The Embassy Chef Challenge, featuring chefs from embassies across the District, is set to return Oct. 13 — the first time it has been held since 2019.
The event will be held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum-National Portrait Gallery, in the Kogod Courtyard.
The 2020 and 2021 events were both canceled because of the pandemic. The event is usually held during the spring, but was postponed until this fall.
This year’s event, organized by Events DC, is sold out, with 800 attendees expected. Tickets were $75 to $90.
This is the 14th time the event has been produced. The 2019 winner of the first place “Golden Pineapple” in the Judge’s Choice category was Chef Javon Cummings, representing Barbados.
Chefs from foreign embassies across the District are signed up this year, including those from Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Norway, Pakistan and Uganda. A total of 37 nations will be represented.
This year’s Embassy Chef Challenge will be emceed by local food blogger Nycci Nellis, publisher of TheListAreYouOnIt.com. Several embassies are also providing music, art and dance.
Events DC has taken over full responsibility for the Embassy Chefs Challenge, along with other cultural events previously supported by Cultural Tourism DC, which is winding down as a stand-alone organization. CTDC was formed in 1999, and has been financially supported by Events DC since 2009.
CTDC staff are all transitioning to Events DC, which also operates the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and the Carnegie Library, and manages RFK Stadium-Armory Campus and the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Congress Heights. Events DC also built and is the landlord for Nationals Park.
