By Garren Shipley -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — Making a good kitchen look great can be a daunting challenge for some.

But the Quota Club of Winchester might just be able to help out — and help a good cause at the same time — with its annual Kitchen Kapers, set for Sept. 21.

Started in 2000, the event takes visitors on tours of a number of interesting kitchens in Winchester-area homes with good eats and other treats along the way.

While the idea of hosting hundreds of people in their kitchen might be off-putting or even terrifying to some, it's a joy for those with homes on this year's tour, according to Lee Perkins, a spokeswoman for the Quota Club.

"When people really have the kitchen that they love, they're really anxious for people to see it," she said. "But also when they know that they can help the community, people are very generous."

There's more in the offing for the tour than just the latest in countertops and appliances, according to Perkins.

"It's a little different from the house tours that people have been on," she said. "Once you get into the kitchen it's not just the kitchen."

In addition to renovation and historic details, good food and even a wine tasting will be available at the various homes on the tour.

Last year's tour raised $7,000 for Faith in Action, a Winchester charity that helps the elderly and chronically ill with errands and rides to medical appointments.

The 2008 tour has an impressive list of homes.

"We are very blessed this year to have Rosemont on this year's tour," Perkins said.

The kitchen at Rosemont, the former Berryville home of Gov. Harry F. Byrd, has been painstakingly restored to a period look and a number of the home's original elements have been maintained, including a butler's pantry with a copper sink and a hidden silver safe made from an old bank vault.

But not all of the homes on the tour are about grand renovations and major restorations.

Others are about smaller projects with even bigger results. Take the Handley Avenue home of Tricia Stiles for example.

"Unlike a lot of the other houses on the tour, it's not new construction, and I haven't done a total gutting of the kitchen and countertops," Stiles said.

"It's a kind of renovation that's within reach of a lot of people," she said. "I had oak cabinets when I moved in, and I painted them white."

A change of wall coverings, some unique window treatments and other small touches later, and the kitchen is now a showplace Stiles is proud for the community to see.

The last stop on this year's tour is also the kitchen that will see the benefits of the proceeds — the Salvation Army's kitchen at its shelter on Fort Collier Road.

When the Salvation Army opened the shelter in 1995, it was built to hold about 24 people, wih a kitchen equipped to feed just as many.

But when the shelter's capacity was expanded in 1998, the kitchen wasn't. The facility designed to cook about 26,000 meals a year for the homeless in Winchester is cooking about 72,000.

"There isn't anything new this year, but it will show their need for a new kitchen," Perkins said. A significant door prize will also be given away to some lucky Salvation Army kitchen visitor.

Tickets for the tour are $12 in advance, $15 at the door and in advance at White Properties Neighborhood Postal Center, at 720 S. Braddock St. The Country Store, at 1488 Senseny Road, and The Daily Grind at 621-A Jubal Early Drive.