Articles
May 28, 2026
Taste of America: Regional chefs to celebrate country’s 250th
Food festival, in partnership with National Archives Foundation, will showcase the history of U.S. restaurants.
The Taste of America is honoring the country’s 250th birthday and the recipes and culinary traditions that celebrate the restaurant industry’s impact on the nation.
The National Restaurant Association, in partnership with the National Archives Foundation, will present the Taste of America, an event honoring the country’s 250th birthday and the recipes and culinary traditions that celebrate the restaurant industry’s impact on the nation, June 5, in Washington, D.C. It will consist of a curated tasting experience led by celebrity and award-winning chefs from around the country. Local entrepreneur LP O’Brien will serve as emcee.
The various foods presented will represent dishes made in America over the last 250 years and celebrate the people who have created them, said Michelle Korsmo, President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association.
“Our nation's cuisine is a melting pot of more than 250 years of shared history, shaped by traditions and flavors that span geography, cultures, and generations," Korsmo said. “At Taste of America, four restaurant chefs will represent their respective regions through their menus, underscoring the power of restaurants as cornerstones that reflect the history and identities of the communities they serve.”
The four chefs will represent restaurants in the Northeast, Northwest, South, and Southwest regions of the country. They include:
The various foods presented will represent dishes made in America over the last 250 years and celebrate the people who have created them, said Michelle Korsmo, President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association.
“Our nation's cuisine is a melting pot of more than 250 years of shared history, shaped by traditions and flavors that span geography, cultures, and generations," Korsmo said. “At Taste of America, four restaurant chefs will represent their respective regions through their menus, underscoring the power of restaurants as cornerstones that reflect the history and identities of the communities they serve.”
The four chefs will represent restaurants in the Northeast, Northwest, South, and Southwest regions of the country. They include:
- Northeast: Chef Erin Miller of Urban Hearth in Cambridge, Mass., will showcase the products and ingredients of New England’s local farms and fisheries
- Northwest: Chef Billie Jo Edmonds of Mo’s Seafood and Chowder in Astoria, Ore., who will serve up helpings of the restaurant’s iconic clam chowder and welcoming hospitality
- South: Chef Ricky Moore of Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham, N.C., a James Beard award-winning restaurateur, who will present an inspired sampling of the foods found in classic American fish camps and waterside seafood shacks; and
- Southwest: Chef Christopher Hutchinson of La Posta De Mesilla and Hacienda de Mesilla Grille, Inn & Cantina in Las Cruces, N.M., which is famed for its Mexican food, steaks and margaritas since 1939
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