The 5th annual Cast Iron Cook-Off weekend opened on Friday the 15th with the “Tastes from the Mountains,” a dine around West Virginia culinary tour.  The event was jointly hosted by the Collaborative for the 21st Century Appalachia, the West Virginia Department of Tourism, and West Virginia’s Department of Agriculture and the West Virginia ProStart Program.

At this culinary tourism extravaganza, the extensive range of West Virginia’s food products is fused into gourmet tastings and then showcased--each representing a particular region of the state.   The eight tourist regions will be featured in a tapas or “small bites” format providing guests the opportunity to wine and dine on the delectable tastings transformed by the next generation of West Virginia’s culinary stars under the direction of their program leaders. 

Along with these gourmet hors d’oeuvres, the crowd sipped fine wines and beer from West Virginia.  Who was be there?  At this event the crowd, mingled with restaurateurs, food lovers, local business leaders, key legislators and community leaders, it was a wonderful opportunity to make new business contacts and renew old ones.