America’s Test Kitchen spotlights Washington and Maine in 250th anniversary recipes

America’s Test Kitchen will mark the country’s 250th birthday with a nationwide potluck menu that puts Washington and Maine in the same holiday spread. Its America’s Potluck project will feature a recipe from every state and territory for Sunday, July 5, 2026, turning July 4 weekend cooking into a map of regional identity.

The collection is built around Seattle Chicken Teriyaki for Washington and Maine New England Lobster Rolls for Maine, two dishes that point in different directions but serve the same purpose: giving a national holiday a local accent. ATK says it chose the recipes through in-house expertise, extensive research, and outreach to local sources, aiming for a mix of state classics, iconic city staples, and one-of-a-kind dishes. In New England, the company said seafood tradition helped shape the selection, with Maine’s lobster roll among the region’s featured recipes.

The larger pitch is less about a single menu than about how Americans personalize the Fourth of July. America250 partner materials describe America’s Potluck as a communal meal intended to build connection and belonging, and ATK’s lineup fits that idea by moving beyond the standard barbecue formula. A potluck built state by state makes room for regional specialties that are often tied to seasonality, local pride, and the dishes people actually bring to family tables, cookouts, and neighborhood gatherings.

Dan Souza and Vallery Lomas are among the faces of the project. Souza is America’s Test Kitchen’s chief content officer, host of What’s Eating Dan?, a cast member of America’s Test Kitchen, and a former editor in chief of Cook’s Illustrated. Lomas is an editor in residence at America’s Test Kitchen, the winner of The Great American Baking Show, and the author of Life Is What You Bake It, published in 2021. Lomas is a Louisiana native who splits time between Louisiana and New York City, a biography that fits a project built on regional range rather than one national taste.