Celebrity chef to declare winner of shopping contest

COEUR d'ALENE - On your mark, get set, shop.

And don't let those carts veer.

Four local celebrities will race through Super 1 Foods in Post Falls on Tuesday trying to fill their carts the fastest with all the proper ingredients a world renown television chef would be proud of.

The event is the official kickoff for the inaugural Relish Cooking Show and Expo Dec. 2 that will feature mega-cook Jon Ashton at the Greyhound Park and Event Center.

But before the author and 'Today Show' regular Ashton puts on his special holiday expo for 1,000 people at the Greyhound Park and Event Center, he'll be at the Super 1 Foods to declare the local winner of the supermarket race.

Besides promoting the expo, the Celebrity Super Market Dash will surely offer chuckles for spectators, as it's sure to bring out the competitive juices in the four participants: Post Falls City Councilwoman and Main Street columnist Kerri Thoreson, St. Vincent de Paul Director Jeff Conroy, Kootenai County Sheriff Maj. Ben Wolfinger and North Idaho College Athletic Director Al Williams.

Let the smack talk begin:

"The boys are playing the game on my home turf," Thoreson quipped. "Not only will we be racing up and down the isles in Post Falls but I shop regularly at Super 1!"

It's a race, but finding the ingredients will take some time. It isn't just going to the frozen food section; these are culinary masterpieces after all.

Each contestant will have to fill their cart to make one of four dishes: pear frangiapan, posole, leak fried rice and a delectable salad recipe.

An added wrinkle: The carts will have faulty steering, susceptible to veering. Not because they're altered for the event, but because shopping carts always do.

The winner will donate a $100 gift card provided by Super 1 to the charity of his or her choice.

Afterward, Ashton will prepare a cold dish demo of guacamole with toasted cumin and vegetable crudites starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Great Floors Coeur d'Alene showroom, 3800 N. Government Way. He'll be preparing a hot platter of meatballs with sofrito sauce beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the Spokane Valley Granite Transformations.

The event begins at 10 a.m. Spectators can meet and greet Ashton following the race.