Showcase Your Culinary Skills

• What You Need To Know

  The Taste Cooks!, hosted by Seattle-based creator and host of James Beard Award nominated podcast “Your Last Meal,” Rachel Belle brings fun & excitement to a live stage featuring a selection of the area's best chefs and food enthusiasts over all three days of The Taste Northwest.

  Rachel will ensure that, whether you’re seasoned in front of a live audience, or a little nervous, you are bound to have a memorable experience. The host will engage with each chef during the cook-off sessions, ask questions, take audience questions, and guide you from start to finish. Bon appetite!

• Who Can Apply & What You Get

  We are looking for chefs from all walks of life. Whether you’re a professional caterer, corporate chef, sous chef or registered in a culinary arts program, The Taste Cooks! is the stage for you. 

  Chefs will receive $150 for their participation in each 1-hour session, plus $25 in food tickets and one complimentary parking pass. Chefs may participate in multiple sessions/days if available! The final schedule will be determined by The Taste Northwest.

• Mystery Ingredients Cook-Off

  Are you ready for some fast cooking action? Chefs will go head-to-head in a mystery ingredient cook-off! Chefs will be given 3 mystery ingredients, a small pantry of basic cooking staples and 20 minutes to make their dish. 

  The host will count down and emcee the cook-off, engaging chefs and the audience during this fast-paced and exciting event. Each chef will present their final entree to a judging panel selected from the audience, who, after tasting the dish, will determine the winner. 

  All competitions will be done on a fully-equipped stage including pots, pans, stove top, blenders and other appliances. Chefs are welcome to bring their own knives and any specialty pans but no special ingredients.

• Dates & Schedule

  The Taste Cooks! runs each day of the event:

  • Friday June 28
  • Saturday June 29
  • Sunday June 30

  Timeslots are 1-hour in duration and begin at 12:30pm with the last time slot at 6:30pm.