Team Garcia cuts the mustard
<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Shannon Garcia and her husband Derek race toward an aisle in Super 1 Foods in Coeur d'Alene during the Super Market Dash fundraising event held Tuesday.</p>
<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Jam? Davis and her husband Ryan scan the spices for red pepper flakes as the race to complete their shopping list before two other teams.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - It was Team Garcia in the "Supermarket Dash" - by a bottle of mustard.
"It was intense," said Shannon Garcia, just moments after she and husband Derek celebrated their victory Tuesday at Super 1 Foods. "You think you know mustard until you're looking for stone ground mustard."
"We were thorough and made sure we had the right mustard," she added, laughing.
The Garcias finished their quest for some 15 ingredients in 7 minutes, 47 seconds - in time for chef Jon Ashton to whip up grilled shrimp with tomato salad before a group of about 20 people in the produce department.
The promotional event in advance of the Relish Magazine Cooking Show and Expo set for Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Greyhound Park and Event Center in Post Falls was fun, games - and some competition, too.
The first finisher of the desperate dash through the aisles of the grocery store was the team of Ryan and Jame Davis of Post Falls. Sure, they had the olive oil, garlic cloves, honey and beefsteak tomatoes, but Ashton frowned as he inspected the jar of mustard.
"Stone ground," he said, with a shake of his head. "It's not whole grain."
Just seconds behind, the KXLY team of Ben Kaplan and Colleen O'Brien rolled in with their cart. Sorry. Wrong mustard.
"This is stone ground too," someone shouted.
While both dashed off, the Garcias took advantage and charged in.
Derek, one of the area's top triathletes who is training for the Ironman championship in Kona in October, said the kosher salt proved the most elusive item on their shopping list.
"We had no idea where kosher salt was," he said. "It was on the bottom, way back."
He credited his wife with their winning strategy.
"I just followed her," he said, grinning.
"He pushed the cart, I had the list," Shannon added.
Ryan Davis, executive director with the Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County, and Jame Davis, vice president of membership and tourism for the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce, handled their defeat with grace.
"We were here first, I had the wrong mustard," Jame said, chuckling. "Chef Ashton is snobby. He wanted the whole grain. We grabbed stone ground."
Ryan Davis, a triathlete, was hoping to collect his first victory over Garcia - even if it was in a race of less than a quarter mile involving lemon juice, vinegar and cilantro.
"I was little more nervous with this being out of my comfort zone than jumping on the line at a triathlon swim," he said, laughing.
But it wasn't to be.
For their dramatic, come-from-behind triumph, the Garcias received a $100 Super 1 gift card that will go to the nonprofit of their choice.
Relish cooking show is Sept. 15
The Relish Magazine Cooking Show and Expo 2011 is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Greyhound Park and Event Center in Post Falls.
Ashton will conduct a lively, two-hour show featuring authentic recipes, useful cooking tips and new ideas for the kitchen.
Each show attendee will receive a gift bag that includes coupons, special discount offers and the Relish Magazine Cooking Show keepsake cookbook.
Relish magazine appears in The Press the first Wednesday of each month.
Tickets to the Sept. 15 show are $13 and can be purchased in advance online at www.nicookingshow.com, or at the door for $20. VIP tickets are $45 and include early entrance to the expo, front row seats for the cooking show and a private pre-show party with Chef Ashton.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County.
Information: Jennifer Alexander, 664-0237