Taste of Home Cooking School returns to Park Rapids Saturday, Sept. 20 with the home expo doors opening at 10 a.m. (no admission charge) and the cooking demonstration starting at 2 p.m. in the Century School cafetorium.
Sixty area businesses will be represented at the home expo.
Culinary specialist Mary Janice Reisdorf will be sharing "delicious and approachable" recipes.
The demo will include an almond cream cheese bundt, sesame pork, freezer cole slaw, Italian herb and cheese crusted chicken rolls and chocolate Chex caramel crunch.
After an intermission, she'll be creating fragrant Indian butter chicken; pumpkin tiramisu; an apple, dried cherry and walnut compote and lava chocolate cakes.
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Everything made during the demo will be part of the door prize drawings.
Reisdorf conducts cooking schools throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Her love of traveling to experience the flavors of different cities, combined with her enthusiasm for cooking, allows her to share her culinary passion.
Her ardor for cooking and food began as a youngster. "As a little girl, one of my favorite activities was to help my mother cook for our family," Reisdorf recalled. "As I got older, I would flip through her cookbooks and find recipes that I wanted to try. She would then take me to the grocery store and help me get all the ingredients."
Her first attempt at banana bread left a lasting impression. "I was so proud of my accomplishment that I literally made banana bread almost every day that summer.
"My sweet mother never complained," she said. "Instead, she dubbed me 'the cook' and continued buying bananas."
The passion continued from there. After graduating from college, Reisdorf went to study at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in London, England. From there, she went on to earn a degree in culinary arts from Kendall College in Chicago.
Reisdorf's previous experience includes work in catering as well as teaching at cooking schools in Dallas and Chicago.
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"We're going to have a lot of fun at this event," Reisdorf promises. "Trust me; you don't want to miss it."
Seating for the cooking school begins at 1 p.m.
Aprons are optional; appetites a must.
Tickets for the cooking demo are available at the Park Rapids Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce for $12 or are available at the door, unless sold out.
