Event offers cooking tips, meal ideas

By Holly Neumann

The Taste of Home Cooking School returns to Manawa on Thursday, Nov. 19. The second annual event is held in partnership with the Manawa Area Chamber of Commerce.

“At our live Taste of Home Cooking School, everyone from beginners to experienced home cooks will learn something,” said Laurel Osman, marketing program manager for Taste of Home Cooking School. “Whether that’s putting a fresh spin on old favorites or a new recipe for your seasonal menu, we’ll teach you weeknight meal ideas, kitchen tips, tricks and shortcuts.”

According to Osman, the live Taste of Home Cooking School has a history dating back to 1948.

“It all began in Madison, Wisconsin, with a business venture called the “Homemaker Schools,” she said. “One busy home economist loaded up her station wagon and drove across the Midwest, stopping in small towns to conduct cooking classes.”

In the 1990s, the Cooking School was acquired by Taste of Home and now, more than 60 years later, nine culinary specialists conduct hundreds of shows across the country for audiences up to 2,500 people.

The Cooking School’s mission remains the same.

“We share best loved recipes from one home cook to another,” Osman said.

According to Osman, The Taste of Home Cooking School is America’s No. 1 leading cooking school program, providing entertaining and relatable cooking instruction.

“Our culinary specialists bring energy, excitement and their love of cooking live,” she said.

At the Manawa event, Karen Davis is the featured culinary specialist.

Davis grew up on a farm in central Iowa, where some of her early memories of food often involved her grandmother’s cooking for holiday meals.

“Our family is Scandinavian, so meals included Swedish and Norwegian foods such as kringla and lefse,” she said.

During this year’s cooking school, participants will work on seasonal recipes to share, ranging from breakfast classics to desserts.

“It will be two hours of engaging your senses and inspiring you to try these dishes at home for your friends and family,” said Osman. “Taste of Home and the Cooking School are all about real recipes, from real home cooks, that are guaranteed to work.”

“Last year was a blast,” said Brenda Vander Zanden, promotions and events manager for the Manawa Chamber. “It is proof of what is possible in Manawa. We can successfully host a nationally renowned event like Taste of Home and it will be supported and well attended.”

Vander Zanden hopes this year’s cooking school has great attendance and support from area businesses.

“Tickets are still available at every level,” she said. “We’ll have a great night. Make sure you and your friends are there to experience what ‘Make it Manawa’ means.”

The event will take place at the Manawa Masonic Center, beginning with an expo at 3 p.m., followed by the cooking school at 6 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased locally at Eastling Insurance and Sturm Memorial Library, or online at www.brownpapertickets.com .

During the evening, participants will be able to visit with vendors, receive a gift bag of goodies from sponsors and some will walk away with surprise gifts.