Crowd turns out for cooking show, tasty treats

By Matt Neznanski

Gazette-Times reporter

Jazz Wardrip couldn't have been happier with her assignment Thursday afternoon: It was her duty to pass out six kinds of cookies to people attending the annual Taste of Home show.

"I was really excited when I heard I was catering this event," said Wardrip, an employee of Ray's Food Place. "Before everything started, I got to go around and check out all the stuff. And meet all the people, of course."

Hundreds filled Oregon State University's LaSells Stewart Center for the event, part home show, part cooking demonstrations and all about the food.

OSU catering served a long, winding line of people waiting for a taste. Local shops and grocers also passed out goodies.

Theone Goldman and Yvonne Kropf of Albany were sampling a salad made with red cabbage, fennel, balsamic vinegar and a bit of chicken.

"It's just a fun thing to do; it's a ladies' night out," Goldman said. She and Kropf are return visitors to the show. This was their third year, but they have subscribed to Taste of Home magazine for years.

Taste of Home magazine is the largest food magazine in the world, and collects recipes from readers to highlight in each issue.

Kay Yechout and Darlene Hart of Philomath also make the show an annual event. This year, they brought Deanna Steele, their neighbor. All were hoping their string of good luck with door prizes would hold out.

And Bonnie Gregg of Corvallis said she was impressed with the range of local sponsors on hand.

"It's awesome," she said. "I've made plans to come back next year."

The event was presented by Ray's Food Place and the Corvallis Gazette-Times, the Albany Democrat-Herald and the Lebanon Express.

Matt Neznanski can be reached at 758-9518 or matt.neznanski@lee.net.