Published: November 11, 2008 10:21 pm      

Cooking show draws packed house again

A second packed house greeted Taste of Home culinary specialist Cheryl Cohen Tuesday for the Homemade for the Holidays cooking show at the Tamarack Conference Center in Beckley.

“I think people like our recipes, and there’s a lot of enthusiasm about this Beckley show. The turnout has been great,” Cohen said.

Vendors such as Karen Campbell of Lia Sophia Jewelry/Beijo Bags of Fayetteville said the show provided an excellent opportunity to meet people and introduce them to businesses such as hers.

“It’s amazing how many people we talked to the first night, and today there has been a steady flow of people at our booth. I love introducing people to this line of jewelry and the designer bags. They’re unique and people really like them. It’s also a lot of fun to be here and experience this,” she said.

Shelby Warden and Marsha Smith, co-directors of Fishes and Loaves food bank, were on hand as ticket-holders filled large bins with food items and donations in conjunction with Taste of Home’s Cooks Who Care program.

“The response has been great,” Warden said. “We got 15 or 20 boxes Monday night, and we’ve had a steady flow of people bringing by food and donations.”

Fishes and Loaves serves 450 families a month, and all the food and money collected will be used to help those in need in the local community, she said.

Cheryl Bates of Taste of Home Entertaining said there had been a lot of interest at her booth.

“We specialize in party planning, but we have tips and ideas to plan any kind of party, large or small. Several people have signed up for parties, and they’re interested in entertaining and being more hospitable,” she said.

Shari Jones of Joey and George’s Catering filled a different role this year. The former vendor headed up a crew of behind-the-scenes workers who helped prepare the recipes that were demonstrated on stage.

“This is so much easier than catering. We’ve had a lot of fun doing this, and it has been so interesting to see how the different recipes are put together,” Jones said.

Other vendors were New York Life; Flowers by Nancy; Tamarack Conference Center; Beauti Control; Sam’s Club; Jockey Person to Person; The Pampered Chef; Artrageous Studio; Jewels by Park Lane; Home and Garden Party; Sears (Heroes at Home Program) and Cooks Who Care (Taste of Home).

Tracy Busick, a first-time attendee, said the show exceeded her expectations. “The presenter was really good. She really kept my attention, and the show was so well organized, the time just flew by. I could have sat through another hour.”

National sponsors for the show were Crisco, Crosse & Blackwell, Dickinsons, Dofino, Mrs. Dash and Taste of Home Entertaining.

Local sponsors were pleased with the shows’ success.

“As always, Taste of Home brought us a high-quality show, and we were able to provide a night and a day show to accommodate more people’s work schedules. We’ve been really pleased with the turnout and all the enthusiasm,” said Chuck Jessup, advertising director for The Register-Herald. “This was a great way to get us all in the mood for the holiday season.”

April Taylor, conference sales director for the Tamarack Conference Center, said the cooking shows bring lots of people into the center each year.

“It’s really nice for us to provide a place for the show, and it’s an excellent opportunity for us to let people see what the conference center has to offer. It’s a beautiful setting and people always seem to have a good time,” she said.

Other local sponsors were Sears, which provided a booth for its Heroes at Home program to benefit veterans and supplied the appliances for the stage. Wal-Mart of MacArthur provided food for the cooking demonstrations and Flowers By Nancy provided stage decorations.

If you missed the shows, you can find recipes and information at www.tasteofhome.com.

— E-mail:

bdavis@register-herald.com