By Polly Campbell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cooking today involves so much more than getting dinner on the table that "cooking" no longer is an adequate description.

We now have what a new expo calls itself: "Culinary Lifestyles." The show comes to the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington Friday through next Sunday . Cooking by Design, produced by the OEI Group, will cover all aspects of how cooking fits into busy people's lives. That includes cooking, as well as the entertainment of watching other people cook, a la the Food Network.

Food Network chef Curtis Aiken

Attendees will be able to browse booths showcasing food products from small producers; take a look at new equipment, such as Viking stoves and watch non-stop cooking demonstrations.

Local and national chefs will be there to cook specialties and serve tastings. Curtis Aiken of the Food Network is the biggest name - he'll be there next Sunday. Aaron Labat of New Orleans will alternate demonstrations with local favorites, including Bertrand Bouquin from Maisonette and Vik Silberberg from the Celestial. Wine- and scotch-tasting events will cost extra.

Highlights from the demonstration stages:

•  Aiken, host of Calling all Cooks on the Food Network and author of healthy cookbooks, such as Curtis Cooks with Heart and Soul, will give vegetarian cooking demonstrations 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. next Sunday.

• Labat of Le Pavilion in New Orleans, will cook seafood Louisiana-style all three days.

SPECIAL TASTINGS

Saturday, taste wines in a bistro set up in a corner of the convention center: California wine, 1 p.m.; Spanish wine, 4 p.m., and wines from both New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest, 7 p.m. Cost: $15 each session (four wines per session). The Tavern Group will sponsor a scotch, bourbon and cigar tasting at the nearby Behle Street restaurant 7-11 p.m. Saturday. Cost: $35, including admission to the show. Tasting information: www.cookingbydesign.us.

IF YOU GO

What: Cooking By Design. When: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. next Sunday. Where: Northern Kentucky Convention Center, 1 W. Rivercenter Blvd., Covington Admission: $13, children $5 (good all three days), under 8 free. Discount coupons worth $3 available at Kroger. Information, tickets and full event schedule: www.cookingbydesign.us or 755-8950.

• Jimmy Gherardi of J's Fresh Seafood will emcee for the Gourmet Cooking stage.

He'll be joined by chefs such as Bouquin with his well-known sweet corn soup with vanilla cappuccino, and Julie Francis of Aioli doing pinenut crusted warm goat cheese with baby spinach, tart cherries and raspberry vinaigrette.

Silberberg will demonstrate making medium-rare yellow fin tuna, crispy herbed potato cake, thyme-scented port zinfindel reduction seared foie gras and crispy sweet bread. The chef will serve his dish to four convention-goers who win a drawing.

• Students from Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati Technical College will test their skills in a sanctioned competition with three international judges and a prize of $1,000. Each student will have an hour to prepare a full meal in front of the public.

Other competitions will include a culinary cook-off between the football coaches of Elder and Colerain high schools. Their teams meet on the field Friday; on Sunday they'll have a chance for a grudge match, with each given a basket of food - and a chef as their coach.

• A Product Stage will include a program on choosing the appropriate pan for the job and a workshop on knives. The Alaskan Fish Witches - Alaskan women involved in commercial fishing - will demonstrate healthy, easy ways to cook wild Alaskan salmon, halibut and crab.

• On the Baking Stage, find demonstrations of making breads, cookies and the ultimate pie crust. Noreen Nagao, pastry chef at the Palace, will demonstrate afternoon tea pastries. Michelle Brown, chef at Jag's Steak and Seafood, will demonstrate how to make crepe trio - lavender, chocolate, and vanilla crepes with gelato - on a bed of caramelized fruit.

In the show's booths will be 200 exhibitors showing, demonstrating and serving samples of their products - Screaming Mimi hot sauce and Colonel Newsome's Country Hams to Kenny's Gourmet Popcorn and Paul Sturkey's salad dressings.

Many items will be for sale.

The OEI Group, which also produces RV and boat shows, also will produce Cooking by Design in Cleveland, Indianapolis, Columbus and either Detroit or Pittsburgh.

E-mail pcampbell@enquirer.com