Mount Ayr woman makes national cooking show

A 92-year-old Mount Ayr woman will soon make national television.

Guelda Barker will shop for ingredients today and prepare a meal at her home Sunday with Mo Rocca, humorist host for the show “My Grandmother’s Ravioli,” which airs on The Cooking Channel. It’s a weekend Barker has been looking forward to for weeks.

“I can’t wait to see him,” Barker said. “I think he’s going to be a nut. I don’t know what he’ll try to pull!”

She was selected thanks to her grandson Cory Knedler who submitted her name and multiple recipes to the show. Producers from New York City came to her house for an in-person interview and she has also spoken with them recently via Skype.

This weekend is Ayr Days in Mount Ayr and Rocca plans to be her guest in Saturday’s 4 p.m. local parade. They will ride together in her granddaughter Karmen Smith’s red convertible.

On Sunday, Barker and Rocca will start cooking in the morning hours at her house with cameras rolling.

They will complete the meal in the afternoon and serve to her family.

What’s on the menu? Barker said the tentative menu is salad with jello, hot beef sandwich layered with potatoes and gravy and her chocolate cake recipe, which once won grand champion recognition at the Ringgold County Fair.

The show’s crew will also film at Mount Ayr High School where Barker worked as a “lunch lady” for 30 years.

The show featuring Barker and Rocca is expected to air sometime in September on The Cooking Channel.