Here's the press release for the Tr-Valley Sportsman's Expo

Here's the press release for the Tr-Valley Sportsman's Expo this month in Pleasanton, California. I'll be there along with several IDOS officers.

PLEASANTON GOES DUTCH
Calling All Chefs for the First Dutch Oven Cooking Competition
(Pleasanton, CA, February 7, 2005) --- Calling all creative Bay Area foodies, culinary experts and wannabe chefs! The International Dutch Oven Society (IDOS) will host a cook-off at the Tri Valley Sportsmen’s Exposition, taking place February 25 – 27 at the Pleasanton Alameda County Fairgrounds. The winner of the competition will move on to become eligible to enter the World Championship 2006 Dutch Oven Cook-off.

Getting things simmering on Friday of the show, local chefs and masters from the IDOS will demonstrate the wonders of cast iron cooking. For curious foodies, the chefs will provide question and answer forums that provide delicious ways to cook a vast variety of treasures from the sea, land grazers and veggie friendly bites.

Heating up on Saturday, foodies will be put to the test, as a three-pot cook-off determines the masters from the beginners. Each team will be judged on three dishes: a bread dish, main dish and dessert dish. Applicants must bring three Dutch Ovens to the competition and can start cooking as early as 9am, before the show opens. Rules and regulations on the cook-off will be online shortly, by visiting www.sportsexpos.com and clicking on the Pleasanton link.

The IDOS hosts more than 77 cooking competitions each year, across the country. One of the most popular Dutch Oven activities, a Dutch Oven Gathering (DOG), brings cooking enthusiasts together for a potluck meal of creative delights. Through DOG events, the IDOS continues to emphasize the importance of bringing friends and family to the table – or cast iron stove. From basic Dutch Oven baked beans to lip licking stuffed lobster tail, the Dutch Oven cooking method can be used by James Beard award winning chefs, campers, and cooks of all skill levels, looking to bring new tastes to the camping or dining table.

The history of Dutch Oven cooking has simmered in cookbooks for hundreds of years. Some reports claim that Dutch ovens were given their name by the heavy, cast iron pots that Dutch peddlers used to sell, from their wagons. In the U.S., the Pioneers were among the first to use these pots, for their sturdiness and ability to feed large and extended families during early explorations. The IDOS was founded in 1990, and continues to support the tradition of Dutch Oven cooking, while fostering the traditions and friendships that help season the sauce.

With hundreds of participating exhibitors, delicious demonstrations, interactive additions and more, the Tri Valley Sportsmen’s Exposition offers a once-a-year and unique access to nearby weekend adventures, cookbooks of new recipe treats, trip-of-a-lifetime dream vacations, hot-priced outdoor gear, and the best teachers available--pros, guides, television celebrities, and authors of the definitive how- and where-to guides!


Bakin' Bill Johnson, right with red apron, of Layton, Utah explains how to use a Camp Chef Ultimate Turkey Roaster at the 2004 Tri-Valley Sportman's Expo in Pleasanton, California. Bill is returning for the 2005 show.