It didn’t take long for the sweet smell of pumpkin pie and chocolate chunk pecan pie to permeate through the Tom Drake Coliseum, which served as the host site for Saturday’s Taste of Home Cooking School.

The Cullman Times hosted the event as a crowd estimated at over 800 gathered on the Wallace State Community College campus to visit vendor booths, receive a free bag of goodies and an apron compliments of The Times. They also registered for an estimated $4,000 in door prizes, including a $500 Lowe’s gift certificate grand prize compliments of The Times.

Also among the give-aways were the 12 dishes prepared by Taste of Home Cooking School culinary specialist Michelle Roberts, whose only request was that the winner stand and shout “I love food.”

The theme for Saturday’s show was “Fall Flavors.” Roberts, who conducted the multi-media presentation with a wireless microphone so her hands would be free to work as she explained each step of the preparation and cooking process, encouraged the audience to follow along with the recipes taken straight out of the Taste of Home Cookbook.

Marie Noland of Jasper particularly enjoyed that aspect of the school.

“I’m loving it,” Noland said. “I do a lot of cooking and I subscribe to the Taste of Home magazine. I’m having a wonderful time.”

Beth Huffstuttler of Cleveland said Roberts is very good at what she does.

“I’m enjoying just watching her prepare the food,” Huffstuttler said. “I’m enjoying the whole expense. The recipes are wonderful. I’ve been subscribing to the magazine for years so I wouldn’t have missed this for anything.”

Roberts, who lives near Birmingham, travels about 40,000 miles each year to 40 different shows in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and the Carolinas. A graduate of the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Miss., she received a bachelor of science degree in culinary arts. She’s had previous experience in the restaurant industry and as a food intern with a popular national magazine.

Roberts said the cooking school is more than 50 years old. These types of schools began years ago, she said, when appliance stores would provide demonstrations using the appliances they were trying to sell.

“It evolved from there,” she said.

While the majority of the audience members at her shows are women, Roberts said all types of people come, with more men showing up with the increased popularity of celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse.

Representing the male gender at Saturday’s show, Wayne Sandlin’s quick response when asked his reason for attending the cooking school was, “My wife brought me.”

“No really, my wife Kathy and I enjoy cooking together and we decided to come to the show today to give some new recipe ideas,” Sandlin said. “These are very good recipes and the instructor is providing us with a lot of good, common sense tips. She is doing an excellent job.”

The crowd is also multi-generational, Roberts said, with many people bringing their children and grandchildren to share in the experience.

Everyone who attended the show received a free promotional gift bag and a copy of the Taste of Home Cooking School Brand Name Cookbook, which includes the featured recipes.

The Times’ sponsored cooking school is one of only three Taste of Home events in Alabama this fall, with others scheduled in Florence and Ozark.

Kathy McLeroy, The Times advertising director, said Saturday’s show was a tremendous success.

“We’ve estimated the crowd at well over 800. People were lined up waiting to get in before the doors opened at 8 a.m.,” McLeroy said. “I also want to extend a special thanks to the many local merchants and businesses who contributed to the show and hosted vendor booths around the auditorium. We appreciate their support and the support of Wallace State so much.”