TAMARACK — Whether they came out to shop for hand-blown pumpkin-shaped holiday platters, beautiful pieces of Lia Sophia jewelry, West Virginia University or Marshall-themed ceramics, or to observe demonstrations by a chef from the national magazine Taste of Home, more than 700 people purchased tickets to the Taste of Home Cooking Show this year.

The annual event themed “Homemade For The Holidays” commenced last night at the Tamarack Conference Center in Beckley.

Wyoming Magistrate-elect Kim Farmer attended the event for her second year in a row and said, “I really like to cook and it’s just an excellent show.”

“You learn some great ideas. She shows you new things — quick and easy recipes,” Farmer said.

In the conference center, the paramount attraction was the cooking demonstration, where hundreds of people gathered to discover useful tips on holiday cooking and to watch recipes from the popular cookbook come to life.

Cooking demonstrator Cheryl Cohen, a native of Ohio, led the event.

According to Cohen, Taste of Home magazine is now proclaimed the No. 1 selling cooking magazine in the world.

An employee of the Wisconsin-based magazine, Cohen spends her days traveling around the country doing an average of 40 cooking shows per year.

At last night’s event, Cohen demonstrated how quickly recipes such as Chocolate Caramel Tart, Crab Cakes with Remeloude Sauce and Christmas Tortollini Soup can be created from scratch.

Audience members received door prizes at the event including gift cards provided by MacArthur Wal-Mart, The Register-Herald, Edible Arrangements, Heavenly Ham and Artrageous among others.

Beth Green of Roderfield won a Heavenly Ham, Register-Herald comic-themed cooking apron and $30 gift card from MacArthur Wal-Mart.

Pleased with the event, Green said, “It was very good. You learn lots of small tips and tricks for cooking.”

A dozen unique vendors were present, displaying items for sale and providing information on their businesses during the event.

New business owner Diana McGraw of Artrageous in Beckley said she decided to get a booth at the “neat” event to increase public awareness of her store.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to interface for the community,” McGraw said.

When Laurie Anuszkiewicz of Glen Morgan was asked where her favorite vendor was, she brought up McGraw’s Artrageous shop.

“It’s new to the area and will be a great place for people to take their kids and family,” Anuszkiewicz said.

Anuszkiewicz enjoys the Taste of Home show because “most of the recipes are easy to follow. It’s most of the things you have in your home already. It’s not a bunch of different ingredients,” she said.

The two-day annual event is sponsored by The Register-Herald, Wal-Mart in MacArthur, Sears and Tamarack Conference Center.

For recipes, or to subscribe to the magazine, visit www.tasteofhome.com.

— E-mail:

jayres@register-herald.com