When she learned of an upcoming pound cake contest she immediately called her mother and asked for the family pound cake recipe. That proved to be a gratifying phone call for Tamara Bishop. She entered the contest and won the blue ribbon at the Gloucester County Fair.

"I hadn’t made this cake for over 25 years. My mom was so surprised when I called her. It is actually an original from my aunt. When making it I had to run over and borrow two cups of sugar from my neighbor to complete the cake. This was the very first time I had ever entered a cooking contest."

Tamara and her husband, Melvin, have lived in Gloucester for eight years, a move this California native says was a good one. "In fact, I have lived in Virginia many more years than I ever lived in California. We had been stationed at Fort Eustis where I was serving as Harbor Master when I retired. We are both retired from the United States Army and we have a son, Justin, who is now serving as a Captain ...