[caption id="attachment_16567" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Sen. Chris Coons with WiLDWiCH's Mike Stanley and Trinity Stanley.[/caption]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - More than 400 guests crowded into the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building earlier this month for a chance to sample the best hospitality, food and drinks from some of Delaware's top eateries at the fifth annual Taste of Delaware celebration.

Co-hosted by the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and Sen. Chris Coons, the tradition brings together Delawareans and D.C. guests to enjoy the finest of the first state's eats.

Taste of Delaware has humble beginnings to say the least. The first "unofficial" Taste of Delaware took place four years ago in a conference room just a week after Senator Coons took office.

The event is held annually as close to "Delaware Day" as possible. Since 1933, the governors of Delaware have proclaimed Dec. 7 as Delaware Day in honor of that day in 1787 when Delaware became the first state to ratify the Federal Constitution, thus making Delaware the first state in the new nation.

"Who would have thought, just five years ago sitting around a conference room table at our first Taste of Delaware, that it would have grown to a celebration of this magnitude," said Sen. Coons. "Looking around the room, and talking with the proud owners of these establishments, you can tell that these people love Delaware, love their customers, and really enjoy being part of the hospitality family in Delaware."