Washington D.C.

Another amazing opportunity I had this past fall was to volunteer at the Metro Cooking and Entertaining show in Washington D.C. during the weekend of November 2nd. The trip was my first time in D.C. so it was fun to explore a new city! I stayed with my cousins, Julia and Yair, who live in the Georgetown neighborhood which (I feel old saying this) was really cool and "hip" with all the college kids.  I was amazed by how large the Walter. E Washington Convention Center was when I arrived at the space where the MC show was finishing set up. Fully expecting to be the volunteer who got other volunteers water, I was very pleasantly surprised when Curry (one of the head programmers) handed me a walkie talkie and led me to the section of the show I would be coordinating. I was essentially in charge of the Tasting and Entertaining Workshop pavilion which featured 30 minute presentations and tastings from chefs, cookbook authors and industry experts.  For me this job included coordinating the talents' tastings with the kitchen and organizing their presentations. It was so much fun to meet all the presenters and introduce them to the crowd. I also had the opportunity to meet some celebrity chefs that headlined the Celebrity Theater such as Hugh Acheson, Brad Turner, Debi Mazar & Gabriele Corcos. Although I spent the majority of the weekend volunteering at the Metro Cooking show,  I went on a quick driving tour with my cousins of all the major monuments like the White House, Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. During the evenings we walked near their apartment and it was so fun to see the cute little stores, bars and restaurants that make up Georgetown! It was such an amazing weekend, and I can't wait to get back to D.C. and the Metro Cooking Show again soon!