Relish offers food, fun

COEUR d'ALENE - Jon Ashton might be the star, but you can be a satellite.

And eat, drink and be merry at the same time.

Thursday at Greyhound Park and Event Center in Post Falls, celebrity chef Jon Ashton will host the The Relish Cooking Show from 7 to 9 p.m. There's room for 1,200 guests to watch the filming of the show, and to do much, much more.

"It's a comedy show with cooking and spice thrown in," said Jennifer Alexander, Relish coordinator for The Press. "And prizes - thousands of dollars in prizes will be given away during the show."

Ashton is a phenomenal talent, Alexander said, who engages and interacts with the audience.

"He's hilarious and the whole evening is just a lot of fun," she said.

In addition to the show, the event center will be filled with about 50 booths offering an array of goodies, from hot salsa to great wine, food samples to meals for purchase, and many other items on sale.

Every visitor will receive a free shopping bag and recipe book to get started, Alexander said. Super 1 Foods is giving away pepperoni sticks and box openers, and other freebies will be available along the way.

According to Alexander, 150 VIP passes are on sale for $45 each. A VIP pass admits a person to a party from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., with Ashton conducting a private cooking session with free food, wine and beer. The wine comes compliments of Coeur d'Alene Cellars; the beer from Centennial Distributing, Inc. VIPs also get the best seats in the house for the show.

General admission tickets are available in advance for $13 at all Super 1 locations, all Great Floors locations and at Rosa's Italian Market & Deli, 120 E. Fourth St. in Post Falls. Tickets at the door will be $20.

The show's presenting sponsor is Great Floors. Other sponsors are Rosa's Italian Market & Deli, Super 1 Foods, Les Schwab Tires and the Coeur d'Alene Press.

Some proceeds from the show will benefit Boys & Girls Club of Kootenai County.