The Recipe for a Successful Radio Show
Elizabeth Buckley’s journey through life is as rich and layered as her grandmother Opal Furlong’s famous jam cake. “I come from a family of 6,” she says, her voice warm with memories of her parents, Robert and Helen Kinslow. “We raised tobacco, which meant there were always a lot of people around to eat. So, my mom and dad taught me things about cooking. Then, to get out of the tobacco patch, the kitchen seemed better.”
This early introduction to cooking blossomed into a lifelong passion, leading Elizabeth through various culinary adventures. She’s owned restaurants, catered events, and even cooked in Guatemala while caring for children awaiting surgery. But her life took an unusual turn when she discovered a way to share her talents with even more people in the Edmonton area.
Step to the Mic
“I briefly had a cooking show on WBKO, but it took too much time away from cooking,” Elizabeth says. She moved to 99.1 The HOSS with the weekly trader show, and then she approached the station owners with a unique concept for the airways.
As mixing and sizzling sounds fill the airwaves, “Love 2 Cook with Elizabeth” dishes out family stories, neighborly advice, and the sweet comfort of a home-cooked meal. It started as a 30-minute segment and quickly grew to an hour-long program.
“The show, I don’t ever want to stop,” Elizabeth says. “It is literally my favorite day of the week because I get to talk to y’all.” Her show provides a forum for listeners who include everyone from a blind cook offering cooking accessibility tips to a wild game enthusiast sharing groundhog meatball recipes.
She has witnessed the power of food in her own family. “Every time you think about something that was just beautiful and makes your heart melt, there’s probably some food in there somewhere,” she says.
Elizabeth describes how food memories played a role in her son’s healing after serving 2 military tours in Iraq. “1 day, he called me, and he said, ‘Mom, do you remember those egg rolls you used to make?’ And I got a smile—it was almost like the food memories just brought him back,” she says.
Elizabeth’s sign-off message, “There’s a 12-year-old inside of everybody. Y’all be good to the 12-year-old,” reflects her empathy and life experiences. It has deeply resonated with listeners, serving as a reminder to be kind to themselves and others.
Looking ahead, Elizabeth plans to continue her show while exploring new ventures. “I might like to do a cookbook or find somewhere that I can just go and cook out of people’s refrigerators,” she says.