Spice up your life at Relish/T-G cooking school

Sunday, August 30, 2009
T-G Staff Report

Celebrity chef Jon Ashton flames a dish with rum during a cooking show and expo at Hopkinsville, Ky., Thursday.
(Kentucky New Era photo by Danny Vowell)
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Celebrity chef Jon Ashton brings his audiences to life every time he begins his cooking demonstrations with two parts entertaining banter for every recipe ingredient.

And Ashton's show is coming to Shelbyville Oct. 20 when Relish magazine and the Times-Gazette team up to bring the renowned British chef's dynamic blend of cooking techniques and showmanship to Calsonic Arena.

"Jon Ashton is phenomenal," said T-G advertising director Sissy Smith, who saw Ashton's performance before more than 800 people Thursday evening in Hopkinsville, Ky. "He brings energy to the room as soon as he steps on stage.

"He gets the audience motivated and has tremendous crowd participation," she said. "Plus he's not bad to look at either!"

The October cooking school and expo is one of five scheduled this year by Relish, which appears monthly in the Times-Gazette. The other locations are Tampa, San Antonio and Kansas City.

"Jon Ashton shows how to make cooking fun and eating fun by spicing up the whole experience," said T-G Publisher Hugh Jones, who also saw the Hopkinsville performance. "No one left disappointed."

A native of Liverpool, England, Ashton has become a media star. He has appeared regularly on NBC's Today Show and the Food Network and can be seen on shows on all the major television networks. He is the inhouse chef for Relish.

The Oct. 20 cooking show in Shelbyville will be 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The Expo will include booths by local vendors open 5 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

Purchasers of a limited number of VIP/Backstage passes will get premium seating and a special "backstage" event before the show from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m.

General admission is $10 and VIP/Backstage premium seating is $25. Call (931) 684-1200 for tickets.