2 food events showcase soup and Dutch oven cooking

Two Utah food traditions take place in the next two weeks.

The International Dutch Oven Society World Championship Cook-Off takes place March 18-20 at the South Towne Expo Center, 9575 S. State, Sandy. It's part of the International Sportsmen's Expo.

Semifinalist teams will compete on Thursday and Friday for a berth in the finals Saturday. The teams will be cooking most of the afternoon on March 18 and 19, with judging at 5 p.m.

On March 20, cooks will start their ovens at 10 a.m., but the most visually stunning part is seeing all the entrees, breads and desserts on display for judging at 3 p.m. Pretty amazing to think that all these fabulous dishes were cooking in cast iron pots, with hot coals as the only heat source.

On March 21, locals chefs are testing their Dutch oven mettle (or metal, if you will) in a special Cast Iron Chef Challenge. Chefs will begin cooking at 9 a.m., and winners will be announced around 4 p.m.

There are usually Dutch oven demonstrations and information booths on the perimeter of the contest, and people can buy the cookbook of the cook-off recipes.

Tickets to get into the expo are $12 for adults. Youths ages 15 and under are free.

The second event is the 22nd annual Community Nursing Services' Art & Soup fundraiser March 24-25 at the Sheraton Salt Lake City Hotel, 150 W. 500 South.

Local restaurants provide soup, and local artists provide artwork to enjoy. Guests come and sip on sample-size portions of soup while they stroll around the room and admire the paintings, sculpture, drawings and so on. Most of the artwork is available for purchase.

People can vote for their favorite artists and soups. It's also an opportunity to meet the chefs of your favorite restaurants, as they are usually at the booths ladling out the soup.

Lunch takes place both days 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and dinner at 5-9 p.m. The price is $12 per person, for either lunch or dinner.