Hundreds attend Taste of Home Cooking Show
Bill Stevenson/Columbia Basin Herald<br> Kristi Larson prepares to share the recipe for Mexican lasagna during the Taste of Home Cooking Show at the Grant County Fairgrounds Tuesday night.
MOSES LAKE — Hundreds of people gathered at the Grant County Fairgrounds Tuesday for the Reader’s Digest Taste of Home Cooking Show.
The event sold out quickly.
“I love to cook. Love, love, to cook,” said Naomi Grebe of East Wenatchee, Wash.
She heard about the event from her aunt Gwen Munck of Moses Lake, who was also at the cooking show. Grebe said they cook every night and were anticipating learning from the cooking demonstrations.
The demonstration featured former Othello resident and culinary artist Kristi Larson, who prepared various recipes on stage before the audience.
At the event, guests were given free goodie bags containing cooking-theme items.
“It looks like a lot of good stuff,” Munck said about the bags.
She said she decided to come to the show and bring her niece because she was impressed with a past cooking show.
“It was interesting,” she said.
Prior to the cooking show, several businesses hosted booths in another building for guests to peruse.
Artgarden owner Laura Mayer, of Ephrata, had a booth featuring several handmade ceramic pottery products she created herself.
The colorful items featured dining pieces and decorative stemmed flowers. All the items are made from clay, handcrafted and then hand-painted.
“I start with a lump of clay,” she said.
Mayer said she chose to come to the event because the cooking show theme event was right up her alley since she offers various home decor items.
Also attracted to the event was Jeriann Leblanc, of Prosser, who is a representative with Silpada, a sterling silver jewelry company.
She said she was learning that Eastern Washington is an untapped market for her business and thought the event would help her meet new clients.
“People are really interested,” Leblanc said.
Hawaiian Style Salon owner Bridgette Gustin, of Ephrata, came to the event offering free beauty demonstrations including hairdos and waxing.
“I absolutely love doing hair,” she said. “I completely believe in making women and men feel good about themselves.”
Gustin said she works to make sure her customers feel like they’ve had a full spa experience.
Other types of businesses that hosted booths at the event included cooking suppliers, makeup consultants, massage and chiropractic services, restaurants and horticulture experts.