Queens, “Cheese 101” by Rich Rogers of Scardello Cheese and “Easy Chocolate for Home Entertaining” by Sue Williams of Dr. Sue’s Chocolates.   If the celeb chef excitement isn’t enough, a labyrinth of vendor booths featuring samples and wares from more than 150 exhibitors can keep you busy.  Local and international specialty foods and food-related products will be for sale throughout the weekend.  If the amazing locally-based goodies in our swag bag from the kick-off event are any indication of what will be available, you can take my word it’s going to be ahhhhmazing. (Canyon Foods gave me Dean Fearing’s Sun-Kissed Apricot Sauce, which was so sinfully delicious.  Another local, Grapevine Olive Oil Company sent me home with olive oil samples that I had to fight family members to keep. It’s that good.)
General Admission tickets are $24.50, children ages 4-12 are $12.50 and 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 VIP meet-and-greet with Paula Deen or Bobby Flay and entry to special lectures by the headliners (ticket prices range from $65 – $400).  For a full listing of events and tickets, visit www.metrocookingdallas.com.

Hilary Kennedy

 
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Hilary Kennedy is a contributing author for YouPlusStyle, focusing primarily on Style, Arts and Entertainment, and Dating and Relationships. Hilary also stars in many videos for YouPlusMedia.