Chefs on the Mall

Are you a celebrity chef stalker (some of us have already admitted as much)? Do hearing the names Emeril Lagasse or Charlie Palmer get you more excited than spotting Christina Aguilera or Christian Bale on the street?

If you follow the D.C. restaurant scene, purchase cookbooks like they're crack or want to see people like Roberto Donna in action, you should check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival's Food Culture USA. Events begin today.

This is the first time the festival's taking on food as one of its themes, and it will feature book signings, three areas for cooking demonstrations and lectures and events dedicated to various food topics, such as immigrant cooking, slow food and farmers' markets.

Tons of big names are stopping by for signings and demonstrations, including national figures like Brad Ogden and Sheila Lukens, or local stars such as The Inn at Little Washington’s Patrick O'Connell, Zola's Frank Morales, Nongkran Daks of Thai Basil (who's among those quoted in the New York Times' preview of the festival), as well as the aforementioned Donna, Palmer and LaGasse.

D.C. restaurants are getting into the spirit once evening rolls around. Bangkok Joe’s will offer a rice tasting menu through July 4; Charlie Palmer's hosts a wine and farm dinner tonight, and Red Sage will host the Beard Foundation's Best Chef Southwest Janos Wilder tomorrow evening. Additional events are scheduled through July 4.

The festival's website has a schedule of events posted.

And if you're still looking for more foodie fun down at the mall, you can always visit Julia Child's Kitchen over at the Natural History Museum.