Celebrity range masters including Top Chef judge Gail Simmons, Charm City Cakes' Duff Goldman and Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto will top the line-up of stars appearing in the Cooking Theater at the 2013 International Home + Housewares Show at Chicago’s McCormick Place, host the International Housewares Association noted. The Cooking Theater is the focal point of the Dine + Design Expo’s Gourmet Food + Home District in McCormick’s South Building.

The district will house exhibitors of specialty and gourmet treats and the tools used to prepare them. The Specialty Food Association supports the Gourmet Food + Home District. KitchenAid, Wilton Brands, Robinson Home Products and Whole Foods Market jointly sponsor The Cooking Theater.

Chef demonstrations at the Cooking Theater begin at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 2 and continue through Tuesday, March 5. Other celebrity chefs showcasing their culinary skills there include Food Network star Paula Deen, Top Chef Masters champions Rick Bayless and Chris Cosentino, Top Chef Fabio Viviani and Univision’s Ingrid Hoffman. Also appearing are 2011 FOOD & WINE Best New Chef Stephanie Izard, well-known chefs Cat Cora, Todd English, Gale Gand, Ming Tsai and local favorites The Hearty Boys and Anupy Singla.

And that’s not all. Also appearing are chefs Devin Alexander, Michael Feker, Markus Ford, Ryan Hutmacher, Alan Jackson, Theo Kalogeracos, John McLemore, Caitlin Steininger, Rick Tarantino, Mich Turner, Bernard Guillas,  Johanna Cook and Tony Scruggs, not to mention Chef Tom.

Many of the culinary stars will conduct book signings after their demonstrations. The most up-to-date list of participating chefs along with appearance schedules is a click away at http://www.housewares.org/HousewaresConnect365. Visitors need only select Cooking Theater in the Search box to connect with the listing.

The 2013 International Home + Housewares Show will feature more than 2,100 exhibitors and accommodate more than 60,000 attendees. This year the show opens at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 2 and closes at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5.